With the ever-advancing technology today, not many people have. We receive our homework by email, our teachers lecture using PowerPoint presentations, we type our papers and submit our homework on a computer and we receive our grades electronically. In large part, our education takes place on the screen of a laptop. Recent technological advances have slipped right into almost every area of life, including the classroom. Does it prepare us better for our future by teaching us to navigate the technology that we will surely encounter in our future careers? The short and simple answer is: yes.
It is undeniable that technology can certainly be a useful aide in the classroom. Technology is a significant part of the everyday lives of modern students. So, incorporating technology into their education makes perfect sense. It keeps them interested, engaged and motivated and makes the lessons more applicable and relevant to their lives. Technology allows us to access information and examples that are not otherwise easily accessible. According to Saint Xavier communications professor, Dr. Robinson, instructional technology helps her create interesting course content that involves the use of audio and video examples, which keeps the students interested in the course.
Likewise, the ease with which we are able to connect using technology like texting, email, and videochat helps students take their learning outside of the classroom. For college students especially, this constant contact is key. As stated by James Rosenberg in an article for the Huffington Post, “Technology fosters connections between people and information, no matter where they are in the world, giving students access to resources around the globe.”
It is evident that aside from helping students gain general knowledge and life skills, the purpose of formal education is to prepare students for their future. Communication does not just take place in face-to-face or telephone conversations anymore. It is crucial that students learn to understand these new channels of communication and learn to navigate them effectively. In this way, using technology in the classroom is important in ensuring the future success of students. As stated by Dr. Robinson, “If we are to educate students and prepare them to live in an information/service-based economy and 21st century work world that requires ongoing learning, engaged citizenship and workplaces that are dependent upon technology, we must assist students in developing the information literacy and technological skills they need to be successful.”
The use of technology in classroom settings has clear benefits, but in what ways does it hold us back? From my own experience, many times a professor has prepared to PowerPoint or some form of electronic supplement to their lecture only to come to class and encounter a technological glitch. For example, the network is down, the students never received the homework that was emailed to them, the classroom lacks the latest version of Windows, or they do not have the right cord to connect one device to another. Technology is great….when it works.
Having phones, laptops and Ipads in class connects the classroom experience to the day-to-day lives of students, but not always in the way teachers want. Too much connection to happenings outside the classroom can be an extreme distraction. It is more than easy for students to text under the table, or scroll through their Facebook in a lecture hall. When teachers allow the use of electronic devices in the classroom, they certainly cannot always control they way they are being used. Unfortunately, being connected to the world outside the classroom often means your mind (your biggest and most important learning tool) is somewhere else as well.
Technology can unquestionably help students develop in various ways but if used in the wrong way, it can also work against that progress. For example, if technology is being used simply as a way to keep students occupied as opposed to an instructional extension, it is a waste of time and effort. It is extremely important that students learn to socialize without technology. With a rapidly growing number of conversations taking place via the internet and texting, students are not learning how to communicate face-to-face and tend to shy away from that type of interaction which might work against them in future workplace scenarios. Interaction with a teacher and other students is crucial to the learning process, so technology should never fully replace those exchanges.
Similarly, technology, if used as a crutch, can hinder the development of students. The ease with which we can find information on the Internet can be a learning aid, but it has also somewhat lowered the expectations of both teachers and students.
It is easy for teachers to fall into the trap of technology by relying on their PowerPoint presentations and search engines to gather and present information to students. In the same way, it is no longer completely necessary for students to retain a majority of the material learned in school. Our answer to a wide range of academic questions or problems is “just Google it”. Since the answers to these questions are right at our fingertips at all times, we’re retaining less and searching the web more.
It seems to me that technology can be a really powerful educational tool, if used in the right way. I fear that one-day we will be doing “virtual science experiments” rather than actually performing those experiments right there in the classroom. There must be a balance. An effective classroom should incorporate class discussion, hands-on instruction, physical examples and the use of technology. Kathy Cassidy, a first grade teacher who blogs about her experiences in the classroom, perfectly articulates the point I am trying to emphasize, “technology should not be used to do what can be done without it.”
Bridget Goedke
Viewpoints Correspondent