This week for EDM 310 we had to read an article "Teacher Knows If You Have Done Your E-Reading" by David Streitfeld. The article was about Texas A&M professors who were worried that their students weren't actually reading their textbooks. The professors know that the students are missing major pieces of information that they need to know. So a way for the professors to know that the information they want the students to read and know, the started using CourseSmart. CourseSmart is a program where students are all put into a computer system, are given their textbooks on E-Readers, and this way the professor can track whether or not the student has or has not read the passages they were suppose to have read. The professor can track to see how many times the book has been opened, and if the student isn't doing so well in the class the professor can show the student evidence as to why he or she might not being doing so well. Some of the people who are in the classes don't mind using the system, but there are others who say it's too much like "Big Brother" and that they are losing their own studying time privacy.
My thoughts on this CourseSmart program from the view as a teacher, is that this could be a great program that could work. As a teacher it would be nice to know wether or not my students actually read what they were suppose to. That way if they didn't understand something and came to ask me a question, I would at least know that they had tried to understand the subject matter themselves before they came to me. Also it would be easier to teach knowing that my students had read the assigned material so they know a little bit about what I am about to cover, compared to the students having no clue what's in for them that day.
My thoughts on this as a student are totally different. To me that is invading privacy. If a student comes to class takes notes and still passes the test without ever opening the book then thats what works for them. Not every student has to read the chapter to know what all is going on. As humans we all learn differently. Some are people who can listen and learn and understand. Others are people who actually do have to open a book and read what the professor will be talking about. So for the professor to just base his or her thoughts on a particular student just by how many time he or she opens a book is not okay. Studying time is for the student, not so the professor can see how many time one of his or her students have opened their textbook.
If I could ask the professors questions about this new program they would be:
1.How can you base a students effort by just looking at how many times he or she has opened a book?
2. Do you not think that your students can learn what they need just from your lectures?
3. Do you not think that this program is a form of invasion of privacy for your students?
4. Has the grade overall average gone up since you started this program?
5. Do you really think that the students will open their books more, just because you can see how many times they have?
If I could ask the students questions about this program they would be:
1. Do you think as a student you should have to read everything in your textbook, or only certain sections?
2. Do you think you need to read the book or can you learn and grasp everything you need to know in your professors lecture?
3. Do you think this new program is a form of invasion of privacy into the studying aspect of your life?
4. Has your grade point average gone up, down, or stayed the same since this new program has started?
5. Will you as a student open your book more because your professor can see it, or will you keep up your same study patterns and not care what the professor sees?
If I had left a comment on the article it would have been to ailun99 from Wisconsin who wrote
"And how does the software know WHO is opening the book and supposedly reading it? Just like students can buy online papers, they can pay someone to "read" their textbooks! I'm a professor and very wary of all of this technology. My best teaching happens person to person where I can see their eyes, interact with them as human beings, adjust my teaching to how they are reacting, and engage them as whole people - not just mere scores on some computer program. And how does the software know WHO is opening the book and supposedly reading it? Just like students can buy online papers, they can pay someone to "read" their textbooks!"
Comment:
I couldn't agree with your statement more! To me all this is doing is trying to make the professors feel better about themselves, seeing how much the students read the material and gives them something that they can blame on if the students don't do well in his or her class. When you have teacher and student face to face it makes it a better learning/teaching experience. You can tell on the students face if what you're saying isn't making sense or isn't getting through.
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