Pros And Cons of Classroom Technology

Pros and Cons

Title: Love it Or Hate it...Here it Comes.

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            There are many pros and cons to having technology in the classroom. While many of those opinions are statistical and of course, can be proven with numerous colorful, yet still chaotic graphs; it still remains that technology in the classroom is here. And here to stay.

            One of the best pieces of technology (and by far the most popular) is the ipad. Goodbye 10 pound Econbook! A new slim and stylish ipad....weighinging in at .5 pounds...and has a cute cover and all the text book education you could want. Who needs to buy a highlighter and take notes in a spiral? The ipad has the capabilities to hold all school books AND allows for note taking. However, a negative with ipads in classrooms is durability. While the physics book can get heavy, it also won't cost another $1500 if coffee is pour all over it, or dropped on the ground. We love the look and feel of our ipads, but the cost of replacing (because repairing is never worth it) can quickly make you re-think that 10 pound book. (K. Walsh)

            A major pro for technology in the classrooms is the level of exposure to other cultures and environments. While the encyclopedia used to be the quickest way to research papers, this took extensive time and was outdated before the paper was finished. With technology students are able to research live events and issues, as soon as they happen. This creates a wider level of knowledge for students and teachers.

            However in contrast to having such a vast amount of technology at your fingertips- it is the temptation to plagiarize which will increase the fail rate for students. There are numerous sites with full essays on almost any topic ever assigned. While the information is readily available, technology can seem to heighten the 'copy and paste' method among students.

            The level of teacher, parent/student interaction has also increased with the level of technology. While to some (teacher and parents) this is a move in the right direction. This way the communication about the student’s education is always up front. However, to students, having your teacher email your parents after every test could pose a problem to their Friday nights. (K. Leder)

            Although all this technology is helpful and fun; sometimes it can be too much fun. Not saying it happens often, but the urge to get on Facebook or Pintrest will occur- and usually right in the middle of a rigorous lecture on something we have no clue about, but will be tested over next week. The level of distraction is huge. Though, this can be filtered for younger kids with parental blocks, most students at a university would rather just not have a lap top if Facebook was blocked.

            The overall concept of technology in classrooms has many advantages; however we must be diligent when removing distracting temptations. When deciding whether to take your ipad to class, you  have to think, “Will I be tempted to get on Facebook?” or “Will I only use this for class purposes?” If you are enrolling your child in an advanced technology school, “Are they getting enough peer/teacher interaction?” All of these questions are important and are up to us as students and parents to decide.

Works Cited:

K, Walsh. "EmergingEdTech." EmergingEdTech. (2011): n. page. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.emergingedtech.com/2011/06/education-technology-weighing-the-pros-and-cons/>.

Leder, Karen. "Campus Technology." Campus Technology. (2012): n. page. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2012/01/19/Pros-and-Cons-of-Social-Media-in-the-Classroom.aspx?Page=2>.