I know anyone who is in education would say that technology is here to stay. The question is, is it worth the consuming amount of time, emphasis, training, and money that is being funneled into the education to learn and incorporate its use? There is no doubt that the introduction of Google (and other browsers), as a means to search for anything you or your student's imagination could possibly dream of, has been a real boon to learning. It has made knowledge accessible to children and adults in ways previously unimaginable. Access to original resource, and source materials is amazing. The ability to share data, information, and collaborate has become so much easier, in so many unimagined ways. Vast amounts of knowledge are now available at the click of a button. And due to the ability of the computer to process massive amounts of data we are ale to explore areas with ease that was formerly undreamt of by anyone. We can now walk on the moon with Google earth. lf you study any business or country in the world, you can find information first hand. These are just a few of the possibilities that greatly enhances education.
Let's talk about reality in schools today. Many of the schools' infrastructure are very old. Classroom temperatures are either too cold, or too hot, not very conducive to learning. If that is not the problem, it may be that there are not enough chairs or tables. Equipment is missing or doesn't work because it is old and broken due to the schools' being underfunded. In technology labs, if you are lucky enough to have one, software is never up to date, and support is short due to school cuts and added responsibilities. In one school, the windows leaked; rain came in one of my classes while the windows were closed. There were puddles of water on the classroom floor. The students and I sat in a classroom in our winter coats, due to the cold and lack of heat. There were several elementary schools I taught in that had a radiator which banged so loudly, the ability to do silent reading was very questionable. In the United States testing has become the new mantra. Does anyone know the percentage of the education budget that New York City is spending yearly on testing and related training? Class sizes are growing even though every educator and administrator knows smaller is better. How much is being spent on keeping class size small?
How much is being spent on technology? Lets talk about technology in the classroom. For that to be done well, each child really needs his/her own computer. Few teachers have access to such resources, or even a decent internet connection. If they are lucky they have a computer room. Most, in reality, the luckier teachers, have one computer in their classroom.
Plagiarism is a major concern now that people know how to easily copy and paste. Why write your own ideas when it is already written? Plagiarism has gotten so pervasive that teachers and schools are requiring plagiarism checkers (turnitin.com) as a requirement for submission of writing.(ah technology to monitor technology).
Mobile phones have increased access to a variety of wonderful options. Such as the use of videos, and photography that can be easily used in class activities. The affordability, power, speed, and versatility of the cell phones make them now comparable to a computer and also makes cheating on a larger scale easier than ever before. Everyone has a mobile phone that is never far from their person.
Stuyvesant Students Describe Rationale for Cheating - NYTimes.com
Pressure from expectations have made many children and adults choose to cheat (expectations due to test scores as a determining factor of success). Or simply the attitude that they won't get caught.
Social Media has become an integral part of our lives. Should it be in the classroom? Kids live on platforms like Facebook and other similar sites. They are up late in the night and are coming to school tired. Phones in the class are ,in many schools,banned. Parents seem unable to set boundaries. Students no longer seem to have acceptable time constraints and limits. Calls are made and taken everywhere at any time, texts continue during meal, sleep and class time.
Cyberbullying is now a serious issue. Yes it still happens in the school grounds and off but with technology, saying sorry does not remove the offending harassment and it is very nasty.
Facts about cyber bullying - pacer.org
So there is no doubt the internet and the various technology can enhance learning, but at what cost? It is changing so fast that it is a full time job to keep up with it all. Are we loosing perspective by pressure from the technology industries? The more we want technology the more we buy. The software and related industries are the only ones that produce and sell products where it is acceptable when they don't work, hence the "patches" and upgrades. Should funding focus on the infrastructure and smaller classes? Creativity is not synonymous with technology. In fact musicians have to learn notes and study those who played before them as artists learn painting, acting and plays. We forget technology is a tool like a paintbrush, not a substitute for imagination, creativity, dreaming, determination ,and learning. It was because of these abilities the technologies came into being. Let's face it seeing a painting on the desktop is not the same as seeing it in person. Looking at a cool 3D image of a disease is not the same as finding its cure.
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