Technology: coming to a classroom near you?

Technology has become an integrated part of students’ lives.  Students keep connected via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and texting.  They write papers on computers, research topics on the internet and now even have electronic books.  It seems that allowing technology in the classroom may become inevitable because of the large role technology has in students’ lives.

This year, freshmen and juniors in regular history classes did not receive hard copies of their textbooks; they were given online textbooks.  Students have to do reading assignments, reading comprehension questions and all their studying online. History teacher Matthew Stoner uses the online textbooks in his World History 9 class.

“I like that you can fit a lot of information into a lot less space,” Stoner said.  “But laptop technology is not yet suitable for all the needs of students, but tabloids are.  Until tabloid technology is available, it’s just a big mess.  We’re going in the right direction, but doing it the wrong way and way too fast.”

Stoner points out some flaws with the push for online textbooks but is not completely opposed to them.

“I love it when it works, but it doesn’t always work,” Stoner said. “That’s the problem.”

The move to use online history textbooks is just one consequence of a recent push from the school board to allow technology in the classroom.  Behind the curtain, some board members are advocating to allow students to have technology, such as cell phones and iPads, in class.

“I’m told that there is a movement to bring technology into the forefront of everything done in the classroom,” Latin teacher Norman Achin said.  “I’ve heard few details as to how the board will accomplish this, in light of other directives they have set.”

The idea is that allowing technology in class is a great step forward in the technological age to integrate learning and technology;  however, having technology in the classroom will take up time that teachers simply do not have.

“Any classroom teacher will say that use of cell phones, iPods, iPads, etc., create enormous classroom management challenges,” Achin said.  “Furthermore, training would be needed in order to effectively manage technology as tools in the classroom, and time is limited.”

Not only does it take time, it can make cheating easier and become a distraction for many students.

“There is tremendous challenge on the part of students to engage in a variety of distracting and distractable activities, such as checking emails, surfing the web and sending text messages,” Achin said.

Junior Alexander Watson agrees with Achin that technology in school is a bad idea.

“Technology provided by the school has already proved to be a distraction and detrimental to our learning,” Watson said.  “There have been several cases of students playing games on school computers already, so allowing the technology simply worsens the problem.”

Although some students see both sides of the argument, of fifty students polled, ninety-two percent voted that technology like iPods, iPads and cell phones should be allowed for use in classrooms; however, Watson remains adamant that technology in school is just a horrible experience waiting to happen.

“Technology in school has precedence of being impractical, distracting and a legal nightmare,” Watson said.

classroom, online, technology, textbook Features, Issue 1, Print