In times where teachers, resources and technology are being cut, will we have the money to fund technology in education? Technology is always changing. Companies are always looking to outdo their last product. Look at Apple for instance. It seems as though every 12-18 months they are putting out a product that goes a bit further than the last. If you are an Apple customer, you are accustomed to the many software upgrades that you may have to download to your product.
We can search all over the internet and find hundreds of great resources for technology in our classrooms. There are truly some very innovative things going on in the world of education. Unfortunately, certain schools and districts don't receive the necessary funding to implement these revolutionary technologies in their classrooms and we're stuck with children who won't be able to keep up with children in areas that are fortunate to provide them extensive experience with the use of technology.
Does anyone else see this as a problem where you are?
I definitely see this as a problem!! An issue I have is very similar. Technology just changes so much that it is hard to teach one thing and then not have outdated the next time you teach it. This goes along with using the technology. It seems like every month, there is a new update needed for internet explorer or Microsoft programs. Just when we get comfortable with one version, it changes into something completely different.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is so expensive and it feels like we are wasting money. As soon as we buy one thing, it becomes outdated and something supposedly better comes along.
Something my husband mentioned the other day was we can spend money on SMARTboards and things like that when the money can be used for something we need. Technology is a luxury not a necessity. It helps make our jobs a little easier...at least most of the time. When everything transfers over to the technology world are they going to have all the kinks worked out? Are there going to be times when we are trying to teach something and it doesn't show up on all the kids' iPads? I can almost guarantee it with my experience of the track record of technology.
Exactly! While technology can be very useful and it can often be very unpredictable. And you also have to consider that not every teacher is going to have the technical expertise to troubleshoot problems. I think most of us teachers have had moments where the students had to show us how use some of our current technology lol. So, then we would have to have funding to teach teachers how to use the technology....money that we just don't have in schools anymore.
DeleteI agree. These are tough times and funding for technology is something difficult. It's true technology is always changing and it's hard to stay up to date with it. I think a good idea would be to ask companies to donate the products (if possible) to these classrooms. I work at a private school and one day one of the parents came to pick up his son while we were in the computer lab and he suggested that he could get us new computers since the ones we have were outdated!
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about the same thing! I just read an article today that stated the Obama administration wants the use of ipads and kindles to increase so that student text would be digital by 2017. They are saying that the budget for traditional books should be used to make it happen and my first thought was would that be enough money.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the cost of tablets will continue to come down making them easier for schools to obtain, but then would students be required to purchase them or would the schools take care of it. There is the wear and tear factors that would come with kid use too. Also, like you mentioned, technology changes so quickly. Will there be money for upgrades when the time comes. I think this is wonderful and hope it will happen, but I just wonder will there be enough money to implement this.
In the cost would be the need for teacher training too. Without training and ipad is just not effective. Simply putting it in the hands of a child doesn't ensure it will increase learning.
Thanks for voicing a concern of many educators today.
Lydia
You bring up a great point on how expensive and how rapid technology keeps changing. As you can imagine there is no easy answer to this dilemma. The thing about books, papers and pens is that the basic concepts of these items have been perfected through the test of time. Computers, Smartboards, and other electronics are fairly recent phenomena that are still in the stages of perfection and evolution. In fact we may never see the day, when we can truly say that there’s no need to update a computer or replace an ipad because it’s too slow or unable to meet our demands.
ReplyDeleteOne thing is certain is that it’s going to be more difficult for schools especially the urban/rural schools to keep up with the latest gadgets. With that in mind, we probably don’t need to keep up with the most latest off the assembly line products. However I do know how important it is to make sure our students are being exposed to up-to-date technology. One way I strongly think our public education can do this is by encouraging a stronger partnership with these technology corporations. Through these partnership the companies should be investing in the education of our youth and ensuring that our student are able to understand, use and eventually create new useful innovative technology for future generations.
Thank you all for your comments, you bring up some very valid points!! You know I also wonder how "fair" the use of technology may be at times for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Even if the schools purchase class sets for students to use while at school, what happens to those students who don't have the advantage of having this technology at home and are missing out on how to find other creative things to do with the technology? Don't get me wrong, I love technology....but at times I wonder how accomodating our children in schools will ever happen.
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