Some students here and there have been caught using iPods to cheat on tests. The result has been a discussion about banning them in schools. However, the real question is what the schools are trying to teach and how they test for it.

One source that kicked this all off is the USA Today article that described what has happened. Then Computerworld chimed in on Friday with a good piece about how iPods should be required, not banned.

I found the Computerworld piece compelling, but only up to a point. After all, we went through this already in the 1980s with calculators, and calculators prevailed as a useful tool to be used in tests. Algorithms, methods, and mathematical expertise and imagination are more important. Crunching the actual number is better left to a computer chip.

Computerworld also pointed out that in the workplace, young workers will be called upon to use information appliances of all kinds to get their jobs done. Teaching the proper utilization of an iPod to answer test questions should be done in school as obvious preparation for the workplace. So far, so good. It just goes to show how limited and unimaginative some tests are.

Where I disagree is the necessity for retaining and using facts and methods for leverage at a higher level of thinking. For example, if you approached any physicist or astronomer and asked them the speed of light, they’d probably give an answer, in the metric system, that’s very, very close to the actual value. Many would have the exact number memorized. It’s an instrument of their trade.

It’s not acceptable for one of these scientists to say, "Wait, I can look that up on my iPod."

If you have to look everything up, you can’t use ideas and facts to build more sophisticated concepts. You’ll grind to a halt. A robot will replace you.

In my opinion, learning the essentials is not forgotten after one leaves high school. Good English, writing, algebra and science are essential skills in American society. There isn’t a job announcement anywhere that doesn’t say, "Excellent written and oral communication skills required."

If students can cheat by looking at something they stored in an iPod, it just goes to show that the teachers aren’t teaching what the students need. And that’s where I agree with Computerworld.

It’s time for teachers to move into the 21st century. And it’s time for some students to learn that a sound background, internalization of fundamental facts of history, language, and mathematics is required before they can get to the next level in their schooling.

Simply looking up "information" on the Internet or the iPod is not going to cut it in the 21st century. That’s why we call it education.