Can Technology be both a sanctification and a jinx for K-12 students? That's a decision that varies, it has its pros and cons to balance it out. In this article I recently read, K-12 Technology: Benefits and Drawbacks discusses how education has advanced rapidly through the last few decades, how technology can either be better or be worse for the generation’s successfulness in the future and how technology has completely changed the way children look at life. I agree with this author’s point of view and I really believe that students have advanced just as fast as technology has. Most students know how to work computers, tablet and etc. and love looking up everything over the internet. They prefer advancing their knowledge through online resources rather than through books. The way children access things nowadays is complete different then children did in the past. It’s like children are programed to use technology to look things up. In this day in age instead of kids picking up a dictionary to look up a word, they pull out their iPod, iPad, phones and etc. and use Google search. I completely agree with the author when he said “kids arrive to Kindergarten with an advanced idea of instant gratification. They know that any game, program or form of communication is available at the touch of a button.” This totally amazes me, it’s shocking how different children are today than what they once were.
As an educators technology is needed in order to keep children interested on what is being taught in the classrooms. Kids today get bored and lose focus if they’re just learning out of a hard copy of a text book. Learning needs to be enjoyable but at the same time beneficial. Teachers can incorporate technology in so many ways such as, YouTube videos, photographs, test, assignments, learning tools and etc. throughout the day. But technology can also go wrong for a teacher; the power can go out or the electronic can break, in this case they will need a backup plan to continue on with the lesson. Technology is better for students that are visual learns, but what about the students that are read/write? That’s why teaching needs to incorporate more than just technology. They need to use the textbooks, use paper for some test and give writing assignments.
As a parent technology can be an excellent use as a learning tool for children. Most parents nowadays do not have the chance to help children with homework assignments, research papers and projects. But now they have computers and tablets to research and advance their knowledge on topics by just using a search engine. Technology can also be an issue for parents that cannot afford them. Not everyone is financially stable in order to provide computers, internet and tablets for their kids, in this case they need their children to use books and encyclopedias to do research.
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| Photo credit to Lucelia Ribeiro from Flickr Resources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-lynch-edd/k-12-technology-benefits_b_3820538.html |
Great analysis of the varied points pulled from the article...and super CC photo to enhance the points! From what I read, it sounds like you believe there are probably more good reasons then not to utilize technology in the classroom. Like anything, there are potential drawbacks, but weighing the pros and cons is an important first step for making good judgment! :)
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