Warren 1

Kayla Anne Warren Professor Malcolm Campbell English 1102 April 6, 2013 Technology: Integral Part of Society and Education As technology has been gradually introduced into the realm of education for several decades now, it has continually brought about new opportunities for students and educators. Also with it have come multiple challenges they both must learn to face as well. Examples for new opportunities include curriculums can now be customized, access to education has increased, and now that students come in contact with technology on a daily basis through cell phones, laptops, and computers they are more motivated to learn when using technology in the classroom. However, the downfall that comes with it is that now teachers have to spend extra time learning to use the new technology in their classroom before they can use it to teach. Students themselves now have to distinguish between the fine lines of being independent or becoming dependent on the technology. And parents are complaining that their children are losing creativity. The Huffington Post published an article discussing the argument that educational technology can either enhance the learning experience, or actually become detrimental to ones learning capabilities (Technology in the Classroom: Friend or Foe?). Personal Perspective How often do you walk into a public building in 2013 and there is not an access to WiFi? Not very often, right? Well now it is very rare to walk into in a classroom without having an access to Wi-Fi. With that being said, stepping into a class room in the United States in 2012, it was quite obvious that technology had taken over. According to Fast Facts, over ninety-seven

Warren 2

percent of schools in the United States alone have access to the internet and have at least one computer in every classroom. Class lessons and assignments throughout the day while in class are now being incorporated through technology such as with computer research, the use of smart boards, overhead projectors, digital cameras, laptops, and tablets (Fast Facts). Trouble with Online Assignments Educators recently have begun to resort to online forms of homework assignments for students, such as educational videos and webcasts to watch, math websites with questions and quizzes, and most study guides are sent out through email and linked into the PowerPoint presentations from class. It seems as if paper assignments are becoming a thing of the past. The Exponent Online had gathered information stating that online assignments are doing anything but helping students learn. If the online work is doing anything at all its allowing students to become more dependent on educational technology. They begin to start slacking on their work, become lazy and reliable on the technology to do everything for them (Exponent Online). If a student is conducting math homework online, there is no longer a need for them to work out every problem because they are not graded on how they come up with the answer, but now just the answer that is put in. Since they just put in an answer, how is a teacher supposed to know how they got it? Is that student going to even know how they got it? There are also those times students could input the correct answer but since no one is actually looking over it, besides the computer program, it could be counted as all wrong. With online assignments there are no efficient ways to ensure that students are actually learning what they need to learn, or if their assignments are even being graded correctly through the computer system (took out citation and moved to next paragraph).

Warren 3

Problems with PowerPoint Another source that may lead to both students and teachers slacking on their work is PowerPoint. In the beginning teachers used the Microsoft product, PowerPoint, solely as a guideline to their teaching lecture. Only short bullet points were provided, forcing teachers to really learn their topic perfectly and to be able to present their own knowledge without having to fully rely on everything they want to say being typed up on the screen. It would be rather redundant for a teacher to type up hundreds of words on a PowerPoint and then read every single one of them word for word, wouldnt you say? In my own experience, a few of my professors do that daily and I never get anything out of the lectures except for becoming annoyed. When students move their way up in school, they also begin making presentations in front of classes. Thats a point when students catch on to their teachers habits and begin to make the same mistakes. They lose that sense of adventure and creativity in wanting to find information and really present it. Students copy and paste what they find from Google and most of the times do not truly know what they are presenting to the class. They easily read the information off the screen and are beginning to lose that sense of critical thinking (Exponent Online). Opinions from Silicon Valley With that being said multiple parents, those of which are top technological executives removed comma of students living in the Silicon Valley, which is thriving with technological impulse, have stated that they believe their children should be educated in classrooms without any technology being used at all. Teachers in the Silicon Valley have announced they have the same beliefs. Those teachers curriculums no longer include technology as a necessity in the classroom or at home and students can complete all homework and other assignments without the use of a computer (Exponent Online).

