I remember when we first got SMARTboards in the classroom. It was grade 6 or 7, and it was the biggest deal ever (I still feel that way) for our class. I remember fighting to be the person to recalibrate or to write with the pens and it was a blessed day if you were the student chosen to erase the Smartboard. That was also the time where everyone was really excited about “body breaks” and I had to learn a plethora of dances like the Hoedown Throwdown, Soulja Boy, the Cha Cha Slide, and most importantly DOUBLE DREAM HANDS. (Please tell me I am not the only one who had to learn these sick moves).
As a teacher now, I can honestly say that my SMARTboard is a glorified projector, which makes me a little sad – but technology is much more than just a SMARTboard.
Rethinking Ed-Tech
Often, as educators (or parents), when we think about technology in education we think of cellphones, i-Pads, Chromebook carts, or (and I feel like I am dating myself here?) computer labs. But that is not the entirety of educational technology.
Joseph Lathan describes educational technology as “the technological tools and media that assist in the communication of knowledge, and its development and exchange.” This definition says nothing about what those tools look like, and when teachers jump on the anti-tech bandwagon they leave behind the most vulnerable of their students. Through my career I have had Deaf and HoH students, blind students, students with physical disabilities that does not allow them to learn in the same capacity as their peers, students with cognitive disabilities or trauma, and students who just need a little extra support to get them to the mastery of the outcomes. Without educational technology and the implementation of those tools, all of those students who are capable of success would have been left behind.
The Pros of Using Ed-Tech
When it comes to No Child Left Behind (Act), J Harris et al. (2016), states that schools should be teachings students how to use technology (whatever that looks like for them) so that they are literate (p. 368). Literacy does not just mean reading – but analyzing and synthesizing information with critical thinking skills – students cannot be literate in the world today without using technology of any kind. It just isn’t practical to not know how to use technologies to assist you, provide information, or to connect with other people. These skills, while they should be started at home (just like speaking, reading, and writing), teachers need to recognize that they too are responsible for creating aware and literate citizens.
Realizing that technology is never going away, and to refrain from sounding like my grandma (“kids these days and their technology…”), then teachers need to learn how to work with the technology as it comes into the classroom – because come into the classroom it will. D Furió et al. (2015), mentioned that students preferred using their i-Phone to a regular lesson plan, and the connection is easy to see (p. 198). Students are comfortable with their devices – they use them most of the day. Trying to eliminate or regress their technology skills by taking the access away isn’t going to get you anywhere in the classroom, except maybe crossed out in the yearbook for being a Scrooge.
The Realistic Struggles of Ed-Tech
There are also numerous drawbacks to technology in the classroom – specifically digital technology like phones and computers. As a senior ELA teacher I have noticed a few drawbacks in my students – things that other teachers have also noticed. Using technology in the classroom does not mean that the students actually know how to use it. We think to ourselves “oh well they should know how to Google or open a new document” but that isn’t always true. They know how to use technology for pleasure – not for academics. There has to be explicit teaching of how to use tools and technology for it to be an actual tool.
Beyond that, technology cannot replace physical reading and writing. Technology, as we all know, is unreliable. The school I used to work at had day long power outages at times and the students need to have workable and legible writing skills. Now, that is not to say that students need to know how to write in cursive, but I have noticed that many of my students struggle with pencil grip and the formation of printed letters. I think that it is easy to connect typing/tapping with the regression of physical pencil writing. I suppose then what really needs to happen is a balance of typing and writing practice so that students are prepared to communicate effectively no matter the medium.
Another barrier to technology, or a struggle really, is that some teachers just do not wish to learn or use it. Some schools have more money and can afford it have their teachers attend technology PD so they have the opportunities to learn and use new technology and applications. Schools that tend to have less money have then teachers who are more hesitant to engage in new technologies because they lack the skills and confidence (Warschauer et al., 2010). I have seen this first hand with different schools, but also the age of teachers.
Overall, I would say that technology only enhances learning if there are skills to do the learning in the first place. There needs to be preliminary work done ahead of time by the teachers and the school to ensure that all parties, including students, are using technology appropriately for learning experiences.
Sources:
- Furió, D., Juan, M.-C., Seguí, I., & Vivó, R. (2015). Mobile learning vs. traditional classroom lessons: a comparative study. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 31(3), 189–201. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12071
- Harris, J. L., Al-Bataineh, M. T., & Al-Bataineh, A. (2016). One to One Technology and its Effect on Student Academic Achievement and Motivation. Contemporary Educational Technology, 7(4), 368-. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/6182
- Warschauer, M., Matuchniak, T., Pinkard, N., & Gadsden, V. (2010). New Technology and Digital Worlds: Analyzing Evidence of Equity in Access, Use, and Outcomes. Review of Research in Education, 34(1), 179–225. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X09349791
Thank you for sharing this insightful post, Savannah! Your exploration of technology’s role in education and the nuanced perspective on its benefits and drawbacks is thought-provoking. The discussion on how technology can enhance learning and present challenges, such as the need for explicit instruction on academic use, resonates deeply. Your emphasis on balancing traditional methods and tech integration is crucial. How do you think educators can best prepare to address both the benefits and challenges of using technology in the classroom?
Thanks, Allysia! I think that teachers are as prepared as they can be – we are also still learning about technology and how to use it in the classroom. The best way to be prepared is to be educated (and teachers should indeed be lifelong learners)!
Thanks Savannah!
I think it’s easier to get caught up in the hype around new gadgets, but your remarks regarding the true benefits and limitations of educational technology are exactly right. Technology should improve learning, not replace fundamental abilities such as handwriting. It is critical for students and teachers to understand how to use these resources successfully. While technology has the potential to transform the game, it must be balanced with conventional approaches and implemented carefully. Thank you for sharing these observations, which remind us that technology is a tool, not a solution for everything.