Schools should no longer teach skills that can be easily carried out by technology.

Both teams’ presentations wowed me. I was really torn between whether schools should no longer teach skills easily carried out by technology or not, as both teams gave very compelling and convincing arguments. Students in the 21st-century are digital natives. They have grown up with technology, and it’s woven into their lives.

However, in this case, I cannot say remove technology, but I’m attempting to strike a balance based on the skills (multiplication tables, spelling, and cursive writing).

I cannot imagine being able to function without having access to my “twelve times tables” in my head. Before I perform any calculation using a calculator or other apparatus, I first rough it out in my head, rounding some values up and others down to at least get a ballpark result against which I can compare my machine-generated result. It is acceptable to utilize technology to make things easier as long as we know how to do things without them; yet, if we hand over even the most basic skills (foundational skills) to technology, what will we do if everything changes, technology stops or fails or…..? Just because technology can do something, it does not mean it should.

Teachers and students have become so reliant on technology that they have forgotten the basics of math concepts, spelling, and more. Knowledge of multiplication tables, spelling, cursive writing, etc. without technology conveys the attributes of Bloom’s taxonomy which improves students’ critical thinking, composition, reading comprehension, brain function, motor skills, etc.

That said, students will recall information that is relevant to them, while they will just go through the motions and forget about information or skill that is irrelevant to their lives. It should be a bonus rather than a requirement. While technology has changed everything, the need to incorporate those aforementioned core skills now depends on the educator’s approach (pedagogy) with or without technology to ensure successful and efficient long-term learning.

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