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Does technology deserve such a prominent place in the classroom?
Whist technology may not be perfect, it certainly doesn't deserve the bad rep its often given.
‘Yeah...but Siiiir!, we have calculators on our phones now, why do we need to learn maths anyway?’, has been said by every secondary school student at least once in their life. Teachers would always reply with something about how you can’t rely on technology and the pupils would roll their eyes and get on with their work with resentment.
Many of those who are more skeptical of technology taking such a prominent place in the classroom assume that as we allow technology to aide us more and more in the home and the classroom that it will eventually spiral out of control and our children will be raised both at home and school by computers like something out of an episode of Charlie Brooker’s ‘Black Mirror’.
What I think these people are missing, is that there is so SO much we can learn from technology, we have the power to find out anything we want at our fingertips. The use of phones, iPads and laptops in the classroom are such an excellent asset, instead of an entire class using the same limited and sometimes out of date text books, it is now easier than ever for students to create varied, interesting and widely sourced presentations, debate arguments and ‘open book’ essay answers.
Sites, such as ‘Kahoot’, make class interaction more exciting and less scary for many students and it forces everyone in the class to get involved without singling anyone out.
While writing this article I came across many other pieces written against technology- many of them fearing that ‘Computers will soon outnumber the students!’
Am I the only one who thinks this is a great thing?
This means that every student will be able to work at the same time, be able to do their own research and create media for class- group computer work will now no longer be forced but instead only be used to practice teamwork and interpersonal skills.
One of the tech fearing articles went on to include facts like ‘’88 per cent of teen internet users go on the internet more than once a day.''
So what??!!
They went on to suggest that because of this it is fair to say that access to the internet and technology in school may not actually be beneficial. As long as proper filters are put in place on the school WiFi network so that the students can’t get distracted from their work this is absolutely not the case!
Now I don’t think that technology (other than projectors and the like) should be used in every lesson as it’s not always necessary but it is definitely an excellent asset which can help students to engage, enhance their learning and to enjoy what they are learning more.
74% of teachers now rely on technology to create material such as lesson plans and handouts, and with GCSE grades, on average, rising every year it’s fair to assume that tech plays a part in this.
Technology might not be all good, yes,
But it’s not all bad either. There is no doubt that it deserves a place in our schools, homes and everyday life.
Whist technology may not be perfect, it certainly doesn't deserve the bad rep its often given.
‘Yeah...but Siiiir!, we have calculators on our phones now, why do we need to learn maths anyway?’, has been said by every secondary school student at least once in their life. Teachers would always reply with something about how you can’t rely on technology and the pupils would roll their eyes and get on with their work with resentment.
Many of those who are more skeptical of technology taking such a prominent place in the classroom assume that as we allow technology to aide us more and more in the home and the classroom that it will eventually spiral out of control and our children will be raised both at home and school by computers like something out of an episode of Charlie Brooker’s ‘Black Mirror’.
What I think these people are missing, is that there is so SO much we can learn from technology, we have the power to find out anything we want at our fingertips. The use of phones, iPads and laptops in the classroom are such an excellent asset, instead of an entire class using the same limited and sometimes out of date text books, it is now easier than ever for students to create varied, interesting and widely sourced presentations, debate arguments and ‘open book’ essay answers.
Sites, such as ‘Kahoot’, make class interaction more exciting and less scary for many students and it forces everyone in the class to get involved without singling anyone out.
- For those unfamiliar with the wonderful site that is Kahoot, it allows teachers, or students, to make quizzes based on what they have been teaching in class, or readymade ones, which will be shown via projector onto the board. The students can use their own phones or school iPads, tablets or computers to join the quiz and the questions that they can see on the board. The teacher can choose whether or not to make it public as to who answered what making it much less daunting for students who don’t like to answer in class. It is also possible for the teacher to set the settings so that the round will not end until every student has answered.
While writing this article I came across many other pieces written against technology- many of them fearing that ‘Computers will soon outnumber the students!’
Am I the only one who thinks this is a great thing?
This means that every student will be able to work at the same time, be able to do their own research and create media for class- group computer work will now no longer be forced but instead only be used to practice teamwork and interpersonal skills.
One of the tech fearing articles went on to include facts like ‘’88 per cent of teen internet users go on the internet more than once a day.''
So what??!!
- Maybe they were searching for something that they heard in class and wanted to find out more about?
- Or perhaps they were messaging a friend or relative from another town or country or continent?
- Or maybe they were just relaxing and having some down time while watching Netflix?
They went on to suggest that because of this it is fair to say that access to the internet and technology in school may not actually be beneficial. As long as proper filters are put in place on the school WiFi network so that the students can’t get distracted from their work this is absolutely not the case!
Now I don’t think that technology (other than projectors and the like) should be used in every lesson as it’s not always necessary but it is definitely an excellent asset which can help students to engage, enhance their learning and to enjoy what they are learning more.
74% of teachers now rely on technology to create material such as lesson plans and handouts, and with GCSE grades, on average, rising every year it’s fair to assume that tech plays a part in this.
Technology might not be all good, yes,
- things can go wrong
- it can crash
- power cuts can happen
- its evolving so fast that it is possible to be left behind-
But it’s not all bad either. There is no doubt that it deserves a place in our schools, homes and everyday life.