In today’s
world there is a huge push for the use of technology, whether it is in the
workforce or in the classroom. After reading some articles on the matter it becomes
apparent that there is different point of views whether or not the increase of
technology is a good thing.
A survey was takin by PBS Learning
Media that focused on teacher technology usage. The survey looked at many
aspects of technology usage in the classroom. The results were very much in
favor of the technology increase in the classroom. Most teachers said that the
education technology had increased their ability to teach. That it made lesson
plans easier, increased student interest, and helped prepare students for a 21st
century workforce. The one negative I seen from these surveys was the want for
more technology in the classroom, with 75% of that need coming from low income
school districts. If the use of this technology really is as important to
learning and the future of our country, then it needs to be accessible to all
schools. Coming from low income school districts it is likely that a lot students
are not getting much technology use at home either. So this is forcing these
students to fall even further behind in the large demand for technologic
experts.
Michael
W. Apple brought up some important statistics in his article. While this
article seemed to be older it still had some relevant information on the
relation to how many jobs are effected by technology. Also the percent of jobs
where these technological skills were required. The most important thing from
this article was how this technology was going to affect the future. To make
sure that this technology is really helping with education and is not being
used for other reasons. We need to be certain that this technological future is
accessible to all of our students, not just the ones that have the money to afford
it.
So where
do we draw the line. The large increase in technology has really made outstanding
contributions to our society. Making many things much easier. The use of smart boards,
projectors, computers and the internet have made large strives for education possibilities.
It allows for the teacher or the students to find out any information in a
blink of an eye. Also allows for teacher to reach more learning styles than
before. But there are issues. How far does this technology need to go? Will we
as humans begin to lose skills that were once naturally acquired because of
this technology? This can already be seen in today’s generation with their lack
of being able to communicate with people. If this continues schools will need
to implement classes to teach people how to communicate. Technology so far is definitely
a good thing, but there are certain things that technology should not be needed
for. This is important to remember in the future.
