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Teaching: Is there an app for that?

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Gathered around large, flat-screen Apple Mac computers, sixth graders in a technology class at IN-Tech Academy, MS/HS 368, leaned forward eagerly, light from the screens reflecting in their wide eyes.

They were working on public service announcements that combined images found on the Internet with recordings of their voices delivering messages about child abuse, bullying and vandalism. Then, they set the announcements to music. 

Students in the class were not just learning about current events, they were learning how to use iMovie, Apple’s moviemaking software, to express their views. 

Technology is everywhere, including inside today’s classrooms. And while an increasing proportion of school spending goes toward purchasing gadgets, the discussion over how best to integrate technology into lessons, whether some devices are superfluous and wasteful and how to pay for new tools is far from settled.

Is it better to do some things the old-fashioned way? Is taking notes by hand in a spiral notebook more educational than typing them on a laptop? 

Is technology revolutionizing the way students learn and preparing them for the 21st-century world? Or have computers simply made us lazy? Is the resistance to using technology legitimate or an emotional reaction as old as mankind’s first tools? 

Educators at IN-Tech Academy fall squarely on one side of the debate. There, teachers are expected to integrate technology into every lesson and classrooms are equipped with everything from interactive white boards (SMART Boards) and the latest computers to iTouches and iPads, Apple’s popular touch-screen devices. 

technology, IN-Tech Academy, MS/HS 368, Department of Education, DOE, Apple, Mac, Wireless Generation, iMovie, SMART Board, computers, learning, budget, spending, iZone, Innovation Zone, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Councilman Oliver Koppell, Nikki Dowling
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