Dive Brief:
- Many arguments bemoaning the preponderance of technology used in schools are unfounded, according to eSchool News. The report argues that tech does not necessarily have a negative effect on a student’s social development, but acknwoledges it depends on how the tech is used.
- Many argue that tech unnecessarily distracts children, though eSchool News argues that children are inherently distractible. While reliance on tech may lead to some faculties to degrade over time, the use of tech will make those skills more inessential and less necessary to retain.
- Test score results are a controversial topic, with some arguing tech offers little improvement for the investment, but the story’s author argues that standardized tests may not be an accurate representation of progress and have not necessarily “caught up” to a world populated by tech.
Dive Insight:
The concern that our school’s standardized tests and other metrics of measurement have not “caught up” to the utilization of tech in classrooms is not necessarily a knock against the technology, but it does mirror an ongoing concern that tech tools are being introduced into classrooms without proper education for teachers on how they can be effective teaching tools. School districts and educators must incorporate tech into their pedagogical approaches, rather than considering them an inessential accoutrement to a previously created lesson plan.
More educators are realizing the danger of incorporating tech into a classroom without proper education instruction. Saint Leo University, for example, has offered tech instruction as part of a pre-service program for fledgling teachers since 2008, but such programs must be made commonplace with the incorporation of new tech. Critics of tech in the classroom may be responding to badly-utilized tech by blaming the tools themselves, instead of substandard preparation afforded to those utilizing the tech.