Warren 4

Diminishing Creativity Those same parents, living in Silicon Valley, have also established the idea that through the use of so much technology their childrens creativity is being limited at a point when a childs creativity is most vital to their growing mind and body (moved citation). They believe that true learning and understanding comes from actual engagement through face to face contact with a teacher rather than sitting in front of a screen for an hour and a half searching through Google and running through their Facebook newsfeeds. Dana Stanley, a writer for Research Access, goes on to agree and say that as another parent she believes technology in the classroom is being used in the wrong way. It is being introduced in early elementary schools with the smart boards, and then later in middle school with students being given individual laptops or tablets. Stanley makes a point that as it is introduced early it is a good method of letting children get a taste of their futures in the real world, when theyll be working with technology the majority of the time. However Stanley goes on to say that when students are still using it in high school it no longer becomes a resource for education, but instead just another distraction and use for Facebook and Twitter in class. In high school those students are no longer being educated about the technology and different uses as they were to begin with. Students no longer are taught the beneficial computer programs and websites to enhance their learning (Stanley). Beginning of Opportunities On another note, a major opportunity for teachers through educational technology is explained by a recent graduate of the University of Tampa, Anson Alexander, who now conducts research as an IT director. Alexander has discovered that technology has made a way for educators to create customizable curriculums for individual students (Alexander). There was once a time when a teacher had one lesson plan and one way to teach it, which however never

Warren 5

meant that all of their students learned what was being taught. It has been brought to attention over the years that not all students learn the same way. Different students comprehend certain lessons they are taught through different teaching methods. Removed- Classes full of eager to learn students will not all learn the same way. For example, if two students were asked to read an assignment from a textbook and are then given questions afterwards, odds are that one will not fully comprehend what they read, causing them to not comprehend the questions as well. But what if that same student, who had trouble with the textbook, had the option to go online and complete a virtual activity teaching them the exact same topic, and then was tested with the questions given before? That student is more likely to understand that assignment, given that they were able to use a different style of learning; a style that fit their individual needs. When teachers have the option to customize lessons, students are able to reach their full potential. They understand what their teacher is teaching and they also understand their assignments better. Students are really able to excel in school (Alexander). Benefits of Customizable Curriculums To put this into perspective, and see how beneficial a customizable curriculum is, if you take a simple look around at your everyday life, you will soon notice that it is not just educational technology capable of being customized, but also the technology you may come in contact with on a daily basis. Think of your Facebook and being able to adjust who and what you see on your newsfeed, or how after multiple inputs Google begins to customize your searches. Your cell phones can even be customized by the backgrounds, cases, and what information you put in them. How much more efficient has your life become since these technological aids are catering to your every need? They now allow themselves to be modified for your assistance. It is really helpful is it not? Imagine how education will continue to become more efficient once all

Warren 6

teachers begin taking advantage of the ability to customize curriculums. No longer is anything a one size fits all format, but instead customizable on an individual basis (Alexander). Another valid point made by Anson Alexander about curriculums is that since technology is constantly changing and constantly being updated, it is now much easier for teachers to either continually update their curriculums or just update when needed. Of course forty years ago touch sensitive Smart Boards were un-thought of and encyclopedias were the big hit, and actually held quite a bit of information. However, the downfall was that in the amount of time it took to get an entire set finally published, it was already outdated (Alexander). Therefore the information being taught was already no good and teachers were basically wasting their time until they had the newest set. Then the cycle would just continue. Now, with the educational technology being able to update and the access to the internet in most classrooms, the information is always new and new techniques are always being created. As said earlier, with technology capable of updating itself periodically, it has become much easier, and not to mention much cheaper, to also maintain technology in the classroom. Years ago having to repeatedly buy new sets of encyclopedias every year began to get tedious and expensive. Now, a school will spend a chunk of money to buy the computers, but eventually it just pays for itself in the end. Theres no real maintenance on the objects unless something is physically broken on it. Education Affected Globally Not only has technology created those simple opportunities for classes here in the United States, but the technology also has created an abundant access to education around the world through online programs, traveling satellites, and more. Those programs have made it much cheaper to get an education, allowing individuals of all ages and with any wealth status to return for an education or pursue and education for their first time much easier. According to a graph,

