From Phonics to Phones

The Pros and Cons of a technology filled generation

By Greta Shaughnessy and Max Gray

Pro:

     Technology: it helps us stay connected to everything and anything, no matter the time or place, by the simple swipe of a screen.

Technology use in the classroom has become an enormous part of learning. According to Education Week, more than 1.5 million K-12 students are engaged in a form of online education. It enables us to have a flowing current of updated information right at our fingertips.

Today, using technology in the classroom is so common. Dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedias, flash cards, textbooks, and even a virtual classroom with every handout received in class, are accessible by downloading an app or logging onto a website. Teachers can create a virtual space where they can set up reminders, homework, and calendars with test dates.

     Personally, many of my teachers use Remind and Schoology; both are accessible by phone.

Schoology is an app and website where a handful of my teachers upload notes, videos, worksheets, and  post any class-oriented discussions. Having an account with Schoology has allowed me to have those resources available to me if I am ever absent and it allows me to stay caught up in that class. Also, if I have any questions about homework or the material we learned in class, Schoology allows me to comment on an interactive wall where I can ask my questions and my teacher can respond back to me fast.

     Remind, on the other hand, is a number service my teacher uses to send mass texts to the entire class about any upcoming important dates and homework reminders. It is like Schoology with the exception of links to worksheets, notes, and videos. Because it keeps all phone numbers private, Remind does not allow me to respond back to my teacher. But I have found that it has made weekly planning much easier to have a Remind.

    Being able to use technology has made school much simpler for me as a student.  Having the okay from a teacher to use my phone in class beats having to open a dusty, outdated textbook for the information I need. Not that textbooks aren’t wonderful, but technology allows me, as a student, to access information that might not be easily found in the pages. The information is right there on my phone within a matter of seconds.

     Knowing that I am able to use an app or website to check upcoming tests, quizzes, and projects helps me to plan my week accordingly and efficiently. Technology is everywhere around us, especially as teenagers. So teachers and students should take advantage of opportunities that allow us to use it for education benefits.

Con:

My parents handed me my first phone in eighth grade. It’s main use was for contacting my parents during sports seasons. Over the past five-or-so years, that main use has transformed into distraction, anxiety, and disappointment (in school). The amount of attention I pay to my devices because of social media alone has vastly changed me. The fact that there is now a condition called nomophobia (the fear of being out of mobile contact) speaks volumes about how technology has interrupted our lives.

      Being a senior at Barnstable High School, I can honestly say that there have been many instances when I lose focus in class if I feel the vibration of my phone in my pocket. Is it a text message? A facebook notification? A new follower? My grades have suffered due to the amount of attention I devote to the device I carry.

With personal technology being allowed in school, there is more room for cyberbullying as well.  And as more pictures and videos can be uploaded, degrading texts can be sent between students. All of this can accumulate to an unhappy environment and more. The respect for teachers also decreases because so many students will are sucked into their social life online, rather than the lesson being taught.

     There are some teachers in this school that have a strict policy, allowing no phones in sight during class; whereas some allow phones to be used for educational purposes. The new allowance for phones in the cafeteria has also played a large part in the use of personal technology in school, leaking it out into the hallways. Once it is allowed one place many will take advantage and use their technology wherever they want.

     The prohibition of technology in school such as cell phones, tablets etc, should be looked upon as a refuge for our education. Not allowing it can keep our attention based solely on our learning and less on our social lives, saving technology for where it belongs: at home. It will also keep school a rather pleasant place, somewhere that social media cannot interfere. I believe technology has its place, just not at school.