Pros vs Cons: Having Technology in the Classroom, is it Hurting or Helping your Students?
Technology has quickly changed the way people live and is changing the way people learn. Being such a large part of the world today, the internet and internet based devices grow everyday as a part of our lives so to remove this from the classroom would be counterproductive. With that being said there should still never be a free for all of technology use in the classroom. In the text "Read the World", authors Ziemke & Mutharis the speak about the the drive for innovation and the use of new tools as well as the anchor practices proven to work by teachers in traditional classrooms. The blend between the two is where the new style of learning will come from. Many classrooms and schools today have technology in every classroom in the forms of smart boards, desktop/laptop computers and smart phones. To go along with these physical pieces of technology are the software and programs that make them run and so students can use them as educational tools. As well as simply having the technology in the classroom teachers must educate students how to properly use these devices as well as their full capabilities. "To be truly literate in today's society, they must learn to evaluate all the information they encounter to make sense of the world" (Ziemke & Mutharis 2020). Technology is a part of our students lives and as educators we should use and teach those how to use technology that will most impact their lives.
PROS: Helping students become more technologically literate/Creating a positive learning environment
- Experiments and research has shown great potential into the use of technology for student learning pacing as well as individualized help/assignments. What this means is that through certain programs students will go at their own pace learning subjects such as math or reading. They can then have personalized responses based on their performance. For example if one student is consistently getting questions right the program can make the next question more difficult. This type of tool can directly benefit schools as whole, students and teachers.
- Smart board projectors/screen sharing projectors- these devices have become common among most teachers and even grade levels. This piece of technology has changed a traditional white board into an interactive smart screen that can display information in a wide variety of ways. Having this technology in the classroom eliminates the need to have multiple pieces of equipment that can now be done by this single one.
- Digital textbooks- These devices can be found online or with their own device such as a kindle. This is not just a simple replacement of a traditional textbook with an online version but it offers features a physical book cannot. Often times online books will have options to have the words read to the student. This can help any student who may struggle to fully read a piece of text or for any student with a physical need.
- Laptops/computers are an always evolving use of technology in a classroom and in the world and should be shown to each student all of the functions and what it can and should be used for.
In general technology should be used as an aid not a substitute.
CONS: Impeding student development
- Smartphones- although older students may have these on them regardless of you intention to use them in the classroom or not, these can be a great distraction. The phone should only be used if computers are not available for the student. Smart phones, especially one of personal property will often pose more distractions and outlets to wander than it will have a positive effect on the work being done. Social media and gaming apps are too easily accessible on these devices and will often catch the eye of the user and pull them away from the task at hand.
- Tablet instruction opposed to teacher instruction- research has shown too much interaction at an early age can disrupt a child's neural development and can drastically effect how they interact with people. Technology should be used for assessment, guidance and further learning but should never replace a simple human interaction.
- Saved data or sharing capabilities can result in a larger amount of cheating, any assessment data should be private and all tests or assignments should be updated or edited after one use.
Technology that is used in place of human interaction can create different problems for a students learning capabilities.
VIDEO:
In this Tedx Talk, educator Ashok Goel, speaks about the connections between teacher and student. He begins by drawing to the attention of the audience that a great learning experience is when there is a personal connection between teacher and student. He then goes on to speak about how with larger numbers of students and classes this connection grows weaker. He proposes a technological way to get back to that personal experience through artificial intelligence. This video is an excellent representation of how technology can be blended with the positive traditional ways or beliefs of teaching to create a new, better learning environment.
Hi Matt! I enjoyed reading your blog post. Something that stood out to me was your belief that "technology should be used as an aid, not a substitute." I think this statement is an important aspect of answering your overall question of whether technology is hurting or helping our students. When teachers use technology to substitute for traditional methods of learning and communication, students are being deprived of human interaction. As you mentioned, this can negatively impact the development of the brain, as well as basic social skills. If technology is used as an aid, these issues can be avoided. Technology has the ability to enhance education, but should not entirely consume education. Traditional ways of teaching and learning are still efficient, despite the modern world's dependence on technology. Distinguishing between the two is something we can all work on to successfully incorporate technology into literacy. Overall, great job in organizing and presenting these important ideas!
ReplyDeleteHey Matt! I thought that your blog post was very well done and thought out! I really enjoyed the layout that you used with how you split up the pros and cons of having technology in the classroom. One of the points that stuck out to me the most was the fact that technology can be used for student learning pacing. I have noticed that in a classroom some of the students are grasping the lesson a lot faster than others and as a result are finishing the work way ahead of time. I think that the student learning pacing could be used in order to allow the students to progress with their work at the level that they are specifically at. This would help the students who are grasping the work and getting it correct because the program is able to recognize that and provide them with a more challenging problem next time. When my sister was taking her nurse exam called the NCLEX it was similar to this because if she got a question right, the next one would be harder, and if she got it wrong it would be easier. Your blog was very informative and well written!
