Technology can enhance intelligence, but there are some ways that it does not. As a teacher, I rely on technology everyday as I turn on my Smartboard and try to engage my students in my math lesson. I can quickly pull up a game to practice solving equations or access a video about how to use a compass to construct an angle. On days when my students need to practice on their own, I can give each of them one of the mini-computers we have to watch videos, practice and learn the material at their own pace. Having technology in the classroom has revolutionized the way we teach. Information and resources are at our fingertips in moments. Classrooms are not only more interactive and engaging, but teachers can differentiate and respond to the needs of their students in a variety of ways.
On the other hand, sometimes people rely on technology to the point where they forget how to or do not know how to do things without it. Using a calculator to solve math problems means that for many students, they will forget how to do those basic skills by hand. I am constantly reminded by my students that they do not have conversations with their friends. They have digital conversations through texting, Facebook, email, etc. It is vastly different to have a conversation in writing when you cannot hear a person's tone and judge body language and someones reactions. Even more now as students speak and write the same way as they texting their friends, they are struggling to learn the conventional ways to write.
Technology can be a powerful tool when used in the right way. I feel that we need to find a balance of using and not using technology so that technology is enhancing intelligence, but not taking it away from our students.
I totally agree with you. While it is important for our students to be engaged and interact with technology, they need to use their own brains some of the time. I think its sad when kids can't do any of the math in their head. Although calculators are almost always around, it takes so much more time to go get it and then figure out what to type in and then get the answer rather than knowing how to quickly jot it down on paper. I think it is important to use technology to enhance intelligence rather than to let them use to so that they don't need to know anything other than how to use the technology.
ReplyDeleteI think your point about social interaction and writing is good. I talk through texting, Facebook, and email just as much as today's students, but it is still necessary to know how to write correctly and have good social skills. When these students are applying to jobs or writing to their boss, they need to write correctly and professionally. No LOL's or other texting lingo go into a resume and until interviews are held through a computer, social skills, making eye contact, and shaking hands will still be important.