Originally Posted by
Perplexa
I'm in Canada, too, but since I teach in a Montessori school, things are a bit different for us. Technology is actually a bit of a challenge for us, because parents see that other schools are using a lot of technology and want us to use it too, but we find it doesn't necessarily support the children's learning. For the age group I have right now (ages 6-9), we let the children use our classroom computer for typing practice and some occasional word processing and maybe using the public library catalogue, but we don't really want them typing their work because we want them to practice their handwriting (and there is some evidence that children learn more through their writing when they write by hand, though I'm not sure how strong the studies are). We also intentionally avoid having the answers to too many questions available in our classroom because we want the children to plan their own "Going Out" trips to libraries, museums, etc. to pursue their research. (An adult always accompanies the children, of course, but the children are in charge.) Internet access essentially brings the whole world into the classroom, and it discourages the children from Going Out as much.
Things are a little different for the older elementary age group (9-12 or so) who use their computer for making presentations, typing up finished work, even making movies, since being able to present their research in polished ways ways is a pretty useful skill. They're also working on a large enough scale that they use the internet to help them research and plan their Going Outs. Our oldest children (11 and 12 year olds) are planning a trip to New York in the spring (we're in BC) to go to the Montessori Model UN conference. It would be absurd to insist that they make all their travel arrangements without the benefit of the internet, since they'd basically have to turn everything over to a travel agent and would get less useful experience.
What all this has to do with Tom Bihn bags, I don't know anymore!