Over the past five years or so, mobile technology has boomed–big. Today, it is not uncommon for students as young as grade school to have smartphones or other connectivity devices at their disposal and this does not exclude the classroom setting. The biggest looming question behind all of this is simple: is this new technology something we, as educators, should be embracing, or is it something that needs to be monitored, looked into, and restricted in the classroom?
Most research out there on this topic is very opinionated and biased towards either one extreme or the other. It seems that as an educator, you either have to be totally on board with mobile technology in the classroom, or completely against it; you cannot fall into the middle ground and only use it sometimes and not others.
While reading through the articles for this blog, I found that I was reading the same opinion over and over again: mobile technology is great and we should all be using it in the classroom. However, I began to wonder why I felt that I was being almost yelled at by these articles, and then it hit me: there was no other side. Being the natural researcher and writer that I am, I wanted to hear the negative side; I actually was seriously wondering why there were no negative opinions in any of the articles. But, before I move on to that, I will outline the benefits of using mobile technology in the classroom:
- A cheaper one-to-one student/teacher ratio
- Easier note-taking for students
- Fun and interactive
- Students are geared towards technology, so they are more engaged
- Ability to easily record lessons, lectures, or questions for later listening
- Huge use for students with disabilities such as autism and ADHD
So now, while those are all really great things that can seriously benefit classroom instruction, I want to talk a little about the negatives that I did not find presented in the articles I read.
- Cost:
- This one is huge. With education budgets being dwindled in many states, the question of how to pay for all of this expensive technology has yet to really be answered.
- Limited learning:
- If students are able to use technology more for one subject than another, they may not be enthused in, say, English and only be motivated to participate in the science class that uses interactive web games to learn.
Negative Effects of Using Technology in Today’s Classroom:
This article outlines the negative effects of technology in today’s classroom and makes some interesting points beyond the most obvious of cost and distractibility of students.
However, although I am a skeptic of technology in the classroom, another article I found from the Huffington Post, Technology in the Classroom: The Good and the Bad eased some of that skepticism with the idea of addiction versus engagement. The way the idea was talked about was that just because students are engaged in some sort of technology doesn’t mean that it is a bad thing.
Overall, I think that technology does have a place in the classroom, but we must work hard to figure out just what that is, and how we, as educators, can use it.
Education Endeavors 
Hi Nicole! I too was a skeptic of technology in the classroom, but when most of us were growing up, we didn’t have that ability and it can be so hard to see how beneficial something like technology in the classroom can be. Its hard to imagine technology being so beneficial. Technology has come a long way and we are constantly developing and finding new educational uses for technology in the classroom. This assignment has been great to inform us of the different technology uses and teach us how to effectively use technology in the classroom. I think that we have to be careful with how we use technology though. I have been in classrooms where the Ipad, computer, and interactive whiteboards are overused, just as a way to keep students occupied so that the teachers don’t have to do as much work. While we see technology becoming very huge, especially in the special education world, we need to make sure that teachers are being supervised and trained to use technology effectively. You cannot expect to drop something totally new on teachers and tell them to use it in their classrooms effectively without providing the proper training. I did my blog post on interactive whiteboards and I find the training aspect for teachers to be huge. Not only do I think that we need good trainings, I also think that schools should frequently keep up on new and exciting apps, websites, technological activities, etc to keep teachers excited to use the technology in the classroom.
LikeLike
Erica,
You make a great point about keeping the teachers excited to use technology in the classroom. While it may seem pretty obvious that the students will love anything that is “techy”, as a teacher it also comes down to figuring out how to justify the technology in the classroom, what exactly to do with it, and how to handle the misuse of it. I feel that having professional developments that focus on answering those questions would be a really awesome way to keep both the teachers, and then in turn the students, happy with the technology in the classroom.
I’m wondering if you have any insights on how iPads or other personal handheld devices can be used in a special education classroom or with a student with special needs?
LikeLike
I agree, I am glad that you brought up the point of how to handle the misuse of technology. Luckily we have the ability to restrict technology. For example, there are several cool Ipad tips and tricks that you can use, my favorite is the trick to keep students from deviating from an app that the class is using. I had a student who I was working with and we were working on writing. He was able to use my Ipad for reinforcement purposes (two minutes of free play after completion of an undesired task). I was able to lock him into the letter tracing app until he completed the activity, then I just typed in a code to unlock the Ipad for free play! I do believe that because learning and technology have begun to mix, we will begin to see more and more ways to restrict technology use for students to prevent misuse and to keep students on task so they aren’t becoming distracted.
As for your question about Ipad use and other handheld devices with special needs students, I do have some insight! The past two summers I worked for a whole school of self-contained classrooms (last year I worked in a severely cognitively impaired/ Autism classroom: 18-22 year olds, and this summer I am in an early childhood: 2-6 year old ASD classroom). I also work in homes of children with special needs and at a center doing intensive therapy. Needless to say, I have seen the use of Ipads and personal handheld devices in several settings with this population. I have seen the ipad used for tracing on tracing apps (using a stylus), timers (specifically visual timers which can be important to those with special needs), educational games, interactive social play (this sounds silly because it is using electronics, but two player games are available, my favorite is the game of Life), and for reinforcers for positive behavior. I have seen personal devices like phones mainly used for timers, however, if you do not have an ipad, you can download several of the same (or similar) apps on a phone to do many of the same things! I think having these devices in the classroom are wonderful resources.
How have you seen these different technologies in the classroom? Have you seen them used in different ways in a general education program? And I see that you are seeking a degree in secondary education- with that being said, do you have any good ideas on how to use these devices with older kids?
LikeLike
Thank you for your insight! I never knew just how much you could use and iPad for in the classroom and I think that it is really amazing what a little bit of technology can do for children with special needs. I feel that when it is beneficial to a student, why not try it.
As for in the gen ed program, I can’t say that I have had too much experience with any sort of technology as of yet. However, during my observation hours at my old high school, all of the students had their own MacBook’s that they brought to class and used throughout the class period. Basically, they used them during warm up time to journal off of a prompt and during other periods of the class time to work on collaborative things. I think that the biggest thing with older students is to make sure that whatever you require technology to do is not tedious and boring. Younger kids, I feel, really are fascinated by technology because it’s not as familiar to them and they are excited about the physical aspect of being able to use it. Older students know how to use the technology, normally, very well and I feel are quicker to become bored of something.
Going into English, I can see the benefits of having laptops/iPads in the class room as well as the downfalls. I can see a huge opportunity for blogging, collaboration via google docs and other editing sources, but I also see places where answers are quickly looked up and when something is challenging Google will become the closest consultant instead of a peer or teacher.
LikeLike
Yeah, I do like the idea of blogging for English type classes, students would enjoy that and maybe get into a fun habit of using the blog outside of school as well. I also agree with you that younger students are more excited abut technology because it is still new to them. When I was in middle school and had to take a typing class, I HATED it. It was SO boring and tedious- and it didn’t do me any good for my future. I loved the idea of using a computer, but that class made using technology seem so terrible. Pairing assignments such as writing with technology like blogs makes for a more exciting assignment.
LikeLike
What’s interesting is that Erica’s statement works for something she likes to do (writing). In some of the coding discussions, people were adamant that it be a separate course/class/activity and not integrated into another curriculum (e.g., using coding to create a game for a math class).
LikeLike