Going to DCI not from a feeder school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, but kids aren't adults. If we applied the same logic, we wouldn't teach Kindergartner students how to print and just go straight to keyboarding.

At meetings I attend, plenty of people still take notes on paper which they may scan later. And I still print out some documents that I really need to read carefully.

There are health benefits to consider as well. Kids doing homework late at night on a computer isn't such a good thing. The light frequency on the screen inhibits melatonin production leading to disruption in sleep patterns. Of course, this applies to nearly everybody who uses a computer.

You're writing this message by hand to friends right? And not typing it anonymously on a message board? Because the former is so much better you see. So I know you practice what you preach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, but kids aren't adults. If we applied the same logic, we wouldn't teach Kindergartner students how to print and just go straight to keyboarding.

At meetings I attend, plenty of people still take notes on paper which they may scan later. And I still print out some documents that I really need to read carefully.

There are health benefits to consider as well. Kids doing homework late at night on a computer isn't such a good thing. The light frequency on the screen inhibits melatonin production leading to disruption in sleep patterns. Of course, this applies to nearly everybody who uses a computer.

These kids are growing up in a tech world. They will be on their phones at night if not computer. The adults you are in meetings with did not grow up in a tech world. When our grandkids are in school, they probably won't be printing in K. I am a millennial and do not print out any documents (and I am an upper level finance professional). I am always taken aback with how much wasted paper is used printing unnecessary documents. You, as an adult, are not the barometer for what works with educating 12 year olds in today's society (I mean that in a nice, non-snarky way).

[Anonymous]

True, I am not the barometer of what works in educating 12 year olds but there is not a lot of evidence to support the use of tech in the classroom and of the research which has been don, results are very mixed. So to assume tech must just be better is false (see very long thread on this topic)

AS for the meetings I attended, all the millennials were writing on paper. And they all grew up in a tech world.

[Anonymous]

And, forgot to mention, kids at DCI don't learn computer science and coding unless they are lucky enough to get into 1-2 electives. That is a shame because kids really would benefit from this.

[Anonymous]

Our ability to read deeply and critically online sources and our ability to write successfully in a digital world is a product of an education in print literacy. Our children should have that too. They will adapt to online environments as quickly and with as much ease as we did - when they need to. If we want to monkey with this, let's do so in measured ways informed by research.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our ability to read deeply and critically online sources and our ability to write successfully in a digital world is a product of an education in print literacy. Our children should have that too. They will adapt to online environments as quickly and with as much ease as we did - when they need to. If we want to monkey with this, let's do so in measured ways informed by research.

FWIW, my oldest switched from a 1-to-1 private school (in another state) to Wilson, and re daily technology use, it's like stepping back 20 years. Kids don't even have school email accounts, you can't bring laptops or iPads to class, and some of the teachers can't seem to figure out how to enter grades electronically. There's no online collaboration unless your child's entire group has easy online access (I realize this is a socioeconomic issue, but many other urban school districts have attempted to tackle this problem, and DCPS is not even trying) and all acquire and share Google or other collaborative accounts. Consequently, there are very few group projects. This is NOT adequate preparation for college or for the workplace.

Aside from the Google grants/partnership, I think DCI people probably weighed the 1-to-1 private model at local private schools vs. the DCPS model and decided that each side has its share of problems, but the tech-first model has fewer. That's debatable, especially for early middle school, but certainly by 7th grade, students should be creating and submitting most work electronically and should be collaborating online to complete and present group projects.

As usual with education, nobody wants to occupy the middle ground (between antediluvian DCPS and all-tech-all-the-time DCI), but that's what research seems to call for here. The caveats I would like to see for DCI and other tech-first schools (some private schools are now looking seriously at these issues): delay the tech-first model until at least the second year of middle school. Make it easy for students to acquire all texts in physical form rather than insisting that they do all reading on a computer/tablet/phone. Encourage students to take class notes on paper; research hints that doing so encourages cognitive synthesis of info BEFORE notes are taken, whereas electronic notetaking encourages kids to just attempt to record what the teacher is saying, almost verbatim if they can type fast enough. That both inhibits class participation and compromises deep comprehension of material.

[Anonymous]

The feeders are tech heavy too. We are at Yu Ying and typing on a keyboard in both English and Mandarin is taught starting in 3rd grade. By middle school and DCI, all the kids should be comfortable typing in two languages.

I see no reason why kids have to take notes on paper. I never did in law school and I attended nearly 20 yrs ago. Workplaces are all digital now so there is no reason kids should be stuck learning and writing the same way you did when no one had laptops in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The feeders are tech heavy too. We are at Yu Ying and typing on a keyboard in both English and Mandarin is taught starting in 3rd grade. By middle school and DCI, all the kids should be comfortable typing in two languages.

I see no reason why kids have to take notes on paper. I never did in law school and I attended nearly 20 yrs ago. Workplaces are all digital now so there is no reason kids should be stuck learning and writing the same way you did when no one had laptops in middle school.

see comment above you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The feeders are tech heavy too. We are at Yu Ying and typing on a keyboard in both English and Mandarin is taught starting in 3rd grade. By middle school and DCI, all the kids should be comfortable typing in two languages.

This is not universal across the DCI feeders. Not should it necessarily be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The feeders are tech heavy too. We are at Yu Ying and typing on a keyboard in both English and Mandarin is taught starting in 3rd grade. By middle school and DCI, all the kids should be comfortable typing in two languages.

This is not universal across the DCI feeders. Not should it necessarily be.

+1. Our feeder is not tech heavy and I'm happy about that. My daughter''s french assignments come home marked up with grammatical corrections and i feel there is value in something she has written herself, then corrected herself. Of course I see the value in learning how to type in middle school and learning how to research online, etc. But all this tech stuff in 6th grade seems a bit much.

Not sure about DCI but our options are limited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And, forgot to mention, kids at DCI don't learn computer science and coding unless they are lucky enough to get into 1-2 electives. That is a shame because kids really would benefit from this.

So they insist tech is a good thing but don't insist all kids actually undestand how it works. Odd.

[Anonymous]

Love your response 9:24 and couldn't agree more! There is a middle ground.

[Anonymous]

Research suggests that handwriting and reading printed material leads to better synthesis and deeper understanding and learning.

People read and write on computers differently - for reading they tend to scan on a screen.

I think these are some of the reasons people are concerned about DCIs tech focus. I'm not aware of much research showing the benefits of tech heavy learning starting in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you please elaborate on the technology policy? I know that they use Google Classroom and students are given a Chromebook, but is everything done on a computer? Is there anytime spent on handwriting or research/reading from physical books? How are distractions limited in the classroom? For example, when using their computers during class, do students have access to social media and/or texting?

Per the Principal, they never have access to social media, youtube, games, and content is heavily filtered at all times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you please elaborate on the technology policy? I know that they use Google Classroom and students are given a Chromebook, but is everything done on a computer? Is there anytime spent on handwriting or research/reading from physical books? How are distractions limited in the classroom? For example, when using their computers during class, do students have access to social media and/or texting?

Per the Principal, they never have access to social media, youtube, games, and content is heavily filtered at all times.

If this is true, it's new this year.