Tech Task #3 - Your Students and the Digital Age

It is no doubt that today's students are growing up in a whole new 'connected' digital world.  We are all relying much more heavily on technology for everything. Personally,  I would be lost without my cell phone - it serves as my alarm clock, weather station, my camera, my main form of communicating with EVERYONE, my day planner, my recipe book, etc, etc....  There certainly are good and bad aspects to using technology in our classrooms.  Here are a few pros and cons I have seen in my experiences: 

Pros:

• Resources for enhancing education and making learning more fun. For example, there are many apps such as Plickers and Kahoot! Some teachers are also using "gamification", such as with Classcraft.
• Students have easy and instant access to information that can help their learning experience. Almost all middle and senior year students have their own smart phones or other devices, and most schools have access to Ipads or Chromebooks.  It is quick and efficient to have students take advantage of these devices when completing many tasks or assignments within the classroom
• We live in a digital world and technology is a life skill. It is crucial for students today to be technologically literate.  Upon entering post-secondary education and the workforce, people need to know how to use computers, how to find reliable sources on the internet and how to maintain a clear digital footprint. 

Cons:

• Technology can be a distraction. It is easy for students to get distracted when using a device in the classroom.  This even happens for me occasionally; a text message appears and I just have to open it, next I find myself scrolling through Facebook or reading emails.  Sometimes our smart phones or computers are better off left aside.  
• Technology can interfere with students social interactions. There is skepticism around technology and what it does for our ability to communicate verbally. Teachers should create assignments using both technological tools and oral presentations/group collaboration, so that students will learn to be dynamic in their learning and interactions with others. 
• Research and sources quality may be weak.  The internet is full of many unreliable sources and therefore students will need guidance on finding reliable information for their research. 

I feel that the pros outweigh the cons of teaching in a classroom where the students are 'connected'. From my teaching experiences, I have had no major issues with using technology in the classrooms.  I had students put their cellphones in a box while I was teaching or giving instructions, but allowed them to use their phones or chrome books for researching and for listening to music while they worked on assignments.  

~Miss C. 

Top Hat. (2019). 6 Pros & Cons of Technology in the Classroom in 2019 | Top Hat. [online] Available at: https://tophat.com/blog/6-pros-cons-technology-classroom/ [Accessed 16 Jan. 2019].