SHOULD Technology and Education even meet?

   The question, should technology and education meet, is becoming a hot topic in the classroom and education arena.  There are many people who argue both sides of this question but, as our society progresses, there seems to be an overwhelming push to incorporate technology as much as we can in the classroom.

   I believe that technology should definitely have its place in todays classroom.  If not for anything else, it will at least give children some exposure to different types of media that they will definitely see in society.  In addition to just pure exposure, it gives teachers and educators another resource to use in their classrooms to bring some relevance to their lessons.  Technology, at least on paper, seems like the perfect blend of fun and "work".

   My experiences with technology has been rather slack.  I came from a school that was more than lacking in the technology department.  However, through working in and out of several different schools and doing a bit of research, I have witnessed the pros and cons of the incorporation of technology in classrooms.

Let's start with the Pros:

• The kids, especially at the elementary level, seem to really enjoy the technology (used correctly or not)
• Technology can provide another "angle" in which teach different topics and concepts to children
• Technology incorporation can help bridge achievement gaps between students by allowing students to go more at their own pace
• There are many grants that schools can apply for the be able to obtain several forms of new technology 
• Technology can help aid the teachers/administrators by providing more helpful ways of synching and organizing information
• Technology is constantly changing providing the chance for both the students to learn from the teacher as well as the teacher to learn from the students.

And the Cons:

• While technology can provide access to more tools for exploration in the classroom, technology also provides many ways for children to get distracted, i.e. the internet
• Technology also provides a new medium to teachers in which they have to find and prepare more relevant applications and tools for the students which can be hard and time consuming leaving teachers overwhelmed and frustrated
• The technology that may be needed to include ESL, Special needs programs, etc may not necessarily be covered under grants and can be very expensive
• Technology in general is very expensive, making schools really think about how to configure their budget
• Many teachers are going to need to take additional training to become fully equip with new technology which can be costly and time consuming
• Technology can fail

As we look at the pros and cons, the way I see it, of the incorporation of technology in classrooms I see a major theme; Money.

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  With Finland still topping the charts on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the US is feeling the pressure to "bounce back".  With the US not getting any better tests scores on the international level and NCLB failing, politicians are grasping at straws.  The latest straw they have gotten a hold of is technology.  There are numerous grants and federal programs offering to help schools pay for new technology.  While technology in the classroom obviously has many advantages to students and teachers, we aren't taking the time to implement it correctly.  Training for teachers, carful monitoring of students, professional workshops to give teachers the "best" applications to use in their classrooms, is what we should be focusing on to give technology a chance to work.  Technology dumping on schools is like giving a kid who doesn't know how to ride a bike, a new shiny bike.  While it may be awesome to look at, and maybe push it around, but that child isn't reaching the full potential fun-ness that he/she could be having because he/she doesn't know how to use it properly.

  I'm not trying to slam technology, I'm actually a big believer that educators should be incorporating technology into their classrooms.  However, I also believe that the US should not be using technology as it's crutch for bringing up tests scores on an international and national level.  If technology and educators can find the happy medium of technological incorporation without technological dumping I think it can be very successful in the classroom setting.  It will not fix all of the educational system's problems, but it can provide another tool to engage more students which, as future educators, is our real goal.