Exit Slip 11/8

I know that today’s activity was to prove that learning is made easier with the use of computers.  I felt that it fell short of that goal.  The room was divided into two groups.  Group one was to work together without the help of the computer.  Those in group 2 were to work independently at their computers.  Each was given a list of 5 questions to answer.  I was to use the computer to answer the questions. As I read over the questions, I found that I knew all the answers.  I was able to pull on what I have already learned over the years and answer the questions without using the computer.  I even was able to recognize that question #4, “What element is represented by the letter R on the Periodic Table?” was incorrect.  I did not need the computer because I knew that there was not an R but an Rn.  I felt that this supported my view that children should have a broad base of knowledge to pull from and in later years, incorporate technology more as studies begin to specialize, such as in high school as students prepare for either college, trade school or the work place.  I’m afraid that using the computer at younger and younger ages to look everything up will create computer dependent thinkers.  I did not need to use the computer to be confident in stating that Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick.  Technology can be great when at a complete loss, but progress can be greatly slowed if everything needs to be Googled.