Introduction
The classroom has always been a constant environment for most people. The chalkboard situated in the front of the room, the rows of desks lined up perfectly in straight lines, the books, notebooks, the posters and pictures on the walls, the intercom, and of course the teachers desk. Most people will agree that this is a pretty good image of how their classroom looked like. But through the years, the evolution of classroom has turned high tech or has it? The implementation of a TV and VCR in most classrooms today is a good indication that technology has crept its way into the sanctity of the classroom. Though nowadays, the VCR becoming more and more obsolete, the implementation of DVD players in classrooms is becoming apparent. The point of this description is to show how technology, developing rapidly, is slowly making its way towards the classroom. There is a trend of technology in the classroom making a top down approach. One must take into account that the higher you go in education from kindergarten to undergraduate studies, the more technology is implemented in the classrooms. Does this mean that technology is only for the mature? This paper hopes to find out why technology is not implemented at a younger level and what are its benefits and deficiencies.
Technology Today
Technology today varies in many different classrooms depending on the type of school and whether the school has funding to support technology. It is a sad fact, but education and technology cannot evolve together without funding. This means that schools without sufficient funding, cannot keep up with the current technology offered to other schools. The ethical reason of whether all schools should benefit from technology, such as having access to a computer or the Internet, is another ethical issue, but for the sake of this argument, this paper will concentrate on the schools that have the means to keep technology up to date in their classrooms.
Beginning in an elementary to middle school level; the implementation of technology and education is not that apparent. In a recent article by Tracy Van Moorlehem and Tamara Audi in the Detroit Free Press, the advancement of technology in the classroom has not taken place.[1] Glen Hiemstra, a former college professor in Washington state, who now helps school districts plan for the future, is quoted in saying that, “In the history of education, there’s lots of talk about change, but not much real change.” This is interesting because it does seem apparent that elementary schools still run the same method of teaching for the past 40 years. This method of lecturing and writing on the chalkboard, has been seen as an effective way of teaching children for years, but is it really necessary to keep tradition and not advance with the current technology of computers and multimedia? Many teachers openly embraced the use of a TV and video. The use of videos and movies in teaching was an advancement in technology, that people 40 or even 30 years ago, did not have the luxury of experiencing in the classroom. But should we accept this as an appropriate addition to technology in the classroom? The technology of computers and software such as Microsoft’s PowerPoint and the Internet are out there for use, but many teachers do not utilize the resources. The utilization of technology in the classroom also begs the question of whether the lack of technology is due to the lack of support from school administration or whether it’s the teacher’s lack of faith in technology? These are other issues that will be further explored. The reality of today’s classroom is that most are behind in implementing technology in the classroom that is widely available to everyone.
Opportunities for educational technology
There are many opportunities that exist for having educational technology. The first important aspect of having educational technology in the classroom is that it keeps our modern society modern. It is a fact that many children are more technologically savvy then we were at their age. The opportunity to utilize a child’s knowledge of computers and video games should be an advantage to teachers who want to use technology in the classroom. If children are immersed in technology early, they will not feel intimidated with technology later on. These same children will be more comfortable using the technology, because if it is implemented in the classroom as they grow up, they will be immersed with up to date technology at school as well as outside the classroom.
The second opportunity is that teaching becomes more efficient and visual. The process of learning becomes faster and expands more due to the visual aid. When a teacher plays a speech, for example, of President Kennedy’s revelation of nuclear weapons in Cuba, the experience is heightened when a person can actually see President Kennedy’s face, expressions, body language, and overall mannerisms. Televisions can be utilized to do the same function, but the technology available of computers, projectors and high speed Internet, makes the process shorter, more efficient and easier. The efficiency of having a computer and a projector is that time is not spent in pushing a TV cart into the front of the room, physically finding a copy of the speech on VHS or DVD, or finding a position for the TV set in a way where everyone in the classroom can see it. The use of educational technology such as the computer, projector, etc., will not only create a better environment, but also create a new environment to learning that only improves the education process.
The Challenges
The challenges that prevent these opportunities from being realized are funding and acceptance. Technology is not cheap, and the costs for a school to have their classrooms configured to support these types of technology would be expensive. The question lies on whether a school will be able to afford the technology that is being suggested.
