Tech and Memorization

We had two debates this week in class, one being whether or not technology should be used in the classroom. And the second being whether or not googleable facts should be taught in class. I am going to go over the first debate first, whether or not technology should be used in the classroom.

I was quite surprised by the debate, before the debate I definitely agreed that technology should be used in the classroom. I mean we are literally taking a class all about it. But after hearing the debate, I was not so confident in my prior opinion. There were many great arguments from both sides and even after hearing both I am not sure which I completely agree with. One major argument during the debate was how distracting technology can be, and how it can easily cause students to get off task. While this may be true, I feel like a good counter argument was made, that students that do not want to focus will be off task, with or without technology. It is not the technologies fault that students are distracted, it is the student’s and teacher’s responsibility to use technology wisely. And after reading the articles shared by Logan and Jocelyn, while both made good points, I feel that the best possible scenario is a combination or using technology, and also not using it, depending on the situation. One of Logan’s articles was about the benefits of using technology in the classroom. and there were many great points in the article, like encouraging individual learning and learning useful tech skills. One article from Jocelyn was similar, explaining why we should not use technology in the classroom. Again there were great point in this article, like the issue of equity and a poor technological infrastructure. Overall, I feel like a combination of the two views is what is really required in classrooms. The issue of equity may be relevant in come schools, and that should be considered when using technology in the classroom. But I feel that if everyone has the chance to use the technology, and it can be used responsibly, than it should be used in classrooms.

Moving on to the second debate, discussing of googleable facts should be taught. Many good points were made from either side again. And after debating in class back and forth, we all realized it is difficult to reach a decision with so many unknowns. What exactly counts as a googleable fact? Where do we draw the line? We all kind of realized a combination of both views again was a better solution. Some simple facts like dates or definitions do not necessarily need to have as much time spent on them as they are now. And with this time saves, social skills and life skills should be focused on more. Looking at an article that agrees with teaching memorization, they focus on the importance that it is important to improve our memory and use context. Where as an opposing article speaks about children being unable to think critically due to the way we learn in schools. Again, a combination of both sides is a great way to compromise and build both memory and critical thinking. Both are important and should be important for a young child to work on.

Overall, both debates were fantastic and it was great seeing the class go back and forth with their thoughts. In my opinion I feel both sides of both debates had good points and ideas and I would say that both sides of the debates have ideas we should incorporate into classrooms today.