Today's society is so different from the one that I grew up in. I know that I will be aging myself, but when I was young remotes were still connected to the TV, phones were still attached to the wall, there was no internet or anything else we would label high tech. At school we used pencil and paper for all of our homework and we had to read textbooks to learn the materials. I know that does not sound too exciting, but I feel that I was very well educated. Technology has come along way, and I think I had an advantage by seeing the evolution unfold. I believe that my advantage is the disadvantage of students today. Students just do not appreciate what they have in front of them and how easy some things are now compared to 20 years ago, 10 years ago, even just a few years ago.
I think that in some ways we are too reliant on technology and all of its benefits. There really is not much around these days that does not have some sort of a technology component. Even when I go visit some of may family up north at the farm, where you would think there wouldn't be any technology, it is everywhere. There is no milking a cow by hand anymore, it is all done with high tech machines. The movies and shows on TV that deal with computers taking over the world and what would happen if we suddenly could not use computers always make me wonder if these scenarios were really to occur...would we survive. Is there such a things a too much technology? Or not enough technology?
I do believe there can be too much for some people. The people that spend every waking hour plugged in. I am related to some of these types of people. When I go to a family function we really do not socialize anymore. The new form of socialization is sitting in the living room with a phone or iPad in our hands surfing the web or playing online games. My favorite memory of this type of situation was all of us playing the popular game SongPop together in the same room. It still makes me laugh when I think about it. We did not even talk to each other! This is where I think the technology gets in the way. People not knowing how to interact with other people face-to-face.
I also believe that we can go the complete opposite direction and have too little technology. I would definitely not be a fan of going back to the dark ages. I like being able to cook a meal in the microwave, which I do recall getting our first one! I also love my DVR and being able to watch all of my favorite TV shows that I have missed. Drinking clean water is also a big one for me! These are just a few things, but I am sure I could go on and on.
So what does all of this have to do with how we use technology in our classrooms? I believe that we need to use technology and its many benefits in our classrooms, but we need to make sure we do not go overboard. There are also some very beneficial activities that do not require technology and also promote students interacting together to find an answer or complete a project. It is our job as an educator to make sure we are weighing the pros and cons of every activity, assignment, or project we give our students.
One other concern for technology is how many students do not always have access to the internet. My district is considered a low income/at-risk district and many families do not have the income to afford the conveniences of the internet. There are also districts that are not as equipped as others. Some districts are one-to-one with their technology and others do not even have a single computer lab. This is a caution for students that are just graduating from college and will be looking for a job soon. Your big ideas may not come to fruition if you end up in some of these lower income districts, so have some back up plans!
