Not Replace: Analyzing The Pros And Cons Of Tech Integration Within Schools

Meant to Enhance, Not Replace: Analyzing the Pros and Cons of Tech Integration Within Schools This day and age, technology has consumed our lives. We have the internet in the palm of our hands and a much broader outlet to the world because of it. Technology is so common that it is becoming a norm in many classrooms. Whether through ebooks, online classrooms or smartboards, society has been gradually adding more and more technology into our education systems. In fact, many schools wish to add even more tech into classrooms by providing laptops or other devices to students. If used the right way these integrations will help students find new methods of learning and connecting with teachers and fellow students. However, with every new advancement,

It has become increasingly easy for students to simply “google” an answer rather than solving it on their own. This accessibility of solutions seem to be a good thing to many, but an underlying problem is created by it. Such easy answers causes the user little thought on their own part, since most information has already been processed. The wider use of independent, computer based learning also makes it harder for teacher to distinguish whether or not a student turly understands a concept or if they were able to find the answers on a website. Esther Dyson agrees, stating that technology “may seriously mess up children’s information for themselves” (Source C). Dyson also believes that the plethora of processed information found in modern technology takes the need of imagination away from youths. With the addition of more tech within schools, the possibility of students having trouble coming up with answers independently becomes an increasingly larger problem. This only serves as one issue with school-tech

What and when students access online is very difficult to control. In just one click a student can go from reading a textbook to shopping on Amazon. Some may say that censoring certain sites and more attentions from teachers can solve this problem, but such help is hard to give when students are on their own time. Many students nowadays are more motivated to binge watch Netflix than they are to finish their chemistry homework. Technology gives students an independence that some are just not ready to possess. The internet even poses problem with the quality of information. In an age of Wikipedia and Cliff Notes, students can easily be given faulty info or even the temptation to plagiarize. This isn't completely the students’ fault either, for all of this tech is still relatively new and men and women of all ages are still attempting to utilize these advancements in the correct manner. Yet overall it is the simple problem that “there is no quality control on the internet” that should be weighed heavily into decisions upon tech integration into schools (Source