Technology in the classroom, at all grade levels, is a fairly new issue that the United States education system is currently dealing with. Some people believe that technology can be used to enhance educational experience,  while others believe that it wastes time and causes too many distractions. This struggle between the use of technology can even be seen throughout classrooms on campus here at Penn State University. This week I am going to take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of using technology in the classroom setting.

One of the reasons why educators and administrators think technology should be used in classrooms is simply because of its newfound availability. Because technology is so common today, it is easy for students to get access to technology and it is also easy for schools to get access to a large amount of technology for the district. Building off of this idea of availability, something called “Digital Citizenship” is becoming a common term among many students and schools today. Due to the fact that so many students have technology and social media accounts, they need to learn how to use these platforms responsibly. Having technology available in the classroom is one way to teach students these essential skills that they will need for the rest of their lives, as technology continues to advance. There are ways to teach digital citizenship without allowing students to bring their own technology devices, though. My home school in Saint Clair, Pennsylvania recently created a class entitled, “Digital Citizenship” where students are taught about the responsibility that comes along with using technology. The classroom where this is taught is equipped with desktop computers and ipads that are owned by the district and no personal devices are allowed. 

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With that being said, there is a big difference between allowing students to use their own technology devices or  devices that the school provides. When the school provides a device and a login account, they can monitor what goes in through those devices; when a student uses their own devices, there is no monitoring. On the other hand, students might not be able to get access to the internet on their own devices if the wifi is locked and needs a password. Of the two options, I think that having school-provided technology is the best option because it can be monitored and it can hold students accountable for their actions.

Sometimes, having technology readily available is also just easier. If students need to type a report or do research on something or even access a textbook online, allowing students to have and use technology is easier, from the perspective of an educator and a student.

Along with using technology individually comes great responsibility from the students. This is not a bad thing, though. Students need to learn how to be responsible and autonomous for their actions. A component of education that is very important is autonomy because it makes students feel as though they have more control over their education and their experiences, thus becoming more engaged in their work. Using technology in the classroom can teach students self-regulation from a young age which will ultimately make their lives easier as they get older and move further in their education.

Despite its many benefits, there are also many drawbacks to using technology in the classroom. Perhaps the biggest issue comes from students being distracted, especially as they get further on into their educational careers. It is so easy and accessible for students to just hop on Facebook or instagram. It is so easy and accessible for students to shop or listen to music when they are supposed to be independently working on an assignment. It is also easy for students who are distracted to distract their other classmates as well. Some might think that in reality, this only hurts the student that is choosing not to be engaged in the lesson, but it does hurt other students’ academic successes as well.

A very important part of being an educator is using classroom time to its absolute fullest and not wasting a second. Technology makes this aspect of being an educator very difficult. When you are dealing with 25-30 students who are all trying to get onto the same website at one time, there are inevitable issues that will arise – the internet will slow down, someone’s device won’t be charged, someone will be unable to login and countless other problems. This can really hurt the time allotted for instruction and it can also hurt the way the classroom is managed. Especially in elementary school level classrooms, when the teacher is busy with one student, other students see that as an opportunity to goof off and ultimately get themselves into trouble.

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Schools have the capability of making technology available to all students in today’s day and age. Before measures are taken to equip students with technology, educators and administrators need to research the advantages and disadvantages of technology in an educational setting to see if their students will truly benefit.

Funding the arts has been a controversial topic of conversation in the United States and in other countries around the world for many years.  People do not know if the arts should be funded. Some people believe that funding the arts takes away money from other areas. Others believe that funding the arts makes the arts programs too dependent on government money.  Many people believe that the arts should be funded because of all of the opportunities that are afforded to students through the arts. This week I am going to explore the benefits and drawbacks of publicly funding the arts in our schools.

The arts play an essential role in the development of students from a very young age.  One of the primary goals of teaching the arts at a young age is to give students some basic background information they will need for academic success.  This information that early arts programs is meant to teach includes the basic shapes and colors. It also needs to be noted that teaching the arts is not an easy task.  There is a lot of grey area included in the subject matter instead of black and white answers to problems. Not only do the arts teach basic information, the arts can also teach important skills.  When students are in their early childhood ages, communication and socialization skills are not yet fully developed. Students often struggle with controlling their temper and working with other students; the arts help to develop these skills.  The way that most arts programs and art classes are setup is heavily based on discussion. Because the arts include so much grey area, discussion and communication are necessary to gain the essential knowledge that the students need.

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The arts make students become more engaged in the classroom, especially for the students who are typically underserved in other areas.  These underserved groups of students include students that come from low-income families and special needs students. As of right now, these are the students that are showing the greatest academic improvement in their studies with an implemented arts program.  Unfortunately, these students who need the arts and arts education the most are often the last to receive this kind of education due to lack of funds.

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The arts were once successfully funded by the government and government programs, now under President Trump’s administration funding is in danger of being drastically cut.  Trump’s administration is pushing to cut the NEA and stop funding the arts altogether.  Under the Obama administration, the NEA funds were barely a dent in the total federal budget.  Our current administration largely believes that the arts should not be funded, but there are organizations like the NEA that are fighting to not cut funds because they can see the positive effects the arts have on students.

The NEA distributes its funds to both individual artists and organizations.  Many of the funds go to poverty-stricken areas that need the most funding. The funds are also given to prison programs, people with disabilities, and hospitals.  These funds are carefully given out through an elected board of directors. The board receives application requests for grants and funding and then panels go through the applications; the chairperson of the NEA then looks at the final round of applications and makes the ultimate decision of who will receive the funds.  This process ensures that the funds are distributed to those that need it the most.

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In today’s society the arts are looked down upon, especially in education.  The two big subjects today are math and science. The Space Race can be to blame for the shortage of artists and the lack of support for the arts.  When America fell behind in the Space Race, there was a push for science and math in the education system.  Americans believed that we needed our citizens to be better trained in these subjects to be able to be the best country in the world.  Along with this idea that science and math were the most important subjects, came the idea that there needed to be a correct and an incorrect answer for everything.  This is why subjects like reading and the arts, where there is more room for thought and creativity, fell behind. The fact of the matter is, even in a world where science and math reign supreme, the arts can help emphasize these subjects.  As was mentioned earlier, the arts can enhance core subjects and make students think more critically, which could potentially push America to the top in the fields of science and math, as well as reading and the arts at the same time. 

The arts have the capability to create informed, educated, productive citizens in society. The benefits of the arts are positive and they could help to put America’s education back on top. Policymakers and the current government administration need to be informed about the positive effects of arts integrated education. Instead of cutting funds, policy makers could find alternative ways to fund the arts and not take more money out of the federal budget as well; we just need to get creative!