What is the trend with current educators on their belief in computer assisted technology?

My experience with technology leads me to believe that most teachers are skeptical
as to the benefit of technology on education. For as many as are skeptical there are many
who are ripe for conversion.
The reading from last week which likened technology to a god of this generation
becomes more relevant when we begin to analyze and predict the evolution of technology
in education. As John D. Sterman surmised in his article A Skeptics Guide to Computer
Models, computers remain a mysterious (god-like?) entity to most people and as a result
we follow blindly the advances of technology knowing very little about the impact on
ourselves or how these programs/devices came to be. We are very much like followers of
a religion where we are taught not to think and question but follow blindly the latest
advances without understanding. I often refer to myself as a Tech Evangelist and catch
myself often waxing lyrical about the latest technology which will change the way we do
school. This is a dangerous road to travel. If the task of the philosopher is as Gabriel
Marcel indicates then we must be the watchmen to ensure humanity is not lost, then we
as teachers must remain critical of technology while embracing those tools which might
improve the teaching and learning experience.
Marcel warns of the dehumanizing and depersonalizing (para 8) elements of
technology which he sees as being destructive to society as a whole. I see this danger first
hand with the recent implementation of adaptive computer assessment (Performance
indicators in Primary Schools) which our school has just initiated. CAT has been referred
to as the quiet revolution (Hopkins, 2004) it has something that has crept into many
systems of education without notice. In my school, it has been suggested by the director
of academics, that the results of these baseline scores will be used to determine which
teachers to dismiss from employment. It is clear that administration intends to use this
program with the aim to standardize the teaching quality rather than with the explicit goal
of personalizing/individualizing the learning experience for the children. These tests are
not about attainment and provide the perfect opportunity to monitor the progress of the
child throughout the year and throughout their schooling. They are high-stakes in that
decisions about the direction of a students educational career will be determined based on
the results of these tests.
Whilst I can only say this technology is remarkable my worry is that the data will be
misread and analyzed without taking into consideration the cultural context and the
personal issues of the child and teacher. The data should never be regarded in isolation. If
it is analyzed correctly and in a coherent manner by educated individuals than it is not a
huge worry however data which is misread and misused can have detrimental effects on
both the students confidence and might even be used to end a teachers career. Are we
taking the humanity out of the educational system? Are we considering the notions of what

constitutes learning when these tests are devised? Are we once again accepting at face
value the testing as historically was done with standardized testing before the research
came out indicating how biased they truly were (Rooks, 2012)?
If we are being guided by constructivist ideas, then we should think critically about
these tests with the understanding that all knowledge comes from experiences. If this is
true then surely these tests are biased depending on the location, native language and
economic status (opportunities) of the children taking the test? The children that we are
testing are compared against the data of 4000 (UK) students, but these children come
from the low/middle class in Tanzania, the majority are ESL and are given the test which
includes a listening section in which the student must determine the correct spelling of a
word they hear in a British accent. We need to question whether these factors affect the
tests ability to be considered fair. Again, just because a technology is new and innovative
we must not accept it unflinchingly and we must endeavour to remain watchmen ensuring
humanity is not lost as we remain on our educational and technological journey.

References
Gendreau, B.A., (n.d.) The cautionary ontological approach to technology of Gabriel Marcel. As
retrieved from: http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Tech/TechGend.htm
Hickey,G. George Hickey's philosophy of technology. As retrieved from:
https://www.jld.edu.au/article/view/184/190
Hopkins, D. (2004) Assessment for personalised learning: The quiet revolution. Paper presented at
the Perspectives on Pupil Assessment, New Relationships: Teaching, Learning and
Accountability, General Teaching Council Conference, London.
MERN (2009) As Retrieved from:
http://www.academia.edu/761942/Are_all_our_Teacher_Candidates_Equally_Digital_Nativ
es
Kingsbury, G.G., Freeman E.H. and Nesterak, M. (March, 2014). As retrieved from:
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar14/vol71/num06/The-Potentialof-Adaptive-Assessment.aspx
Rooks, N. (2012) As retrieved from: http://ideas.time.com/2012/10/11/why-its-time-to-get-rid-ofstandardized-tests/
Scalise ,K., Bernbaum , D.J. et al. (2007). Adaptive technology for e-learning: principles and case
studies of an emerging field . As retrieved from:

http://gse.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/users/mark-wilson/Wilson10.pdf Doi:
10.1002/asi.20701

Sterman, J.D. (1998). A skeptics guide to Computer models.