“Tools for the Mind” by Mary Burns
Overview
In her article “Tools for the Mind,” Mary Burns argues that while we are using technology within the classroom, it is not necessarily doing our students any good when it comes to student learning. She pushes that the technology students use now, such as PowerPoint and Word, do not lend themselves to critical thinking; as a result, students are simply putting on a show and not forcing themselves to learn, which is why she refers to such programs as “show-and-tell applications” (p.50). Burns resolves that the only way to remedy the situation is by showing our students that there is other technology out there; by requiring students to create spreadsheets, Burns proclaims that it will “demand both abstract and concrete reasoning and involve students in the mathematical logic of calculations” (p.50), the result requiring the students to think more actively and less passively. Burns’ final point revolves around two strategies for changing how we use technology:
* teach critical thinking first and technology later,
* focus on curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
If both of these points are taken into consideration and employed, we should begin to see how our students use technology as a device to think critically.
For more information on this article, click here.