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon Matt~ This topic is always something I have struggled with having very young students. In today's day I understand that knowing how to use technology is quite beneficial but I have always felt that the younger students needed to get a foundation and grasp on skills like book handling, pencil grip, critical thinking, face to face communication before they should be introduced to technology. With the current situation the way it is- unfortunately it was not able to be rolled out in a developmentally appropriate way that I would have liked. One thing you mentioned in your post was a pro- using computer programs that are adaptive and allow for differentiation between students. One such program we use with our first graders and have had great success with is Lexia. The students are quite engaged with it and it enables them to move a appropriate paces for their own learning.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt! I enjoyed reading your post! I enjoyed reading about the pros and cons of technology in the classroom. Teaching Kindergarten, I struggle with how much to incorporate technology throughout the day. Luckily, I had six ipads for my classroom but felt like I could never monitor as much as I wanted to. For example, during my Daily 5 centers I incorporate ipads for listening to reading. I would use the program Raz-Kids where students can listen, read, and take a quiz on the stories they read. Multiple times I have found the student's on another app or focusing on the rewards they would get for reading it didn't seem to effective no matter how hard I tried to monitor and set expectations. I do believe the use of adaptive computer programs is beneficial and helpful because it allows the teacher to see and monitor which students are struggling and which would benefit from enrichment. Currently my school is using Lexia where students are logging in every day. When students show difficulty in a skill it will send the teacher review lessons to deliver to their students. This has been helping me during our virtual learning. If I see a student or students struggling, I will teach a small group via Zoom on the specific skills. Before virtual learning I found the students were actively engaged and excited to log on.
ReplyDeleteNot sure why my post says unknow but this is my comment!
DeleteKatie
Hi Matt! I loved reading your post! I think it is very important to evaluate if technology is helping or hurting our students. I agree with you that technology is had an impact in just about everything in our lives and this definitely includes education. I love how you laid out pros and cons of this situation. This made the blog easy to read and helped the readers examine both sides of the argument. One thing that stood out to me was your statement, “In general technology should be used as an aid not a substitute.” I wholeheartedly agree with this. I believe technology becomes a detriment to education when it is used as a substitute for teacher to student learning. This one to one connection is vital for young students just as student to student interaction is which can also be impacted by technology. As you later stated, technology can impede on student learning. As educators we must toe the line between overusing technology and it becoming a crutch and not utilizing it at all, as technology can provide many benefits.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt! I think this is a great question because technology has already taking over the classroom it seems before the question was answered. I feel that it can force teachers to be better because of the importance of their instruction on both the content at hand and also the correct use of the technology with this content. I do feel that it can also be very distracting and as you mentioned above potentially interrupt student development. As teachers we are supposed to be facilitators in the classroom. If we facilitate to the best of our ability I feel that technology can be used in so many positive ways. Awsome post!
ReplyDeleteHey Matt! I loved reading your blog! It was very well written and listing out the pros and cons of both really put technology into perspective. Something that stood out to me was "Technology is a part of our students lives and as educators we should use and teach those how to use technology that will most impact their lives." I definitely agree with what you said. Students need to be exposed to all the different uses of technology to be able to use it to their advantage and not their disadvantage. This led into the next part of your blog, the pros and cons. There are definitely pros and cons to technology, which you stated. One of the positives that stood out to me was the use of the smart boards. In most classrooms nowadays, you see teachers with smart boards. I think this way teachers have the opportunity to do multiple things at once, and they can be prepared instead of hand writing everything out. One negative that stood out to me was how smartphones can be used as a distraction. This is even true for myself. It is quite challenging to not get distracted with all the applications the phone has. Overall, your blog really shows the positive and negatives of technology. Awesome work!
