As we've discussed technology is an ever changing field that is constantly having upgrades and advances year to year. Schools everywhere want to teach their children how to use this upcoming technology for their future for later education and their careers. However, a big issue now is funding to public schools for even simple things like supplies. Do you feel that the cost of technology in schools is worth it and that most can keep up with this? What about those that don't have the means beyond government funding, should they receive extra help or be able to use another schools technology? How will they and their students keep up?
38 Comments
George Pincock
3/27/2012 02:37:29 am
Funding for technology is a pretty big deal. No two school districts are alike. This is particularly true when it comes to the financial side of things. I believe that alot of the big technology companies (i.e. apple) go out of their way to make deals for schools and students. This helps, but is it enough. You also have to think about homework that requires technology and how the no every student will have the financial resource to have that technology available at home. I think that there are so many upsides to having technology be part of our educational system, but we also can not ignore the facts that there are a lot of gray areas.
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Popi Stevens
3/28/2012 12:56:50 am
I agree with the comment it may be unfair to assign homework (computer assignments) to all students because every student has a different financial up bringing. I know a couple of my friends in high school still did not have access to a computer so it may be a disadvantage to assign that kind of homework.
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Audrey Crabtree
3/31/2012 11:07:43 am
I agree with you. The gray areas are vast and their is no one sure answer. Each situation calls for something different and this is a very tough subject.
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Ryan Mansfield
4/5/2012 12:30:16 am
I agree with what you are agreeing with. My concern with what is taking place within our educational system right now, is the fact that we continuously regulate and tell teachers what they can and cannot do. This works and this doesn't. How does someone sitting in an office in Washington D.C. know what is going to work for a particular teacher or classroom in let's say Boonville, Missouri?
Kelli Miller
4/4/2012 02:02:11 am
Funding is an enormous facet of education. It seems as if we're looking any crevace or making certain changes that will free up money. I, too, agrre that no two school districts are alike. But you brought up a good point. The big companies such as Apple, Microsoft, etc... do go out and help disadvantaged school districts and donate the proper equipment for the schools to be technologicaly up to date. However, I believe that children with help from their teachers, parents, and other professionals need to be educated on their surroundings. Meaning that children should be knowledgeable of where they can go to use technology like a computer for assignments. I think some schools don't exhaust all necessary routes when trying to get funding or some other need. Some districts give up too easily.
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Heather Kirkendoll
3/27/2012 10:47:21 am
Equal and fair funding is a huge issue. Should states provide more funding to lower income schools, even though the majority of funds comes from wealthier counties taxes? I don't know if there is a fair conclusion. Yet it does raise a point that technology is a great tool, but we need to figure a way to make more attainable for some.
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Jeremy Esry
3/28/2012 12:42:19 am
It would be great for equal and fair funding however I agree there probably is not a good fair conclusion in doing so. If a political sciece major ever came up with a great plan for doing so they could probably go a long way in our government system.
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Kelli Miller
4/4/2012 02:38:59 am
Heather,
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Melea Shimkus
4/6/2012 01:49:50 pm
It would be nice for all the schools to have the newest technology available, but many cannot afford it. There really is no way to be fair about it because some schools have more money than others. Maybe some of the schools with more money can somehow share their technology with others?
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Christopher Sandefur
3/27/2012 11:50:36 pm
Updates of technology are being made constantly and this makes it hard for schools to prepare students on these advancements. This is also expensive. I believe the challenge can be how to make sure every student is getting equal opportunity to experience technological advancements. With schools struggling with funding and others not as much, clearly this causes an imbalance. Grants are available for schools to do upgrades but by the time upgrades are made something new is already out.
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George Pincock
3/28/2012 02:40:57 am
I never thought about the upgrade/update side of it. It seems like more than a hassle to make sure everyone is running the same version of "x" program just so they can do their home work.
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Robert Thomas
4/1/2012 10:27:19 pm
If there is any money that can be raised for the school fundings then the debate becomes where does the money go towards? That could be a tough one to answer in schools these days there are alot of places the money can go to, to improve the schools whos to say that the technology side or any side is the most important.
casey costa
3/28/2012 07:42:12 am
I feel like the advancements are somewhat harmful because of all of the changes that are constantly being made. I saw a blog that there are people that are being trained at the collegiate level for jobs that don't even exist yet with technology that isn't here yet. This makes it practically impossible to keep up
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Audrey Crabtree
3/31/2012 11:09:49 am
I brought up this same issue and I think that the upgrade and up to date issue is one of the biggest issue. We are always playing catch up, which makes it hard for schools even the schools that have funding. So how do we expect the low funded schools to hang in there.
