Bill MacKenty

Technology strengthens, deepens, and broadens our learning...

The time has come, the danger is real.  It’s time to ban pencils

Courtesy of Education World comes this great article from Doug Johnson.

It’s a tounge-in-cheek reply to the folks who don’t want to use iPods in the classroom. 

From the article:

1. A student might use a pencil to poke out the eye of another student.
2. A student might write a dirty word or, worse yet, a threatening note to another student, with a pencil.
3. One student might have a mechanical pencil, making those with wooden ones feel bad.
4. The pencil might get stolen.
5. Pencils break and need repairing all the time.
6. Kids who have pencils might doodle instead of working on their assignments or listening to the teacher.

Great stuff.  We should be teaching our kids how to use technology, not building a wall around technology! Doug asks this sterling question:

When are we going to learn to use the kids’ devices for their benefit rather than invent excuses to outlaw them?

On 27 March 2006, tarh2o inscribed the following thoughts about this post:

WRITE ON!  Paranoia abounds in k12 education.  With thoughtful considerations, boundaries, and enforced limits ipod/mp3 player use has many wonderful applications for our students (and for ourselves).