What do you think?
Rate this book
Pencil Me In: A Journey in the Fight for Graphite
Tom Johnson has a dream for his students. It begins with a goal of a one-to-one student to pencils ratio and eventually grows into a goal of completely redesigning school in light of the twentieth century. Over time, he experiences a chance to use telegraphs, photographs, cameras and other media to redefine his students' learning experience. Written as an allegory for educational technology, this book uses nineteenth century metaphors to make sense out of the most relevant issues facing teachers who want to integrate new technology into the curriculum.
200 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2011
About the author
John T. Spencer
8 books1 followerJohn Spencer is a teacher in a low-SES, working class area of Phoenix, Arizona. He has won awards in educational technology and has a popular blog "Musings from a Not-So-Master Teacher."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 18, 2011
The book was not what I expected, which was good in this case.
I expected it to be a metaphor or analogy for how modern technology is used in the classroom or should be used by a technology expert.
What I read was a metaphor or analogy for how modern technology is or should be used in a classroom by a human being who is as uncertain as the rest of us.
The way that pencils in an 1900's classroom are used as a stand-in for computers and hand-held tech in a modern classroom is humourous and and parallels are thought-provoking. The challenges, errors and troubles the teacher faces in his quest to first, use pencils, and second, teach meaningful material and how to collaborate with peers, were surprising to me. In this way, his book about the introduction of a new technology seems to revel in the necessity for intuition and other intangible qualities.
As Spencer describes in his book, many tech-gurus appear either to have no problems or confusion, or are good at hiding them. This book actually helped me feel better about the problems I have had in class.
I gave the book four stars because of all the spelling errors I found. I had the E-book version and my understanding is that the hard-copy versions get a better vetting. I sure hope so.
I expected it to be a metaphor or analogy for how modern technology is used in the classroom or should be used by a technology expert.
What I read was a metaphor or analogy for how modern technology is or should be used in a classroom by a human being who is as uncertain as the rest of us.
The way that pencils in an 1900's classroom are used as a stand-in for computers and hand-held tech in a modern classroom is humourous and and parallels are thought-provoking. The challenges, errors and troubles the teacher faces in his quest to first, use pencils, and second, teach meaningful material and how to collaborate with peers, were surprising to me. In this way, his book about the introduction of a new technology seems to revel in the necessity for intuition and other intangible qualities.
As Spencer describes in his book, many tech-gurus appear either to have no problems or confusion, or are good at hiding them. This book actually helped me feel better about the problems I have had in class.
I gave the book four stars because of all the spelling errors I found. I had the E-book version and my understanding is that the hard-copy versions get a better vetting. I sure hope so.
April 8, 2015
Great book~makes you think.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews