The Woes of Technology

I found an article that proposed five arguments for eliminating educational technology in schools.  Their first argument is that educational technology is an unproven benefit since they mention that studies in favour of tech use are either non-existent or are potentially written with bias.  They argue further that students are more likely to be distracted by technology than they are to learn from it in which they note the entertainment value of technology can impair cognitive development.  Their second argument is that technology is replacing the basics of teaching in terms that students are becoming poor writers and readers.  They mention that teachers are devoting more time to teaching technology than they are to teaching a student how to write and read properly.  Thirdly, they argue it is fiscally irresponsible to invest in educational technology when there are other issues in school that need funding such as ways to alleviate crowded classrooms, burnt out teachers, behavioural management problems, and hungry children.  Fourth, it is argued that increased tech usage by students leads to a detachment in their humanity since technology renders physical and social interactions with other people to mere interactions with a screen.  They use social media and its detrimental effects on mental health including that technology can lead to a decline in empathy.  Finally, they bemoan technology as potentially dangerous for students since there are potential risks to student physical and mental health from exposure to the radiation technology can emit.

Personally, I do agree with some of their assertions.  Technology can be distracting to students in which it falls upon a question I have thought of myself in that if I had a choice to do long division or watch Youtube, which one would I prefer? Obviously, the answer is quite evident.  Their assertion that technology has led to poor readers and writers was an issue that I had touched upon in my, "Is Google Making Us Stupid" post.  Although, I had focused on how technology has made us poorer readers in which information we learn through technology gives us a basic understanding, not a deep understanding.  Their argument of financial investments into technology does bear some consideration since a school's problems that are independent of technology such as having sufficient and up-to-date Phys Ed equipment is usually because of a lack of money.  I also agree with one of their conclusions that technology should not be overtly used with primary grade students.  However, I do have an issue with their last two points.  They make note that technology can be a detachment from humanity, but with the Coronavirus pandemic, I would argue that technology has kept me in touch with my humanity since I have kept in contact with some of my friends.  Even without a pandemic, for students to be able to interact with each other through technology when it may be unfeasible for them to personally meet outside of school is always a benefit.  With their last argument of potential health risks from technology, they base their argument on early research suggesting those risks.  However, early research is not finalized research.  Even if early research may suggest those risks, they cannot make a definitive and conclusive statement on the health risks of technology until there is a multitude of short-term and long-term research that is likewise free of bias to vindicate their claims.

Overall, I conclude this post in a similar way I did with my Google post.  Technology is not going to suddenly disappear.  It will continue to be a fundamental part of not only our lives but to that of our students.  However, we should not simply ignore the potential problems it can have for our students.  Issues such as distracted students looking at YouTube rather than researching for their project will be inevitable with the growing influence of technology.  Still, this makes it a part of the responsibilities teachers have to adapt technology for educational purposes, but also minimize the potential issues that can arise from its use.

Reference:

(2020, February 12). The Deep Reader. Retrieved from https://jamash07.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-deep-reader-blog-post.html

Zone'in Workshops. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.zonein.ca/zoneinworkshop/articles/five-arguments-for-the-elimination-of-education-technology-in-elementary-school-settings/

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