Warren 7

shown by Jeff Dunn, a blog writer for Edudemic, the worlds access to education from 1970 to 2008 had doubled, the world literacy rate jumped ten percent, and the attendance in education globally increased by an incredible thirty percent, all because of the continual development of technology in schools (Dunn). Dependent or Independent? Through the negative research shown in previous paragraphs above, it was said that students are becoming too dependent on technology to get them through their studies. However, a study promoting educational technology has said students have become independent workers and more studious than ever since using computers daily. Several decades ago, education was based on introducing students to social skills and personal interaction that was a basic need later in life as well as serious critical thinking, and building up their creativity. If you realize though, those social skills were what allowed you to succeed through school and later career paths at that time. Now in present day, it seems as if everything is based through technology. Most jobs now will have a computer or some type of system to work from, even if its just communicating by email or on the telephone. Through doubts from several groups of interviewed parents believing those three ideas are slowly declining, education is still in fact introducing that real world experience- Research Access even concludes that students may learn better through the educational technology because of their day to day contact with typical technology like their cell phones and laptops. Students are now provided with special knowledge of technology which they will need in this digital age once they make it into the work force, rather than forcing all of the social skills needed in years prior. They are still receiving that personal contact, not only with classmates and teachers, but other individuals around the world through the internet (Stanley).

Warren 8

Educators Becoming Entertainers One other negative aspect is that through the daily use of technology the attention spans of the students have become shorter, therefore forcing educators to become entertainers, rather than remaining educators as they were meant to be, in order to keep the students attention while in the classroom (Richtel). It is said that students have become so caught up in using their own tech items, like their cell phone or laptop computer in class, they are lacking the focus needed to comprehend what exactly is being taught. Instead of being avid learners through their teacher, they are focusing on teaching themselves, becoming avid techies. Through the educational technology, communication skills are constantly changing as well. Over the last few decades, students and teachers alike have been capable of using technology, at home or in the classroom, to communicate with individuals around the world. Technology has allowed the global diversity, once only read through books, to be now be seen through videos, online interviews, and pictures, among other things. Conclusion To conclude, most parents have the idea that educational technology is ruining their children, or ruining the way in which they learn. But parents simply do not have the same vantage point of teachers. Teachers are able to work directly with the students for several hours daily and see firsthand the ways in which they act and how they work through the technology. Essentially teachers are spending more time with the students than the parents are. Even though parents and some teachers are labeling this lack of focus in the classroom as plain and common distraction, in reality that is simply the way in which the students process information now (Richtel). Through doubts of the technology, research through College Board has found that teachers reported computer use has made a positive impact on their students. Though that

Warren 9

research does not however help the fact that students may be creating their own dependencies on technology, becoming less aware of typical research habits and now using technology for everything they do. Teachers have reported to researchers that assignments have become less in depth and less important to the students (Richtel). As a student myself, I feel as though my education has been continually enhanced throughout my time in school. As times are changing and technology continues to become more popular, I use some type of technology daily. I believe I am learning better now with the use of technology because I do use it all the time, rather than several years ago before it was commonly found in every classroom. I personally feel that technology is very beneficial to education and should remain in the classroom.

Warren 10

Works Cited Alexander, Anson. 5 Reasons Technology Improves Education. Anson Alexander., January 16, 2012. Web. 6 April 2013. Dunn, Jeff. 5 Ways Education Has Changed In The Last Decade. Edudemic., January 5, 2012. Web. 6 April 2013. Fast Facts: Educational Technology. National Center for Educational Statistics., 2009. Web. 6 April 2013. Purell, Kristen. How Teachers Are Using Technology At Home And In Their Classrooms. Pew Research Center., February 23, 2013. Web. 6 April 2013. Richtel, Matt. Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say. The New York Times., November 1, 2012. Web. 6 April 2013. Rogers, Wes. Students- Technology In The Classroom. Shelby Education., n.d. Web. 6 April 2013. Rutman, Craig. Some Interesting and Eye Opening Facts About Technology in the Classroom. Active Rain., Web. 6 April 2013. Stanley, Dana. Tech Harmful to Education Say Some Tech Execs. Research Access., August 31, 2012. Web. 6 April 2013.

Warren 11

Technology Hurts More Than It Helps In Classes. The Exponent Online., October 25, 2011. Web. 6 April 2013. Technology in the Classroom: Friend or Foe?. The Huffington Post., October 26,2012. Web. 6 April 2013.