ReplyDeleteHi Matt – great work on your Blog! It is true, technology has become a part of our everyday life, and even apart of students everyday life when they enter their classroom. Classrooms are filled with technology devices that range from SmartBoards, laptops and even iPads. It even seems like the school day wouldn’t run like its supposed to without at least one of these devices being used. The four pros for technology that you included in your blog are all valid in the ways to help students become more technologically literate and form this positive learning environment. The one that stuck out to me the most was where technology is used to allow students to work in subjects, such as reading and math, at their own pace and that benefit that student based on how they are doing. Some websites I have heard from my internship that relate to this are “Lexia” for reading and “ST Math” for math. I also really like the cons you listed as to how technology can imped student development. I 100% agree with you how smartphones can be a huge distraction in the class. Luckily, at the elementary level, I don’t deal a whole lot with this issue, but definitely in middle school and high school you see the presence of smartphones popping up. Teachers have different ways they handle the use of cell phones in their class so they don’t become a distraction, but the use of cellphones definitely won’t enhance a lesson unless they are put to use in a good way. Teachers have really started to embrace the use of technology, and we have to remember, it is enhancer, not a replacement.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt, this topic is something that hits close to home with me because I with third graders. Third grade is a big year tech wise - they come in September knowing very little from home and from second grade iPad work, but by the end of third grade, they are masters! Especially with taking Smarter Balanced Assessment on Chromebooks. It is critical for me to ready them with the proper skills to maneuver through the portals and manipulate the tools provided to them. I agree with your thoughts that technology can become a distraction in the classrooms but it is important to teach students the proper use as well as the time for entertainment and the tome for work. Technology is crucial in the classroom. It is important to teach children how to manipulate all aspects of tech to provide them with the skills they require for their future in the real world. Provide them with opportunities to see that not all technology is used for games and entertainment; many aspects can be helpful with a magnitude of different careers from doctors to contractors. I really liked the Tedx Talk by Ashok Goel. He explained that the teacher-student connections help make learning positive and fun. That physical appearance from both parties is part of being successful and, actually, my favorite part about teaching is the physical classroom experience. Yet, in today's world, we are forced to stay out of the classroom. Thank goodness for Technology to provide teachers and students with the same visual connections through video ability! Without that aspect of tech, we would be lost and the connections would be broken.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt, great post! This idea is so important that we should be teaching students how to use technology as they will encounter it throughout their lives. I always found it interesting how many schools work to create authentic experiences that will prepare students to be active citizens in the real world; yet many don't involve preparing them with knowledge of a variety of technologies. All of the pros you have listed above I have seen many schools using. Every school I have been in has a smart board of some sort and most teachers use the digital textbook to display pages or links for students to see while they are discussing the materials. I agree that this form of learning shouldn't replace instruction but should aid in building classroom community and creativity. I found this tedtalk very interesting and the idea of creating a teaching aid that would be able to help teachers respond to large amounts of student comments. I think this could be beneficial. I know during this remote learning time the 5th grade class I am working with is very good at communicating with each other. One student will comment in the class chat a question and other students will respond with answers so the teacher doesn't always have to be the one answering comments. I think this would be a great way to create community in the class as well by allowing students to respond to each other and teach them ways to communicate effectively online!
ReplyDeleteHi Matt, thanks for sharing your blog post. I think it was super interesting to read about! It is so true that technology quickly changed the way people live and learn, especially during this pandemic. I like how you listed the pros and cons for technology in schools as well as provided a ted talk discussing the connections between teachers and students. The layout is very easy to read and scroll through, providing helpful information about the topic. I think students now are so drawn to using technology, whether it is the smart board, iPad, or computer. Students love to use them, even if it is to complete school based assignments. In numerous classrooms I have been in, students much more prefer typing up an assignment than writing, or even developing powerpoint projects than using hands on crafts. It seems due to it being so engaging, students are able to be more interested in learning by having this helpful too. Additionally, some programs can be more accommodating. I have noticed several programs, such as ST Math that tailors mathematics to their personalized levels. Therefore, each student Is able to learn subjects at their own pace, rather than as a whole.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt! I really enjoyed reading through your post. It raises lots of really interesting, really good points about how technology is shaping education in today's world. I love the way you set it us as pros and cons. One of the cons that really stood out to me was the last one about data and information sharing. I don't know why it had never occurred to me before that while we're encouraging students to use sites like Google Drive and Dropbox, we might also unintentionally be encouraging them to share answers. While the whole point of online cloud storage and sharing sites is to be able to share information easily, we need to think about the ways in which technologies like this can be misused. I'm not particularly good at coming up with ideas on the spot but my initial thoughts are telling me that teachers should always be invited to view/comment on student's work. By having access like that the teachers can view what edits have been made by who and when as well as seeing the sharing permissions. I'm not sure if it's the best method but your blog post has definitely got me thinking!
ReplyDeleteHI Matt. I really like this post because I truly think it is a question we all ask oursleves as teachers all the time. I think it is so important that we start using technology, but I think it is critical to use it in the correct way with children. I also think when you referenced the use of smartboards, this has become such an engaging part of my teaching in my classroom. I started teaching when chalkboards were still around, so I can see how much technology has helped teachers improve their lessons on a daily basis. I also think the old saying of everything in moderation, applies to this topic. I really like how you explained both the pros and the cons. Also, I agree with the fact that teacher student personal interaction and relationship is so crucial for students. I think people have much more to offer at times than a computer device. I think a balance is very important for students to become the best learners and problem solvers in our society now.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt! Great job. It was really easy to follow the pros and concs of technology. I never thought about tablet taught vs teacher taught, that really stuck out to me. It makes sense that if students are only learning from a device it is not good. I agree that technology needs to be used as an aid not a substitute. Teacher student connections and relationships are SO important and can never truly be replaced! I loved the TED Talk, they are the best. Thank you for sharing!
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