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.