Whatever happened to the good old days? It seems like technology has been taking over our lives and more importantly, our education.
These days it seems as though all the Scituate School system is trying to do is to see how much technology they can install without going over budget. Smartboards and iPads can be found around every corner. So we save a little paper, but at what cost? Of course this new technology does have its benefits, but it also has just as many negatives.
A new school policy is that students can use their phones at lunch. It’s great if you need to let your parents know that you’re missing a folder or homework. Unfortunately, kids now are spending most of their lunch times with their faces glued to the screen, making it more difficult to socialize as they did before when they were fine hiding their phones away and just sneaking a peak as the teachers walked past. Senior Matt Basler said, “Twitter might just be one of the most addicting things.” So addicting that instead of catching up on gossip from the day and making plans for after school face-to-face, students are instead checking what Miley Cyrus’ latest tweet says or playing another round of Candy Crush.
In most classrooms we rely on projectors and Smartboards in order for our lessons to go on. Printouts and whiteboard writing have decreased over time. The problem occurs when you rely too much on this. In Ms.True’s classroom, the lesson plan has changed many times due to the fact that the projector wasn’t working the way it needed to be and Ms. True was unable to give the powerpoint or show the video she had prepared.
Gates Intermediate School is facing more challenges than the high school seems to be. In Mr.Robinson’s history classes at Gates, along with others, he uses the “bring your own device” method. This allows students to use their cell phones, tablets or laptops during class. “I didn’t even have a cell phone in middle school and now these kids are encouraged to bring them in!” sophomore Lizzie Anderson states.
Robinson discusses his biggest problem in this is “equity.” Some kids don’t have phones, some have electronics that are junk, some kids have specialized laptops. It all puts kids on different levels and abilities during class. “They can’t engage at the same level at the same time,” Robinson said.
Bringing in some technology can be good for a school, as long as it isn’t taken overboard. With all this new technology, it’s hard to make sure all students receive an equal education when they all have different technological resources for it. In a world that is becoming more and more electronic based, it is still important to be able to rely on a good old pencil or pen.