NPR journalist, Barbara King, highlighted a college course
that required very little of students…besides the abstinence of all technology
and all verbal communication (King, 2017). The class was extremely popular, despite
the mandated journaling, the need for handwritten communication and the lack of
social media. This piece was written a month after King published a contrasting
article about a professor that had built-in “technology breaks” for his students
in hopes that these designated breaks would cause students to be more focused. King
suggested that these classes were examples of how our everyday community and
culture plays a significant role in creating norms for technology use.
So the question remains - what best practices should
teachers be cultivating in their classrooms? It’s hard to decide whether
technology is an asset or a hindrance. For teachers, technology has the
potential of being an endless resource. For example, a Promethean board can enable
teachers to create well-designed slides that captivate their students, while
being environmentally friendly. I’ve witnessed preschool teachers use a Promethean to structure their entire day, having interactive slides prepared
for each lesson and relying on it for transitions.
But when we place technology directly into the hands of our
students, how beneficial is it? Does technology loose its effectiveness when it
is not teacher-driven? Some researchers claim that passive technology use and
screen time, especially for young children, is not beneficial and may even hinder
the development of empathy (Aamodt & Wang, 20011). Yet in Baltimore County,
each student has their own device that is used throughout the day. They use it during
morning work and indoor recesses, and to take tests, write stories, play
educational games and fill transition periods. In my experience, students want
to use their devices regardless of the assignment or specified activity. Some
students like to put on headphones and get into their own zone, whereas others
sit in pairs and groups so they can interact with peers.
As helpful as technology can be for educators and as
desirable as it may be for students, we may have to wait for more time to pass
and research to be done before truly understanding its impact.
Aamodt, S. &
Wang, S. (2011). Welcome to your child’s brain: How the mind grows from conception
to college. New York: Bloomsbury.
King, B. J. (2017).
Monks For A Month: College Kids Give Up Talking - And Technology. Retrieved
November 09, 2017, from
https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2017/11/09/562933725/monks-for-a-month-college-kids-give-up-talking-and-technology
