Those Who Have, Will Prosper

Technology is not a part of the 21^st century, it is the 21^st century.  Everyone wasn’t as computer savvy before the late 1990’s as they are today. In fact, the number of pre-teens and teens that have access to and use of technological devices to date is astonishing.  In fact, what I found to be very interesting is the fact that according to the study of adolescent media use by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in 2010, over seven and a half hours are spent with adolescents using some sort of electronic equipment. It cites the range of devices being anything from cell phones used for social media purposes to music and video games used for entertainment purposes. What is unclear, to me, through the study is just how these specific technological devices help aid students, when used in those manners, to excel in their academics? Yes, I understand the point that the study is trying to make by referring to the importance that more technology is available to more people at an earlier age, but as an education major, I’d like to know just how those specific devices make a difference in the area of helping a student succeed in their academics.

Another point I found worthy to mention has to do with the digital divide and the gap in electronic device—most specifically, computers, accessibility to adolescents. Interestingly, the study notes the increase in technology usage in our society nowadays; yet, it only briefly exposes the detriment of damage possible to students who do not have the socioeconomic resources to have computer access in their homes. Accordingly, I remember a while ago stumbling across a teacher’s blog on the Teacher Network accessed at https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/jan/11/school-technology-learning-young-people which focused directly on the issue at hand. Author Chris Davies was able to explain the disadvantages students who don’t have internet access at home encounter. Through a four year case study, he was able to follow the progression of students that had internet access at home and of those who did not. One student in particular, 15-year-old Sharon, complained that she was “angry… because when … at school she had to do her work very fast” because the “…inclusion with the social world, and from the world of educational success…” ended when she left school. I am left torn because the concept then seems almost appropriate that we as educators not place so much stock in adolescents being able to use computers to help enhance their academics because it is not available to everyone. 

Lastly, technology and the teacher are puzzle pieces that just seem to fit together. Teachers are able to take a lesson and add dimension to it with far more ease than they could have in the past. Keeping up with grades, communicating with parents, and creating lessons that meet varying learning styles becomes far more obtainable without excessive work to do it. There are lots of examples of different ways technology can be used in the classroom. Here is just a glimpse how classrooms can be transformed with technology. 

In the end, technology is the way of the new generation. It is important for students to have access to it and learn by using it. The more teachers insert it into their lessons, the more students can gain academically. Technology is important, but it’s also important to remember that everyone should have the same advantages to academic success. I think the chapter did a great job giving an overview of how technology can be used, I only hope, through the book, it answers the questions of how to realistically make technology available for every teacher, every school, every student, every classroom, and every home.

Resources

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.