I believe that the increase of technology within schools is negatively affecting the quality of learning. Computers are taking over our classrooms, and the process is slowly jeopardizing our children’s futures. Most of us can agree that, in school, the purpose of technological implementation should be to improve teaching and student learning.
Technology is evolving at an astounding rate, and it has revolutionized the way we get our news, how we order goods and services, and how we communicate. This is a good thing, for the most part. But in school, it feels as though technology is hurting us more than helping us.
Like many schools, Lake Forest College has professors who use mundane PowerPoints or smart boards, and it has granted students permission to use their laptops in class. What happened to professors lecturing in front of a classroom full of students handwriting their notes?
It scares me that soon our children will not even have a human being standing in front of them teaching. Instead, their schooling will consist of their eyes glued to a computer screen talking at them. Today, professors waste so much time trying to get the projector to work, or trying to get the smart board connected to our laptops. Meanwhile, students are wasting valuable class time on Facebook.
I am not saying that technological advances have been bad for us, but that they have been bad for us only inside of the classroom. Outside of the classroom, technology has helped organize our learning and make it more efficient.
We have a place to check our notes, grades, and assignments online. We are able to better research our topics for papers and presentations. We have a secondary source of learning if a concept did not click inside of the classroom. We have tools like StudyBlue to better help us learn.
I believe the use of technology in the classroom could be a great idea, but in practice, teachers and student do not use it responsibly or effectively.
