While the positives of technology seem to be never ending, the downsides tend to add up just as much, maybe even more, making the integration to a “Smart Classroom” more difficult for students and staff. Technology often poses as a distraction, a way to cheat, and even tries to replace teachers-- all very dangerous when regarding a child’s education. The most important of these negatives is distraction. When working with computers or tablets it is so easy to venture off into non educational sites. Students could easily access their Facebook or Twitter accounts, watch silly cat videos on YouTube, or try and beat their high score on Flappy Bird or other mobile videogames. Instructor of Mathematics at College of Saint Mary, Kelly Murphy,
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While a majority of students in this generation have grown up using computers, tablets, and cellphones not all families were able to provide these luxuries for their children. Therefore, some students would be at a disadvantage; They would first have to be educated on how to utilize their devices before they could be educated on the actual curriculum. Instructor, Greg Garth here at College of Saint Mary finds that he runs into this issue quite frequently in class-- especially in the beginning of the year when students are still trying to adapt to new learning websites. He shared, “They [the students] have to learn the system on the fly and it might be cumbersome to them. I’ve had students email me asking about where to find something on Canvas” (Garth). Canvas is the main education site used at College of Saint Mary and is used for teachers to upload assignments, post announcements, and insert student’s grades; Students use this site to turn in homework and keep track of their academic progress. Previously mentioned Allyah Rayyan vouched for the difficulty in using an unfamiliar site, “It [Canvas] can be a little annoying because of not knowing how to use them at first… If they could be improved it would be to make all the professors and students …show more content…
The issue of professors not fully understanding technology raises another issue: teachers being unsure how to implement technology into their curriculum without replacing the curriculum all together. Often times teachers believe that because the class information is available to students online, that they no longer need to instruct the students. This is not the case, regardless of whether or not students can find the needed information they still need the instructor to help explain and apply real world scenarios so that the information is easier to process. Murphy brought up this idea and simply stated, “The most important aspect of technology it is a tool, it is not meant to be used as the whole curriculum” (Murphy). Although communication was previously mentioned as a positive it also has a negative aspect. While using technology some important human interaction is lost; The importance of communication skills such as eye contact and body language are crucial, and without everyday face to face interaction those skills cannot be practiced and used. Technology can also give some people a false sense of strength which allows them to say certain things they would not otherwise say in person-- this may sound like a
While a majority of students in this generation have grown up using computers, tablets, and cellphones not all families were able to provide these luxuries for their children. Therefore, some students would be at a disadvantage; They would first have to be educated on how to utilize their devices before they could be educated on the actual curriculum. Instructor, Greg Garth here at College of Saint Mary finds that he runs into this issue quite frequently in class-- especially in the beginning of the year when students are still trying to adapt to new learning websites. He shared, “They [the students] have to learn the system on the fly and it might be cumbersome to them. I’ve had students email me asking about where to find something on Canvas” (Garth). Canvas is the main education site used at College of Saint Mary and is used for teachers to upload assignments, post announcements, and insert student’s grades; Students use this site to turn in homework and keep track of their academic progress. Previously mentioned Allyah Rayyan vouched for the difficulty in using an unfamiliar site, “It [Canvas] can be a little annoying because of not knowing how to use them at first… If they could be improved it would be to make all the professors and students …show more content…
The issue of professors not fully understanding technology raises another issue: teachers being unsure how to implement technology into their curriculum without replacing the curriculum all together. Often times teachers believe that because the class information is available to students online, that they no longer need to instruct the students. This is not the case, regardless of whether or not students can find the needed information they still need the instructor to help explain and apply real world scenarios so that the information is easier to process. Murphy brought up this idea and simply stated, “The most important aspect of technology it is a tool, it is not meant to be used as the whole curriculum” (Murphy). Although communication was previously mentioned as a positive it also has a negative aspect. While using technology some important human interaction is lost; The importance of communication skills such as eye contact and body language are crucial, and without everyday face to face interaction those skills cannot be practiced and used. Technology can also give some people a false sense of strength which allows them to say certain things they would not otherwise say in person-- this may sound like a