There were several articles pertaining to current events in education that I considered positing about, and most of which addressed the integration of technology in the classroom. One discussed how a physical education teacher was incorporating iPads and the Nintendo Wii into his gym class, while another discussed how one school took a decidedly different approach and has their students gardening and embracing nature in hopes of teaching teamwork, respect for the community and education, and humanitarianism. I recently had a discussion with a family member who was outraged that his son had to do a report without using the internet. Aside from making me feel old, this encouraged me to think about the future of education.
This article that I stumbled across is about a local school district that just announced that they will be providing tablets for students and staff in grades K-12. This major integration of technology has presented differences of opinion within the community. One advantage to a technological approach to education is the fact that we live in a world of technological advancements, so learning how to utilize these devices is almost a necessity. Another advantage is that this will centralize assignments and allow students to access more current information. Also, this opens the door for a different type of interactive learning.
There are also some disadvantages to a completely technological education. While the internet does contain some useful information, how will educators ensure that students learn to differentiate between reliable and unreliable sources? Will this decrease face-to-face communication between teachers, students, and their families? Will social skills and public speaking no longer be a major focus of schools? Will this put students who attend schools that cannot afford these devices at a disadvantage?
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/03/11/hilliard-schools-to-provide-tablets-for-all.html
I agree that there are both advantages and disadvantages to technology in education. I think students should be taught how to search the internet effectively to find appropriate and quality resources. I definitely think that technology puts a barrier up for social skills just for the fact that there is less face to face time with others. Technology doesn't allow for much facial expression and interpretation. It is typically on text alone. I think this makes it difficult to have friendships and communication outside of texts, emails, twitter, facebook, etc. I just feel like there needs to be a balance between social interactions in person and communication through technology.
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