Elementary School and Technology - Essay Example

Elementary School and Technology I found the article on the Five Arguments for the Restriction of Education Technology in Elementary School Settings by Cris Rowan rather well thought-out and researched. The writer has, without being overly subjective, managed to point out the downsides of technology to the aforementioned group. While applauding his sentiments, I could not fail to notice their inclination towards the assumption that technology is a largely negative force. Their source (the teacher) is convinced that she was more effective than any technology such sentimental claims are insufficient to validate any argument since it is very unlikely that the said teacher has sampled all the existing technology. Furthermore, considering her cynical attitude, it is possible she hast tried very many. I am of the opinion that technology is not a panacea for educational problems. However, this does not mean that it is all bad like the writer would have us believe. In fact, the authors seeming large scale condemnation of the notion of using technology in education of children is the main point of friction from my side. The article contains five arguments against the use of technology in elementary school; thus, I will undertake to examine each of them while adding additional evidence where I deem it necessary in the quest to acquiesce to or dispute some of the claims as posited by the author. Technology may be a controversial subject in lower school because the subject in the lower school, but in upper levels, it has become part of the system. This is because their teachers are unlikely to have the luxury of using their own discretion on whether to inculcate it in the syllabi or not. This is mostly because to majority of teenagers, IT is part of their lives and many spend hours in front of computer monitors or surfing and watching videos on their Ipads and I phones. As such teachers doing things their way is likely to be the IT way. As such, the lower school students will be better placed to acclimatize themselves to the technology higher up if it is introduced early. In the initial argument, the writer posits that the benefits are not clear due to insufficient research on the subject. He goes ahead to quote some of the findings and claim that technology has been found to have negative impacts on the concentration of children. While this might have some negative effects, it is not a conclusive result either. Furthermore, by his own admission, there is not enough evidence to show the benefits then it goes without saying there is not enough to uphold the contrary claim either. The article quotes a researcher from IOWA whose research indicates that 4-5 hours of exposure to video game short circuits the neuron tracts (Rowan Para 2). However, this is just one study and had it been as conclusive as the writer would have us believe, then they would not have claimed in the previous paragraph that there is no conclusive proof of this argument. The argument that technology would be of help to a child who is a low user of technology in entertainment and harm a high user (Rowan Para 2), reveals that the problem is not the technology in question but the way it is used. Therefore, the solution for this lays, not in removing technology from the classroom but training children to use entertainment technology less by reducing the time they spend in the same.  I fully support and agree with the second argument, which is based on the idea that technology reduces children’s printing ability (Rowan Para 3). This is because, similar to the writer, I consider the time a student spends actively   involved in printing an integral aspect in their development of writing and psychomotor skills. Printing like any other skill requires a great deal of practice to perfect; moreover, when children are saddled with laptops and taps at an early age, they are not likely to have much time for it. According to the writer, there is hardly any educational discipline that does not call for printing at some point (Para 3). As such, it is essential for schools applying this technology to ensure that students can practice printing. However, they will become very dependent on hardware, and their writing skills will be impaired. Besides, when a child starts using word processers at an early age, they will have a hard time improving their spelling skills. This is because they will likely have spell check and other software that corrects mistakes before they have even been realized. Such features take away a key element in leaning through mistakes made in are trial and error.  The writer puts forward that the integrating of ICT in classrooms is an expensive business. This is because there are other issues in education that need addressing apart from technology. These include other issues such as teacher burnout and student behavior management problems. The author says it is misdirection of money since the technology has not been proven. As a result the diminishing returns on education will ultimately lead to worldwide decimation of educations systems and this may result to a whole generation losing out on education for the sake of technological skills (Para 4). While agreeing the third argument is valid to some extent; I found the term fiscally irresponsible a little too subjective. It is true that education systems world over are underfunded and due to inequality it is unlikely that everyone can afford the same gadgets (Rowan Para 3). However, the writer needs to pause and realize that technology will not always be expensive. Thus, with more people using it makes business sense to avail it cheaply in large quantities by the manufacturers. If you consider and in the 70s and 60 computers were seen as expensive and out of reach by most people and mostly bought by firms. However with time, they have become cheaper and many people can afford them. The companies that deal with their manufacture and programming such As; Apple, Dell and Microsoft have been raking in billions as a result of availing their products to the majority. Indeed the argument is no different from if someone had claimed before the printing press was invented that books were too expensive and should be kept out of schools. Therefore, while technology may be expensive, at the end of the day no school can have a technology that it cannot afford. Besides, those small children pushing at tabs in their diapers will be the same people who may invent new technology that will make it easier to and cheaper to inculcate IT in an elementary class.  In the fourth argument the writer discusses the impact of technology on children’s ability to interact and form healthy attachments. He cites research stating that empathy levels have declined by 40 percent in the last half decade. Social networking has increased cases of “depression, anxiety and isolation” He goes ahead to claim that of overuse of technology, humans are tending to form weaker and weaker attachments with each other. He argues that inculcating technology in the classroom will devalue the empathy and care of a teacher which he claims would have irreversible problems, both academically and socially. While the fourth argument makes sense in that social media has reduced human contact, the attempt to pin the increasing cases of depression on lack of human contact is not solid reasoning, and neither can it be proven. This is because the pressure of working in a modern world gets to all those in the system.  Indeed, human contact is more likely to stress than machines in some scenarios. As a matter of facts, I believe most work related stress is caused by mean bosses and uncooperative colleagues rather than passive computers. Furthermore, this argument is irreverent in the topic at hand since the writer set out to examine the effect of technology in education on kids. However, he tries to make the point by pointing out the effects of the same on adults who we can safely assume did not undergo elementary school with technology. This has not prevented their addiction nonetheless. Besides, social networking can be joined by anyone and the fact that one received basic education though technology does not necessarily mean they will be more likely to join.  Considering my analogy of the period when books were being introduced, one should realize that before books were introduced, the students could not learn without their teacher being present for long periods so that he could give them his notes. However, with the invention of the printing press learners could buy books and hence be fewer teachers dependent. This has not been cited - to the best of my knowledge - as a cause of antisocial behavior then. Therefore, the reduction of contact with teachers’ today due technology should not be exaggerated either.  In the last argument, the writer posits that technology poses a potential health risk to its users especially wireless gadgets such as cell phones (Rowan Para 6). Despite the fact that the risks of this have been investigated since the invention of wireless technology and no conclusive evidence has been found yet. Besides, virtually everyone in today’s generation is exposed to these technologies. Children no less from baby monitors to their parents cell phones, microwaves, and TVs at home. Besides, the gadgets need to teach young ones are not necessarily wireless devices as they could include projectors and TV screens that are not connected to the internet. Ultimately, while the writer is motivated by a good cause the final suggestion that we need to go back to the old school methods of teaching is not only impractical but also retrogressive.                                                                        Work Cited Rowan, Cris. Five Arguments for the Restriction of Education Technology in Elementary School Settings, Zone In’ Programs Inc. 2012. Web. 6 July 2012  Read More