Shifting Focus

J. Kevin Tumlinson

I've always been a tech-head. When I was a kid my folks quickly realized that no small electronics were safe from me and my handy screwdriver. I grew up around a graveyard of tape recorder parts and broken video games. And when it came to computers, I was fascinated.

I still remember the first time I ever sat down in front of a computer. In seventh grade a new program was introduced: computer programming! I was given the opportunity to not only learn the basic uses of the computer but to CREATE with it! I was hooked.

Of course, the boxy Apple IIe I learned to program on was vastly inferior to the smoking fast, memory laden Pentium powerhouse I now use. But it all started with that simple machine and that simple class.

Back then the focus was still on "the three R's." Reading, writing and arithmetic were the foundation, and computers were just new tools for building the house. But somewhere along the way the focus shifted, and the tools became the foundation..

I'm all for teaching kids how to use computers, but should that be the end-all of their education? Today, it certainly seems to be. Instead of using computers to help illustrate and enforce basic concepts, the emphasis has shifted towards the computers themselves. Every subject has to have a technology component. Kids suddenly have to know how to use Excel to create a spreadsheet, or FrontPage to build a web site. They suddenly have to know how to create a PowerPoint presentation.

Call me old-school, but I think there's a greater level of creativity involved with having a student take a sheet of poster-board and some markers and go to town. PowerPoint isn't really that difficult to learn how to use, it just seems complicated to the beginner. But once you have a grip on it, putting together a nice looking presentation is pretty much point-and-click. There can certainly be a great deal of creativity involved in a digital presentation, but creative skills and thinking have to be brought TO the project.

I suppose I follow the "basics first" principle. In simplest terms, a painter learns how to draw a straight line before he paints the Mona Lisa. As a photographer, I had to learn the basics of photography (composition, lighting, depth of field, etc.) before I could sit down with Photoshop and whip out a visual masterpiece. The same should be true for students and technology. You start with "A" and work towards "Z."

The idea that technology itself is a foundation of education is not limited to grade school, by the way. While in pursuit of a graduate degree I'm finding more and more college classes have a technology requirement. It doesn't matter what the class may be. "Introduction to Water Skiing" now has a technology requirement. And when professors are asked "why," they simply don't know. They only have this vague notion that computers are important.

I agree with that sentiment. We live in a society that simply could not exist without computers. Heck, I use mine for nearly every aspect of my life. And why shouldn't I? It's a tool, isn't it? It's ok to use tools for what they were intended. But no one would suggest that I somehow incorporate a hammer into every class.

Want to become an expert on anything in an hour? Go to the Internet! But surfing the web will never be possible if you don't know how to read. Want a stellar presentation? Use PowerPoint! But who wants to see the same boring, default template in every single meeting? Creative thinking skills need to be taught before you can utilize tool like PowerPoint to its fullest.

Technology is a tool, not a platform. A lot of time and money has been wasted so far on integrating computers into every aspect of the classroom. Stop. If you want brighter, more creative, better-adjusted kids, give them some basic materials and let their minds wander. Worked for every other generation, didn't it?

J. Kevin Tumlinson is a writer and a schoolteacher living in Lake Jackson, TX. Access Kevin by Ctrl-Alt-Delete.