The second challenge is a psychological one, where teachers do not feel that technology helps in the learning process at all. The psychological aspect stems from their school experience and nostalgia. The concept of change makes many people hesitant on adding technology in the classroom. For example there are many websites that help teachers adjust into making their classroom more technologically suited for learning. Apple, one of the world’s leading computer manufacturer, develops software specifically for its computers. Apple expanded its development of software to help out education by developing educational software for teachers and students. On the apple.com website, there is a section on education where they are pushing ACOT (Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow). This section has huge amounts of information dealing with the development of the classroom and its software. Many universities and institutions have poured in money for research into how to improve educators and students use of technology in the classroom. For example, Florida Center for Instructional Technology (FCIT), did research on teachers level of comfort and experience with technology as well as general attitude.[2] These are just a few examples of different organizations working on changing attitudes and ways of thinking for many educators.
Dangers on relying on Technology
The danger on relying on technology is that there is a fear that we are moving towards more of an individualistic nature of schooling.[3] The predictions are that the speed of communication will get faster, connecting to each other will be easier and computers will be more accessible. All these advancement leads academics, such as Hiemstra from Moorlehem’s article, to predict that schooling will happen outside of buildings, in “Cyber schools.” These schools will be done at home, where an individual learns through material given online from an educator. This is not that far fetch, in that, some universities today offer undergraduate courses in virtual classrooms that would eventually allow them to acquire degrees in specialized fields such as nursing and engineering. This “e-learning” has become extremely successful, with more than 14 million people joining the program. This can be seen as a danger for many educators, especially those who teach younger children, because of the lack of interaction of an impressionable child. The societal changes that will take place if this type of education is pursued are questionable. This type of education might create a society that has no one-on-one interaction and may very well create people who are impersonal to one another.
Dr. Carole Fungaroli, a literature professor at Georgetown University, says that e-learning is not a good thing, saying “For me, teaching isn’t just disseminating information. A lot of what I do involves assessing how much you get it or my student gets it, questioning them. We do a lot of dialogue.” The implementation of technology to this extent is very dangerous. The interaction between teachers and students is very important and once that is taken away through technological advancements, the world may have a society of unsocial people.
The other danger of relying on technology in education is the danger of information being corrupted. The fear that malicious attempts at manipulating one’s work at school is a real possibility. It is a known fact that children cheat. What more if there is a child that knows how to manipulate the information submitted at school electronically. This not only pertains to children but even to adults. Adults may have malicious attempts to change grades or test scores, etc. The security of information through technology is vital to keep the system of grades and rankings in education pure. The trend to rely on electronic means is seen even today. Papers are mostly all done electronically, and the submissions of these papers are done electronically as well. If there were a way to manipulate electronically the process of writing and submitting a paper; there would be a great danger to the integrity of grading.
Conclusion
There is an ultimate fear that technology in education will lead to individualism as well as open up a door for corruption. But these fears are only due to predictions. What people should concentrate is the now. They should go and support funding for schools so that the classroom of the future will be rich in technology. Though there is a distinct possibility that technology will arise to the state of cyber schools or e-learning; we must not forget that the technology for something like that has not been develop. It is good that we know that there is a possibility so that when it does begin to happen we can stop it. But lets not sacrifice the chance to equip the classroom with the technology available, inevitably letting the children suffer the consequences of our inaction. If done correctly, the implementation of technology in the classroom is a good thing, with great opportunities. The problem that may arise from equipping the classroom with technology is the reliance on that technology. We should rely on the teacher for education and not on the tool for that education, which is technology.
[1] Moorlehem, Tracy Van and Tamara Audi. “Tradition, technology combine in classrooms as change reshapes how children learn.” Detroit Free Press 30 August 1999. 1 May 2004 <
[2] Hogarty, Kristine Y. and Jeffrey D. Kromrey, Research Summary. Florida Center for Instructional Technology. 1 May 2004 <
[3] Peltz, Perri, “Do virtual classrooms make the grade?” CNN.com 18 November 2000, 1 May 2004 <