The article “Technical Difficulties: Information Technology Could Help Schools Do More With Less.  If Only Educators Knew How To Use It” was written by Frederick M. Hess and printed in the Fall 2004 issue of Education Next.  In this article, Hess discusses how technology is used in today’s classrooms and schools.  The article also discusses whether new technology is truly helping or hurting students, teachers, faculty, and the school system itself.  The author not only points out things that need to change, he also gives some great ideas about how they can change. The author’s examples range from making sure technology is really helping enhance learning to how technology can help teachers manage their time better, and even the role technology plays in the administration of schools.

Hess begins the article by giving an example about a school in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Maine</st1:place></st1:State> that proposed giving all of the 7th grade students Laptops.  Hess explains that, “No evident thought had been put into how this major investment in new technology would make schools more efficient, produce future savings, or enhance the learning process.”  The principal put forth a $50 million proposal without giving any reason how laptops would help the schools performance.  I agreed with the author’s thinking because while my first thought would be that it would be wonderful to provide each student with their own laptop, I began to question whether that would really be helpful to the students.  I believe that if you gave each student their own laptop, too much time might be taken from class each day to make sure that students know how to use it or that they are being productive with their time.  I also wondered, what would happen if the teacher did not know how to use the laptop.  How could the students benefit from laptops if their teacher could not help them when they had problems or questions?  I truly believe that Hess has a good point when it comes to this issue.  Technology is a great tool; however, it needs to be used wisely, unlike the principal of the school in <st1:State w:st="on">Maine</st1:State> whose comment about the laptops was that he wanted to “do something different from what everybody else is doing.”

In my opinion, one of the best ideas that the article brought up was regarding teacher time.  The author stated, “If grading essays or examining student performance . . .only took half as much time as it currently does, a teacher could work with more students and still have more instructional time for each student in that class.”  When I read this section, I was amazed at what technology can do to help teachers with the daunting task of grading.  I agreed with the author when he mentioned that many times teachers are so overwhelmed with grading they tend to check for items such as sentence structure, language, and mechanics, rather than provide students meaningful and useful feedback.  The author talks about how there is essay-grading software that can help teachers to grade papers.  After reading this section, I wanted to go out and purchase the software to use on the papers that I am currently writing.  The software can not only check spelling, grammar, and sentence structure, it also can analyze pieces and give grades based on human raters.  I can see myself using this software in my future classrooms to help me limit the time I spend on grading.  I would submit my students’ papers and have the program check for spelling and grammar, then read over the corrected version and be able to give more feedback to my students.  I feel that this technology could help teachers in any grade level find more time to help their students in class by giving their writing back to them with feedback.

The article also discusses the role that technology plays within the administration.  The article gives examples about how technology can be used by faculty to keep track of students and their progress.  I find it hard to believe that there are schools that do not already use databases, but the author gave many examples that made me realize that not everyone knows how to use technology to their advantage.  For example, the article cites a specific school where the principal used large binders rather than electronic means to keep track of students, teachers and the school’s progress. The author notes, “ultimately, to be useful, information has to be at people’s fingertips.”    I agreed with this point, because there are so many ways that technology can help to create easy to use databases that can be accessed with ease.

After reading this article, I realize now more than ever that technology is an amazing tool that can be used in any field, especially in education.  I also realize that even though you may have the technology at your fingertips, you must be able to find creative ways to use it that enhance your students’ learning, not just for the sake of using it.  The author notes, “Technology is not a miracle cure.  It is a tool.  Used wisely, it can help professionals to take full advantage of their skills, slash the time spent on rote tasks, and concentrate resources and effort where they are needed most.”  I know that in my own classroom I will be able to find ways to use technology that will not only help my students, but help me to be a better and more resourceful teacher for them.  I feel that one of the greatest tools that I have been given for my future classroom is my understanding of how to use technology.