Technology taking over the classroom

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Anita bell on December 26, 2012 at 12:03pm

I am for technology and is a must for growth, but some learners learn differently and need to write with a pen in the process of retaining information. 

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Permalink Reply by Theresa Young on December 27, 2012 at 1:37pm

Hi Melissa,

I think, as teachers, we can really use technologies to our advantage when teaching. I am very keen to allow my students the opportunity to develop their IT skills in my class and I embed this into my lessons in the form of on-line games and quizzes. Some of my students are reluctant to engage with this form of learning (mostly the older students) so I encourage the students who are confident using technology to help these students.

However, I have encountered many tutors who do not use technology in the class as they don't see the relevance or need. Additionally, it can take time to find resources and websites that are useful and appropriate to the range of learners. Unfortunately, this can add extra strain to the teachers busy schedule.

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Permalink Reply by Roland Baggott on December 27, 2012 at 6:44pm

Hi Melissa,

As a teacher in training I can only bring a relatively limited opinion on technology. During a recent team tecahing session I was helping in, the student were tasked with making a set of 6 multiple choice questions on the subject of Health and Safety. Together with 6 other groups all questions were used in a revision exercise as a second part of the lesson with a healthy competition to get the most answers. It certainly did encourage the students to look on the internet for more obscure questions which years ago would have been hard to find. Did it add value to the outcome .. I believe yes in that the students became more competent at researching in their quest for knowledge. I would argue that this was student centred learning of which Piaget would have been proud of. Roland Baggott

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Permalink Reply by Aimee Whatson on January 2, 2013 at 5:25am

Hi Melissa,

I am also all for technology in classrooms but I don't think it should be used so much that it replaces pens and paper etc. Technology is always changing which is why I think it is important to be used, it also helps to use i.c.t skills across the curriculum. You can demonstrate things through technology that you couldn't do on a whiteboard. Also, if every student had an iPad to use, I'm sure that if time limits were in placed so no one would go 'off-task' students would be fully engaged and enjoy learning. I do also agree with Anita that some learners still like a pen and paper. I am one of these people. Although I enjoy technology I do like to write it all down as I find that's the only way I retain the information.

Some teachers choose not to use technology because they don't believe it to be beneficial to the learning process, or another issue could be that they don't know how to use the technology themselves so are scared to try and use it in front of a class.

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Permalink Reply by Alex Dawson on January 3, 2013 at 6:50am

I am all for a healthy balance between using technology and a good old pen and board. I think that moving too far one way or the other may leave students at a disadvantage as they may not be able to use technology or cannot use their brains and hand write a report for instance. We should also make sure that all resources are available for all students to use if they learn better by writing or typing. 

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Permalink Reply by Keeley Knowles on January 3, 2013 at 8:13am

I agree, Alex.

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Permalink Reply by Keeley Knowles on January 3, 2013 at 6:52am

Hello Melissa,

I am a fan of pen and paper.  I agree that technology in the classroom is beneficial and can really aid learning in this day and age. However, many of us like to doodle and to explore tangible things (I much prefer a book to a Kindle). I do not find my iPad thrilling (it's useful but it leaves me cold).  I do love (as my friends know and I bore them about it!) my fountain pens and ink.  I have always found it easier to revise from my own handwriting as opposed to another's printed text or via the computer screen as my own handwriting (and scribbles) prompt memory recall and bring to mind the mood, sounds, the discussion and so on at the time I wrote it. I feel connected to the pen and paper in a way I don't to the computer/iPad etc.  For complex, feeling human beings I think there are just some things that technology cannot suitably replace.  For example, I would prefer to watch a 'live' cookery demonstration as opposed to, say, the same thing on Youtube - I would gain so much more from the camaraderie, aromas, sounds and 'live', group experience.  Clearly, this sort of thing is not always possible or practical in the classroom and then the internet and technology are useful, as well as for further research etc. Perhaps traditional 'pens and paper' and technology should complement rather than compete outright with each other as both have a valuable and necessary place today. 

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Esch on February 16, 2013 at 5:27pm

Hi Keeley,

I didn't use computers to write and edit papers until I got to high school and, while there are times I prefer editing a printed copy of a paper rather than editing on a computer (and vice versa), I find it challenging to edit extensive handwritten papers.  I'm impressed with your ability to do so!  I haven't really heard of others with that skill.  Is it for simply your own writing that you have that preference?  Or do you have that preference with others' writing as well?

I really enjoyed reading and agree with your thoughts on a balance between paper/pen and technology in the classroom.

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Permalink Reply by Jo Cuming on January 3, 2013 at 8:11am

Hi Melissa

As you know I still use pen and paper when it comes to taking down notes in classroom. But in a teaching sense I feel that technology is a must. We live in a world where technology is used in everyday life, and so to help keep students engaged in subjects I feel technology is needed.

In my placement last term students were given a project where they were asked to illustrate two book covers, part of this involved knowing the story inside out which would be achieved from reading the books. Of course hardly anyone read the books, so we were forced to show them film adaptations of the books to give them a better understanding.

Once they had completed their designs they had to place them onto a template that had to be downloaded from a website.

So without the use of televisions and computers the students would not have been able to complete the project.

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Permalink Reply by Colin Chaplin on January 3, 2013 at 9:02am

Technology HAS taken over the world. Therefore, do we educate in order for children to 'keep-up' with it, OR should we focus on extended teaching in order for our children to lead from the front and develop new technologies for the future? In whichever case, it's position within the classroom (or it's position as 'classroom' wherever the student is!) is here to stay. What will be seen as a mistake in a generation's time is the lack of balance currently given to social skills which are in danger of disappearing behind a flat screen. Actually talking to people needs emphasis and prominence at school.

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Permalink Reply by Theresa Young on January 3, 2013 at 9:17am

Hi all,

I couldn't agree more Colin about social skills disappearing. The younger generation are getting more adept at using technology, the apps available are growing by the day. How do we teach our students to deal with their 'on-line' persona especially as it is all too easy for unscrupulous, people to mislead while on-line?

Theresa

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Permalink Reply by Keeley Knowles on January 4, 2013 at 7:07am

I'm also with you on this, Theresa :) 

A broad education delivered truthfully, fairly and inclusively (celebrating diversity and all types of individual thinkers) would go some way to shaping happy, expressive and effective communicators that know and feel they are valued.  With a strong sense of self worth and inner contentment in their REAL lives, and the confidence to discuss openly sensitive topics within education and in the home/community, perhaps the 'on-line' persona might become less significant in the lives of some.

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