Technology in education. As Thanos said "Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives." That is technology in education and it is coming, better yet it's already here! Now don't get me wrong, technology is used for so many positive things. On our computers, ipads, cell phones, alexa's, google homes, the list goes on and on. I'll be the first to say I use my cell phone for just about anything from finding out the weather for next week or where the nearest taco or empanadas place (can't go wrong either way!). Technology is changing education in a way that makes accessing grades, homework, or projects easier than ever. There used to be a time, depending on where you lived during the winter months when you would get a few snow days from school. This was both good and bad. Yes, you would get the day off but you would have to make the day up you missed at the end of the school year. That has changed though because of technology in education which I think is awesome! E-learning days are now being introduced to students and teachers as a way of still completing assignments on snow days and not having to worry about making up any days at the end of the year.
Now for the yang part of technology, the negative part of it. Technology has made accessing classwork so much easier than ever before but it also introduced way more distractions. So many times during class you will find a student that isn't doing the assignment or following along with the teacher on their ipad. Instead, you will find them on you tube, watching videos or on their cell phones looking at snapchat or tik tok. However, the brilliant minds that be have also created apps where teachers can lock their students ipads where they cannot access any other apps on their ipads besides the app they are supposed to be using. Teachers can't do much with the cell phones besides enforce a no cell phone while in class policy. With so many distractions that technology can bring into education with students having such easy access to whatever app they want I still feel like there are more positives than negatives with technology.
Now for the yang part of technology, the negative part of it. Technology has made accessing classwork so much easier than ever before but it also introduced way more distractions. So many times during class you will find a student that isn't doing the assignment or following along with the teacher on their ipad. Instead, you will find them on you tube, watching videos or on their cell phones looking at snapchat or tik tok. However, the brilliant minds that be have also created apps where teachers can lock their students ipads where they cannot access any other apps on their ipads besides the app they are supposed to be using. Teachers can't do much with the cell phones besides enforce a no cell phone while in class policy. With so many distractions that technology can bring into education with students having such easy access to whatever app they want I still feel like there are more positives than negatives with technology.
Wonderful! I just so loved the way post started and I couldn't wait to keep reading. I also appreciate how you brought in the idea of e-learning.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with the idea that our lives are very intertwined with technology. The snow day example was perfect when it comes to how much we rely on the internet. When it is cold, the first thing I do is check my email (on my phone) to see if we have a snow day. The kid's parents are sent a text message. E-learning days are interesting. The district I work in doesn't have e-learning days, so it's cool to know that other districts have found a solution to making up snow days.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with the idea of the necessity of technology, what do you think is a valid solution to keeping kids on task, other than locking apps? In other words, how do we limit distractions while also giving kids the freedom to use technology independently?
I would like to believe that students deserve a chance of having responsibility and in this case the responsibility of using the ipad appropriately. I would try to limit distractions by making the classroom expectations clear. I would address the students and let them know if we get the agenda done for what we have in class today, there will be 5 minutes at the end to answer our exit slip and then free time on your ipads.
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