I wonder if teachers should draw a line regarding student use of the web in helping with school work. With the web being such an amazing mass of information, do some teachers see using it as a form of cheating? Is it wrong of me as a parent to allow my daughter to utilize Google translator to help her with her Spanish homework (especially since I can’t)? In the not to distant future, I can envision handheld language translators that allow the user to input phrases in his/her native language, push a “translate” button and have the device either print out or “speak” the translated phrase. Would using such a device be cheating or just being smart?
Knowing where to access information to get the answers you seek seems as or even more important as memorizing facts to be retrieved at some later date. Wouldn’t it be more appropriated for schools to teach proper usage of the wealth of information available on line than to so heavily filter the information that students don’t get the real experience of the web?
When I was a kid, calculators had become affordable to the masses. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to use them in math class. They were seen as a way of cheating and a way around learning math. Today, students are required to have a scientific calculator and are encouraged to use it and taught proper techniques and methods of use. The calculator has become just another tool for the student to use to learn the lesson.
It seems inevitable that the same will happen with the web. As information devices get even smaller and wireless access becomes more ubiquitous, bringing the web to class will be no different than bringing a calculator. The student that knows how to find, sort, and evaluate the information needed will flourish, while those who don’t will likely miss completion deadlines due to information overload.
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I think we should be spending time teaching kids how to use the Internet as an information resource and get away from memorization as you suggest. Not too long ago, finding the answer to a question or figuring out where a prominent figure stood on a particular issue meant spending an afternoon (at least!) in the library. Now it takes a 10 second google search.
While kids still should learn Spanish grammar, I would hope teachers would encourage the use of such translation devices in certain circumstances. Should they be allowed for a test/quiz...clearly not...but for certain activities, sure.
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