Gains & Losses When Using Technology in the classroom
I was in school between the years of 2000 and 2018, and during this time, I saw the use of technology in classrooms completely boom. When I think back to my grade school days, I remember the only technology in my Kindergarten classroom was the big box T.V. that hung in the corner of our classroom. Fast forward to eighth grade where we were using SmartBoard technology and using laptops were common. To think that in 10 years I went from starting with barely any technology in my classroom, to being fully surrounded by technology is unreal.
This week when reading Chapters 7 & 8 in Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology, I found the idea of gains and losses pretty intriguing. I have highlighted and bulleted some gains and losses for using technology in the classroom.
Gains:
Losses:
Where do I stand?
In my opinion, I believe that there are more gains than losses when using technology in the classroom. Whether I like it or not, my students know more about some technologies than I do. I do believe that technology is engaging, but sometimes I think that they can be a little "too engaging" (distracting). I like that I can use technology to differentiate my instruction and students can immerse themselves in programs at their level. If we would have had the COVID-19 pandemic years go, I can only imagine what schooling would have looked like, but thanks to technology being more available and accessible, students were able to continue their learning safely in their homes. I rely on technology every day, and as our world becomes more and more technology-driven, it will be essential that students learn how to use it in school.
The thing that I struggle with is that they do come to school knowing even more about technology than me. Even though our classroom is 1:1 iPads, I spend most of my time teaching my kindergarten students to use a pencil and scissors. As important as technology is in our world, I still believe that they need to know the basics.
ReplyDeleteI was also in school throughout those same years and to think about the growth in just my school years is unbelievable! I would agree with you that there ultimately more gains than loses when it comes to technology use in the classroom. I totally agree with the fact that sometimes technology can be more distracting than engaging. This is especially true if your students often misuse technology or frequently try to sneak on other tabs and other things.
ReplyDeleteThis school year I have found that constant access to tablets, with the alure of the internet, Netflix, games, and anything else that is not math, has been too tempting for some of my highschoolers. Subsequently, I have been experimenting with paper guided notes as opposed to digital guided notes. While students still use their tablets in my class for everything else that we do, I have found this shift (if only for a unit) has made a huge difference in my classes that tend to wander when given the opportunity. While I love the technology that we have, and its benefits are not to be discounted, I also think a break from screens every once and a while has shown to be anecdotally beneficial for my students.
ReplyDeleteSalem,
ReplyDeleteI think I have mentioned before that you TV was probably provided by Whittle Communications out of Knoxville as part of the Channel 1 program. Excellent reflection on pros and cons and summary conclusion. Also, great feedback from your peers. Well done!