Uncontrolled Distractions
In a world that is technology dominated, schools have always been the ones falling behind in the race to be “up to date”. Now succumbing to the pressure and demands of students and society, schools have started to introduce technology to their classrooms. Innovating technology in schools presents problems that can’t be controlled and distracts students from actually learning; therefore technology should not be allowed in schools. When I was younger, I entertained myself by reading, or by making dialogue for non-interactive toys. I was outside playing; enjoying what my imagination gave me.
Technology today takes away the stimulation of the mind and the child’s imagination. Everywhere, teachers are trying to catch and hold their students attention, and they believe the only way to do that is to conform to the use of technology. The school will put out lies to justify the change, telling us that it will grow the child’s imagination or that the students will become smarter and focus more. That’s where the school system is wrong about technology, because “being fed so much processed information—video, audio, images, flashing screens, talking toys…—is like being fed too much processed, sugar-rich food” (Source C). People talk about fighting obesity and diabetes, but teachers everywhere are encouraging the obesity and diabetes of the mind.
People everywhere are craving technology, and to add it to the classroom is harming the way students think. By introducing technology in the classrooms, and encouraging kids to use cell phones in class, it’s making the students more dependent on a device to do the research for them. Instead of taking the time to go to a library to look up a source, students are encouraged to use the computers, or even their cell phones. By adding the use of technology in the classroom, is like adding extra sugar to your daily meal: it slows you down. With technology being introduced to the classroom, teachers are slowly being shoved out of the picture.
They are turning into guides or even supervisors; only there to try and make sure we are doing what we are supposed to be doing on the Internet. The schools without realizing it are making the technology teachers. As a result of this, students aren’t learning what they should be. The teachers want to believe that their students are learning, and everything is growing; but nothing is, and especially “not test scores” (Richtel). Test scores have dropped since technology has been introduced in school systems.
According to a sixth grade teacher students are, “tech-savvier than ever” (Kinser). While this is true, it does not mean that we need to incorporate computers and iPads into the daily school routine. By doing so, a bigger hole is being dug, a trap that will cause students from here out to not be able to function or to be able to sit still to hand write a paper, or to read a book in paper form. Teachers are allowing students “to do more learning on their own” (Ruth, Sweeney). The fatal flaw in that idea is the fact that because of technology, student’s attention spans are so short that they can barely focus on what they are doing. That’s without technology, put a computer or iPad in their hands and teachers will find that they will look at things other than what is asked by them.
This generation of teens and kids has the least amount of attention span than ever before. By putting a computer into the hands of an easily distracted person and expecting them to focus is a flaw in the plan. My high school decided to make every student have a mac laptop to use for all of our schoolwork. They downloaded an app called lan-school to control and block what sites we were not supposed to go to. However, I know that just about every single person in that school found a way to get around it. Students are so addicted to the Internet and games that they will find ways to get around it.
With enough will power, they can get around any system. Students rely on technology and the Internet to the point where they will do anything to get it. Teachers can’t control the Internet, and therefore, can’t control the students. When placing an item that has Internet into a student’s hand, it is like giving them the green light to go. Trust me, they won’t go in the way that teachers want or think they will go in. “There is no quality control on the internet” (Source E), so why do teachers believe that there is? There is no way anyone can regulate what his or her student’s look at in a classroom.
While there is the distraction of flashy adds, or the release of new computer and video games, students everywhere will get distracted and not stay focused on the task you gave them. The use of technology in schools is making students more technology reliant. Students can no longer think for themselves, and as depicted in source F, students would rather see the world through a screen then actually going out and encountering it. I know that by using the computer to type our papers, we are relying on spell check and the grammatical correction symbols to come up so we can mindlessly right click, fix it and move on. We are becoming robotic in the fact that we don’t even hesitate to go directly to the Internet for our research. What happened to dictionaries? Textbooks? Books? This generation has become less smart due to the fact that technology distracts us from our goals.
It turns our brains to mush, but yet everyone uses it. If I was asked to describe this generation in two words I would say ‘technology dependent.’ We don’t know what its like without it, and our lives are heavily centered on technology. Thanks to society and the students, school systems are falling, and are starting to put technology in their classrooms. By doing so, they are not only harming this generation and the generations to come, but they are causing unneeded distractions. The Internet does not belong in schools.
Technology does not belong in schools. Teachers do not have the right tools nor do they posses the skills needed to control it. In the end, the school is ill-equipping us for our lives in college and in the world. Technology should be banned from schools before it further distracts students and gets out of control. In conclusion, schools should not be allowed to have technology. Works Cited Geer, Ruth, and Trudy-Ann Sweeney.
“Students’ Voices about Learning with Technology.” Ebsco Host. N.p., n.
d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=104&sid=9f2e48d2-2c2b-4151-a1fe-84cb20d7ce35%40sessionmgr115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=80239457>. Kinser, Ryan. “Virtual Classrooms.” SEEN. Knight Communications, 01 Apr. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. us/articles/article-detail/articleid/1997/virtual-classrooms.aspx>. Ritchel, Matt. “In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores.” The New York Times 04 Sept. 2011: n. pag. The New York Times. 03 Sept. 2011. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.
