In thinking about the ways technology is viewed in schools I have come to the conclusion that there are three paradigms of technology in education, technology as temple, technology as tutor and technology as tool. While all three of these viewpoints have their merits and drawbacks, I maintain that technology as tool is the most complete approach to utilizing technology in the classroom. The first paradigm, technology as temple focuses upon students learning the skills of using technology without the rich context provided by meaningful tasks. The technology is usually scarce but held in high regard. In this paradigm it is important for students to learn how to use technology because they will need to have these skills someday when they enter the workplace.
Students move through checklists of accomplished skills like a catechism.
They memorize the steps in using software and hardware but often miss out on the reasons for applying them. There is a movement nationwide among certain circles to establish the standards for what technology skills our students should have at each grade level. This in itself is not bad but neither is it complete. Students do need to know how to keyboard, use word-processors, use databases, use spreadsheets and use scanners but they also need to have real experiences and real reasons for using them as well. The second paradigm is technology as tutor.