Electronic devices are, without a doubt, ubiquitous at Mountain Lakes High School. Any teacher will recognize the flicker of light that illuminates the face of a student sneaking a glance at their phone. In Mountain Lakes, most students own a laptop, and nearly every student has a smartphone. For in-class activities, Chromebook carts sit in the corner of the classroom for students without laptops.
These devices may contribute to the learning process and improve education, but they can also serve as distractions and lead students away from learning. At this density of electronic information, a teenager would find education without electronics unfathomable. Whether or not this amount of technology is beneficial to the learning process, how can we properly restrict the amount of screen time absorbed by each student?
Pro: Use of Technology in the Classroom
From one perspective, the benefits of technology in the classroom are undeniable. Electronic devices can help the teacher make learning “fun,” keeping the student engaged. What student doesn’t love Kahoot, the fast-paced learning game that rewards knowledge with points, or Quizlet, the ultimate studying tool complete with flashcards, matching games, and practice tests? Other online tools like PowerPoint and Google Slides go beyond blackboard teaching by offering more interaction, especially with images and visuals.
Furthermore, technology has made it possible for educators to offer remote learning opportunities and provide a more flexible learning environment for students. With the help of online learning management solutions, instructors can create and deliver courses that are accessible from anywhere, at any time, providing students with the ability to learn at their own pace. Online learning platforms also offer a variety of multimedia tools and resources, such as videos, podcasts, and interactive assessments, which can enhance the learning experience and provide students with a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. As technology continues to evolve, the possibilities for learning are endless, and online learning management solutions are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of education.
Moreover, technology allows for a dynamic approach to education. With websites like Canvas and Google Classroom, teachers can post assignments and display a calendar for their students. Google Docs allows students to revise each others’ papers, essays and projects, as well as create and share study guides. Most notably, Canvas serves as the central academic hub for educators and students alike. Canvas allows teachers to post assignments and slides from class. When a student misses a lesson, they can check Canvas to see if there is anything that they need to make up.
With the Internet’s endless reservoir of resources, students can customize their learning experience; additionally, the Internet possesses a never-ending stream of easily accessible and understandable information.
Cons: Use of Technology in the Classroom
Although technology in school has its benefits, there are a few flaws. Namely, technology can be distracting, which may hinder learning. Smartphones and laptops are a relatively recent development; for example, the iPhone and the MacBook Air, by far the most common devices throughout the high school, were only released in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Though they are recent developments, they have gained popularity in recent years and have found their way into everyday academic life.
Teachers allow their students to use these tools solely for academic purposes, such as note-taking or online writing. However, these “educational” tools have frequently been used for all the wrong reasons, causing oft-distracted students to pay even less attention in class. During school, the temptation to play a game during a study period or watch a TV show during a boring lecture can be quite strong. Thus, the Internet is a double-edged sword: while it provides resources for education, its many forms of entertainment, like YouTube and Netflix, can distract.
Many school districts, Mountain Lakes included, use firewalls to block certain “unacademic” websites on the Internet. The majority of blocked domains are “entertainment” websites; this is meant to prevent students from gaming during class. However, this a futile attempt to solve the problem because the firewalls are not quick enough to block harmful websites. Infamously, Chess.com is blocked as a “gaming website,” while Cool Math Games is not, even though the latter might as well be Miniclip in disguise.
Recently, “unblocked” websites have sprouted up on all corners of the Internet in an attempt to circumvent these blocks. Search up any online game followed by the phrase “unblocked” and, even under the strictest censorship, you’ll be able to find a bootleg game operating outside of the firewall. To a teacher, the obvious solution would be to tighten these restrictions and only allow very specific websites. Even so, most students use cellular data or personal Wi-Fi hotspots where the firewalls have no effect.
Notoriously, some students got hold of the “ML Staff” Wi-Fi password at the beginning of the year. Since the staff Wi-Fi has no firewall, the password spread rapidly; now, most students have access to the hotspot and thus are free to visit any website. Some frustrated teachers have caught on to these tricks and, recognizing the root of the problem, have severely limited technology usage in the classroom. A few teachers have resorted to “phone caddies,” requiring that students leave their phones in the front of the class for the period; others have flat-out banned laptops from their classrooms, no matter the necessity.
In particular, smartphones are a major problem in the classroom. With the advent of Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram, the average student always has to be up-to-date on their social media consumption, even if that means pulling out their phone during class. Calls and notifications also add to the problem; the ringing, buzzing, and dinging of phones in class can be more annoying than the reverberating sound a Swell bottle makes when it is dropped.
Smartphones, by themselves, can be addicting, and a teenager merely glancing at their phone can be tempted to use it. It is impossible to firmly and thoroughly regulate phone usage in the classroom because students can easily bury their device in a book or a folder, pretending to be focused. Now, of course, taking away phone privileges from students, especially during a lesson, is a popular approach to the issue. However, many have protested that students must be armed with technology in the case of an emergency.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, technology is helpful to both students and teachers, though we all need to be aware of the potential dangers. If these dangers can be mitigated, a balance can be struck in which technology is properly integrated into education so that it does not distract from learning. However, the rights of the student and the teacher should be taken into account. We should also consider whether a student should be able to possess a device during school, and if so, how their usage can be regulated. If electronics fully enter the way we learn, we must be ready to determine how we regulate technology in school.
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