My two cents:
I love technology and have been a web programmer as well as former art teacher. I regularly become frustrated with the idea that bringing technology into the classroom is the answer to all education problems. New gadgets and websites don't really improve learning. The money spent on technology would be better spent in other areas. Here are the reasons:
- All technology has a very short shelf life. I work in technology, every three years I am working with completely new technology.
- I work in technology but when there is a difficult problem to solve, we draw on whiteboards and discuss.
- All web sites and application used today in our schools have databases in the back end to store user data. That is the nature of any web site. Do we know who is storing and has access to our kids' data? Can this data be misused?
- Being an end user of the latest technology does not increase your learning one way or the other. Reading books, doing experiments, drawing out a problem, being detailed oriented, listening to instruction, redoing unsatisfactory work, spending the hours it takes to get something done right is what it takes to succeed.
- The idea that the latest gadget is needed for your child, not true. Great opportunities come from activities outside of technology (drawing, painting, fishing, sports, cooking, chores, helping others…)
I am frustrated that people are believing that technology is the "weird trick" to make our schools better. Sometimes the old ways are best. The link to the following article describes the way that technology will save education. My two cents, they are wrong.
http://www.teachthought.com/technology/exactly-what-the-common-core-standards-say-about-technology/
