Where do I stand?

When reading Consider This by David Thornburg, I thought about how easy it is to get answers to any question just by getting on the internet. Students are cheating by using material on the web. David Thornburg writes about the fear of students not taking in knowledge, but rather copying information from the computer. He writes that it is so much easier to cheat now with all the technology with in reach, and so easy to find answers for anything. He even goes as far as to say, some teachers suggest banning electronic devices form schools all together. When I began reading this article, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to ban all electronic devices from schools. It's causing students to cheat with in hands reach and with out these devices they would not. Then I started thinking about when I went to school, and how many students cheated in my classrooms all the time with out electronic devices. We would just look at our neighbors work and copy it onto our papers. We would get together on weekends and do our homework together. We could not have retained much information while looking at our neighbors paper, or copying off of one another's homework. Let's be realistic! Cheating has occuried long before technology. It just seems easier now with hand held devices, and honestly I think it takes more time and effort to look for information on the internet, than copying off a neighbors paper. I'm not condoning cheating, I'm simply trying to keep it real. If a student is going to cheat, they will find a way with or without hand held devices or technology. In the last two paragraphs of this article, David Thornburg gives several ways to help solve this problem. I like his idea about using myriad papers sites to look for reports already written and then analyze and comment on them. This means the student would have to research, read through and think about what they have read. What a great way to learn, and take in info about the book at hand. I think I would learn more this way than if I had to write my own report. I also like how he talks about asking questions about what the student has found on the internet. This helps develop thinking skills, and our students could use this throughout their lives. I think technology helps in any ways. The internet is very helpful in many ways, and our students/children can benefit greatly from it. I understand where some teachers are coming from when they suggest banning hand held devices from schools. I can appreciate their efforts but I believe it is a bit extreme.