on the oregon trail

There is only so much children can learn from Mavis Beacon and The Oregon Trail. Seriously.

Perhaps one of the most obvious things I've learned in this Ed Psych class is that technology (by technology I mean computers and the internet) can be an excellent tool in the classroom. Powerpoints, blogs, educational video games, online scholarly journals... the possibilities are endless. Why then have so many school districts become stagnant in their use of computers?

In my opinion, there is a serious lack of "upgrading" in our schools. For the purpose of this blog entry I've defined upgrading in two ways: (1) to renovate and improve technology on computers (and the computers themselves) and (2) to keep up with the changing youth culture present in our schools.

In response to the first definition of upgrading, I'd like to point out something I'm sure all of us are familiar with: The Oregon Trail computer game. Oregon Trail brings back nostalgic memories for a lot of us twentysomethings out there. Remember the low graphics? The program's unreliability? The "Classic Mac" operating system? SCHOOLS ARE STILL USING THIS PROGRAM. Schools are still using this far outdated program on far outdated computers with far outdated operating systems. It would be much more beneficial to give our students access to computers that are up to date (upgraded) so they can learn how to use modern technology instead of the technology of the last generation.

The second kind of upgrading is probably even more important and has applications that reach beyond computers. Educators need to be more aware of the youth culture in their schools and to adapt their lessons accordingly. When I was in third grade we started learning how to type with Mavis Beacon. I thought it was a pretty effective way to learn to type. However, we then continued to use it until eighth grade. This, in my opinion, was overkill. I learned HOW to type from Mavis Beacon, but I learned how to type efficiently from Instant Messenger. All those extra years of Mavis Beacon were more or less wasted time. Maybe it would have been more helpful (and, in terms of curriculum, more efficient) to have the students go to the computer lab to work on group work over an instant messaging service.

I'd like to close with a disclaimer. I realize that there are a lot of schools out there that simply can't afford to make the computer upgrades that I'm talking about, whether it's because they're in a poorer community or they need to direct funds elsewhere. However, for schools that can afford it, do your students a favor: upgrade your technology and get rid of Oregon Trail. Let's be honest - it's not that fun anyway.

Tswelela solofela,
Tom Bishoff