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Technology In School: Handy or Harmful?

We live in a Digital Age, one that many have grown to embrace and accept. There’s no doubt that technology has made our lives more convenient, leading many to ask the question, “At what cost?” It’s true, technology is an inseparable part of society today, influencing everyone’s lives, and it’s started to take root in schools. Many draw the line here, not wanting to blur the lines between learn and play, but who says they can’t work together? Technology can be a valuable tool in a learning environment, if it’s used in a proper and focused environment.

Empire High School has jumped in head first, replacing all textbooks with iBooks. “School officials believe the electronic materials will get students more engaged in learning,” says Arthur H. Rotstein, author of the article that reported on the school in Tucson, Arizona. And while it’s true, students love technology and are fully capable of understanding its uses; it’s led some, like technology-integration specialist Tim Wilson, to ask, “How do we communicate with students today who have grown up with technology from the beginning?”. Some people are worried that children are being wrongly influenced by technology, thrown into a world that no longer cares for books. In the words of a computer scientist himself, “American high school students have never read one Mark Twain novel…” and “Most American children don’t know what a symphony is”. He goes on to claim that American high school students are “bad at science, useless at mathematics, [and] hopeless at writing”. But this seems like a rush to conclusions; after all, aren’t all children’s personal preferences purely circumstantial? Part of the argument against integrating technology in classrooms is that “There is no quality control on the Internet”, exposing children to all the bad of the world. But no quality control also means full access to the good as well. Angel Boligan’s cartoon on children today portrays a child locked inside a dark room, with only a TV to stare at.But is it really the technology we should blame? What is the role of parenting in this age? Shouldn’t they be the monitors of access, quality, and in what quantity children are exposed? Even author and adult Steven Johson admits to enjoying writing on a computer to writing on paper (D). And does a more efficient means of writing to some mean that the ways of others are suddenly overlooked? Of course not. Again, everyone has their own preferences, and if to many student’s that preference is technology, why not indulge?

Most things are acceptable in the proper amount. Of course, an unlimited and unrestricted amount of technology can be bad. But in a school environment, students usually find technology to be helpful. According to Esther Dyson, author of “What We Believe But We Cannot Prove: Today’s Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty”, modern life has turned, “every minute not used productively into an opportunity lost” (C). But that’s not to say that every minute not used technologically is an opportunity lost. People like to use their time efficiently and effectively- and in honest truth, technology helps with these things. And even so, it seems incorrect to focus purely on average. Many people still prefer books over television, toys over video games, and outside over inside. It’s all a matter of preference.

Back to the note of quantity. If technology is used in a schooling environment, it should be okay, as long as education remains the focus. What should a school consider before mixing technology with instruction? How controlled the material will be, how often the technology will be used and in what form, but most importantly- how helpful it will be to the students. If the children and the students are the priority instead of the scapegoat in the digital age, progress can be made. Education has already been expanded and helpful in sharing work, getting help and even communication. Programs like Google Classroom and Khan Academy do more than provide answers, they provide knowledge. And, they provide the information that students can be left at a loss for in certain classes. Yes, the internet is knowledge at our fingertips, but schools have the power to block the “bad knowledge”, weed out the danger, and only use the good.

It’s true the internet and technology can be seen as a danger at times. But it’s a slippery slope to claim that technology is dangerous to everyoneall the time. If we only looked at it as a tool to help, and enforced proper digital precautions at home- we could open up an incredible system of educational growth.

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