Cuban - Chapter 1 Discussion

Cuban writes about some themes that should seem familiar to current educational practice. Discuss them.

There are definitely some similarities and underlying themes in Cuban’s writing that relate directly to modern educational practices both in P-12 and post-secondary educational systems. His discussion of the barriers to providing adequate instructional technology equipment and practices in the classroom is the most prominent, where many of our current budget constraints as well as teacher disinterest in these methods cause hindrances for the implementation of technology. Cuban also hits upon the progressives and their very strong push to bring technology into the classroom and almost force the use of this equipment onto teachers and students, which only creates a tension that is unnecessary for the true delivery of lessons and the practice of learning.

In chapter 1, Cuban lists some figures and tables that are relative to the use of many of our technological advances today within the classroom. What comes to mind is the use of interactive tools such as “clickers,” as well as some equipment such as document cameras and/or webcams, and curriculum delivery web based applications that grade student work on a subjective basis with the use of keywords and programming. What I find as an information management instructor is that these are also many times considered “fads,” and technologies that have experienced their 15 minutes of fame, as film and radio were in the early Twentieth Century. However, I cannot say that some of these technologies are relevant and useful to the students and instructor, granted the instructor utilizes these technologies in a “best practices” manner that provides the most relevant instruction to students. There are several of our adjuncts who swear by the curriculum delivery programs that we “tried out” last year, however, I am willing to engage in a very strong debate regarding my feelings of their complete inadequacy and uselessness in the classroom. These adjuncts are good instructors, and apparently have found this technology a “good fit,” for them; however, I detest and cringe at the thought of even trying another piece of technology that resembles this software.

The other theme that Cuban addresses that is directly relatable to today’s classroom is the lack of teacher interest in using some of these technologies. As many educational “experts” who have never taught inside a classroom for one day would claim, this is simply a result of teacher “laziness” or “apathy” about using the technology. From my own experience, I have found that this is far from the truth with the exception of those teachers who are close to retirement and have decided to “coast” and rely on tenure to get them through, which is another topic for another course. Many times, the district has placed so many regulations and stipulations on the use of the technology that instructors simply find their time better spent dedicated to lesson preparation or other classroom duties. The technologies that are current and upcoming are in theory, great ideas and well-intentioned for educational use. However, unless they are being use on a continual basis, the set-up, training for users, and process of use is so time consuming that our time-starved classrooms simply choose to forego the “wasted time,” and choose something more familiar and consistent in our classrooms. There are several methods for solving this issue, from the loosening of regulations imposed by administration, to support staff to perform set-up and break-down tasks while instructors are engaged in other activities with students.

Cuban also echoes ideas mentioned in both Postman and Hughes. Discuss those ideas.

As Postman and Hughes exhibited somewhat polar views of technology, Cuban echoes those notions in a less obvious way providing the reader with a balanced view of technology that is solely devoted to its adoption and utilization in the classroom. Postman’s view of technology was that of a warning to all that at some point, technology would turn against humans and eventually destroy any evidence of human tradition or history at all, and control the human race for eternity. Cuban does not come close to Postman’s scare tactics, but does present the arguments brought forth by many noted people, such as Einstein, Dewey, Kilpatrick and others who had progressive views of education, and especially educational technology. As many of these notables predicted, technologies such as film and radio would become a replacement for teachers, and would be as efficient and perhaps more effective as traditional instruction of the day. In current times, we see this as completely false, and perhaps never will teachers be replaced with machinery even with the many technological advancements that have been made.

Cuban mentions a research study (p 13-14) that imputes a causal relationship between film use and student achievement. Research the terms "media comparison study" and "no significant difference research." What do you find?

From the brief research that I conducted, media comparison studies deal with the comparison of the effectiveness, efficiency, use, and distribution of the various types of media available to viewers. This type of study does not exclusively focus on the field of education, but is more of a general term describing the aspects of media types that can be compared and contrasted with those of other types of media. Hughes discusses a media comparison study of classrooms that utilized films as the experimental group, and a traditional classroom without the use of film where students were studying the same lesson with the same objectives. This study found that students exposed to the use of film in the classroom to teach a subject gleaned more positive results and a higher achievement level of those students where technology was used in the lesson.

No significant difference research came about as a direct result of the studies conducted by educational progressives of the time who wanted to compare the effectiveness of traditional courses delivered in a classroom with traditional methods as opposed to courses delivered via correspondence, radio or film, or other method that may be called distance learning using the vernacular of today. These studies caused the media comparison studies that spawned a continuing examination of media types and effectiveness that can be used for education, consumerism, marketing, and a plethora of other areas where people are involved directly with different forms of media consumption.

Cuban mentions these studies several times throughout chapter one and found that during his examination of these early media studies, the results are somewhat skewed, very disorganized, and at times, unreliable. However, they are all that current researchers have to go on, and with enough analyzation of data and examination of research instruments, evidence can be drawn from these that will support the media studies that are currently underway of educational technology’s historical foundations and practices.