Danielle Grieco

ED 685 Issues in Educational Technology

Issues Position Paper
19 February, 2017

With the rapid and ubiquitous rise of technology and its implementation in all sectors of life, controversy
and discussion have kept pace with this change, accompanying new tool developments and new ideas for using
technology to change lives. The educational world is one such place that has seen massive changes in past
years, but discussion for and against technology in schools has continued to remain a part of these changes.
Those fighting the widespread adoption of technology in schools claim that promises of increased student
learning and performance are rarely backed by credible research, and we dont have true markers proving the
educational benefits of technology (Oppenheimer). Others argue that technology presents a financial strain on
schools, as districts buy the newest tools and devices promising to accelerate student learning, then do not have
the time and money to sufficiently train teachers in their use, so these purchases do not dramatically affect
student learning for the better. Since the tool is what was promised to do so much good, and the tool hasnt
delivered the promised results, schools often credit the tool as a failure, and then the cycle begins again with
other new tools (Cuban). From the earlier quoted article by Todd Oppenheimer, the argument is made that
computers and technology actually reduce human innovation, as all programs or tools have a preset end. The
student is working to find and achieve that end, sometimes repeatedly, and the opportunity for innovative and
creative learning is actually hindered. One very interesting argument focused on the neurological development
that takes place as a child is growing. If, author Jane Healy states, key neuron groups in the mind are never
activated because we implement technology that can accomplish the same ends, so early on in the learning
process, then those cognitive segments of the brain may become permanently unusable.
Those fighting for the increased use of technology in learning are equally as intense and convincing in
their lobbying. An interview with Cheryl Lemke revealed an interesting insight, namely, that those who want to
know if technology is working (and who maybe believe that it is not) are connecting this answer to an actually
unspoken question, that of whether or not test scores are increasing because of the implementation of
technology (Brown). If that is indeed the real question that will determine the role of technology in schools,
says Lemke, then schools should be working harder to pinpoint the actual deficiency in student learning in
particular content areas, and should, from there, formulate an instructional solution, which may very well utilize
technology. Another inescapable point, made in the same interview, is that students of the 21st century are
entering an era that is personified by technology, and student learning of and with tools that will penetrate their
lives after school is a must. Seymour Papert also presents a striking point advocating the use of technology in
schools: the educational system as we have it today is largely founded upon the idea that all learning will stem
from the ability to read, whereas now, in the 21st century, complete with its vast array of information that is
accessible via the internet and which can be completely assimilated by means of all the senses, reading is no
longer strictly necessary for learning (Papert). A final point in the argument for technology, and one which is
arresting, is that students of this era are actually different.they have been raised in an environment where
technology and its effects were permeating, and the abilities and cerebral structure of these students is truly
different than that of past generations (Jukes). This being the case, our teaching and expectations for student
learning cannot anticipate a sameness with what we ourselves went through. In order to reach these students,
we have to engage with them in the way that they have become accustomed to living and the way that their
minds have become programmed to operate.
Technology can truly serve to enhance student learning, maximizing the effectiveness of the lessons.
Students who would ordinarily not be able to afford to take field trips, for instance, whose school budgets leave
no room for trips to museums or historical sites, can be taken practically anywhere in the world, and be given
a virtual tour through live skyping from willing people in other schools, or can access all the first-hand
information of that place through a little web based research. The internet could provide access to countless
portals of information on history, culture, government and language translation. Educational and innovative
learning possibilities are limitless, with pen paling with a same aged student in that country being just one such
simple example. Thus it seems that technology can bolster the curriculum and the instruction in schools by
offering vicarious experience to students that is up to date, and which also makes possible a depth of exploration
that hard copy props just wouldnt be able to offer. To me, however, the danger that technology poses for
students is that we end up replacing the learner with the learning process. While many subjects in school
curricula today will not be something each student goes on to make their profession and career, these subjects
provide a means for cognitive development. The goal is not a classroom full of robotic children who all think
the same way. The goal is a classroom full of unique thinkers, who can arrive at unknown conclusions in any
aspect of life, using the information that they do have and the tools that can help them access additional
necessary information. We want learners to be intellectually able to abstract, filter, and judiciously relegate
information. We want them to distinguish and pull the essential from the superfluous and the supporting. With
this in mind, technology in the learning environment becomes more hindrance than help if and when we use it
to the point of losing the student. To expound, if faculty and staff are not well enough trained in the use of
school technologies, or if implementing a tool takes excessive amounts of time because of complexity or
compatibility resolution questions, or if we require that students use tools or programs but they do not have to
step back and reorient themselves with why we had them use it at all, then we risk turning what could have been
a phenomenal educational enhancement into a mass babysitting session. Students are entering a world vastly
different that the one we learned in. Students must should be savvy enough to know how to use the technologies
that surround them and which will be certainly a part of the working world that they enter. The key guiding
element, however, seems to lie in our mindset as we teach and train students. What should guide our use or
implementation or purchase choices for technology in schools should be whether that entity will enhance each
students learning process, or highjack it. Hopefully a quick example will illustrate this principle in action: the
other day in freshmen ancient history I was discussing population distribution with the class. Countless
fundamentals stem from population distribution, regardless of the era, such as ease of access, ease of transport,
trade option, natural resources, terrain and climate. The students were respectfully listening, but there wasnt
that spark of connection I was hoping for. I paused and pulled up an easily googled picture of the United States
at nighttime, most likely captured via satellite imagery. It shows the lights that are on at night in America, and
simultaneously shows exactly where the most densely populated parts of the country are by light intensity and
amount. Finding and showing the picture took less than 90 seconds by the time I walked around the whole
room, and the comprehension was instantaneous. Each student could see immediately and effortlessly where
populations were densest in areas that matched the conversation we had had and whose core tenets I had been
trying to impress. Every student immediately saw what I had been trying to explain, and will probably
remember it better too! This is a very simple yet perfect example of technology enhancing the learning process.
However, the assessments for students working with this sector will require that they can grasp and productively
work with the concept of population distribution. The US nighttime picture can even be an example they
reference or which they use to illustrate their analysis, but the end goal is student cognitive connection and
assimilation of content area concepts. If the implementation of technology in education can serve the purpose of
enhancing the learning process, without allowing the tool to become the focus of the learning (as opposed to the
learning itself), then by all means, parents and educators and policy makers around the globe should be working
to find and implement these in the world of education.

References
Brown, M. Moving the Technology Agenda. Retrieved from
http://www.4teachers.org/keynotes/lemke/index.shtml.

Hargadon, S. Interview with Larry Cuban, Author of Oversold and Underused: Computers in the Classroom.
Retrieved from http://www.stevehargadon.com/2006/09/interview-with-larry-cuban-author-of.html. September
2008.

Healy, J. Endangered Minds. Retrieved from

http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/future/creating_the_future/crfut_healy.cfm.

Jukes, I. Understanding Digital Children. Retrieved from http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/file/view/Jukes+-

+Understanding+Digital+Kids.pdf. 2006.

Oppenheimer, T. The Computer Delusion. Retrieved from http://www.tnellen.com/ted/tc/computer.htm.

Papert, S. Obsolete Skills Set: the Three Rs. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/1993/02/1-2-papert/