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Jeremy Esry
3/28/2012 12:36:28 am
I think that the cost for technology in schools is very much worth it, no matter if we like it or not, the entire world, especailly the United States are using technology in almost every aspect of life to make a living. It is important for schools to keep up with the changes in technology as much as possible so they can better educate their students. I don't think that this neccessarly means they always have to have the latest equipments or updates because that is probably infeasable, however they should atleast be up to date enough for their students to be able to be successful when they enter college or the workforce. For those that only get by on government funding I think it is important to educate them as much as possible on grants and other means that they can apply for.
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casey costa
3/28/2012 07:44:33 am
I agree that it is worth it to have and learn the technology that is common and that it better prepares students for their future. That's a good point that schools need to keep up to date but not with every update because of the cost and most updates are not significant and only include minor upgrades.
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Christopher Sandefur
3/29/2012 09:31:07 am
I agree with you about how it is crucial to stay up to date on technology to make sure students are successful. Almost every job is equipped with the newest technology. It is important to give students a fair chance of being able to learn what they need to be successful.
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Heather Kirkendoll
3/30/2012 11:24:59 am
I like the idea of educating the districts on possible grants to provide more funding. And I agree that it stinks to try to keep up, but we should do all that we are able to with the resources we do have.
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Stacy Crommie
3/31/2012 06:40:46 pm
That is exactly what is hard to do . "be up to date enough for their students to be able to be successful". Our biggest goal is to provide an education that gives a student every bit of help to become successfful. If the school is not up on technology the teachers and administrators hands are tied.
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Popi Stevens
4/1/2012 10:29:43 am
I agree it is worth it. I think another problem is technology is always changing so the funding is going to have to keep coming in. Computers start to get outdated and new ones are needed and other stuff needs to be replaced to keep up with the times.
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Stephanie Armiger
4/1/2012 01:00:59 pm
Good point, it is hard to keep up with the latest technology, because technology is always changing. Also, with more technology equipment, means that they will need more technology specialists to help maintain the equipment.
Matthew Clanahan
4/1/2012 10:31:54 pm
The cost of technology can obviously become prohibitive for many schools. I think that a vast majority of schools need to re-examine their budgets and consider designating a larger percentage toward technology.
Matthew Clanahan
4/1/2012 11:08:30 pm
Jeremy makes some excellent points. The equipment doesn't have to be top-of-the-line, but it does need to be present. There are lots of cheaper alternatives that schools could take advantage of. Also, like Jeremy said, there are other options besides government funding that should be taken into consideration.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
4/2/2012 12:10:47 am
You're right, we do have to keep up with technology in the US if we want our kids to be ahead. I believe that even if it's one unit (iPad or SMARTboard or Kindle, etc) that the kids can be exposed to, the better off they'll be in the future workforce.
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Popi Stevens
3/28/2012 12:54:23 am
This is a tough question because we are having job cut backs and schools are dropping sports and clubs due to the lack of funding. But i do think it is important to fund for technology in our classrooms. Students need to be given the oppurtunity to learn (by using technology in the classroom). I do however think that teachers should be taken care of (first) and sports and clubs should hopefully not be cut due to funding for Computers ect.
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Heather Kirkendoll
3/30/2012 11:27:36 am
Good point about budget. I think most people would agree some of the things that get cut, like a program or teacher, would benefit these kids a great deal more than making sure there are smart boards or document cameras.
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Audrey Crabtree
3/31/2012 10:24:12 am
I think that the cost is for sure worth it but it may not be attainable for all that need it. This is just the way of the world and not everyone can keep up. I think that the government should keep helping, if not help more. Some situations are going to take longer than others because funding just isn't there. Until we find a way to make things cheaper, things will probably continue on the same route.
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Thomas Buehler
4/1/2012 09:08:52 pm
How would the government make declarations of which funds to delegate to which in need schools? I agree with you that they should help but I think that it is very difficult and an ongoing issue for many school districts.
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Stacy Crommie
3/31/2012 06:36:20 pm
This is a very tough subject. Technology is very necessary in schools because of our everchanging society. I believe the government needs to help but I believe the lottery is helping with that. At least it is supposed to go to education. Unfortunately, technology is a hard thing to keep up with financially and some schools will suffer.
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Stephanie Armiger
4/1/2012 12:55:58 pm
I think it would be great if all schools were able to have the latest technology to help engage their students. However, I realize this is not possible because of funding issues. As, I have visited different school districts, I can tell a vast difference between the types of technology available at larger school districts versus smaller school districts. Again, I am sure this has to due with funding issues.
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Thomas Buehler
4/1/2012 09:16:10 pm
I think that in an ideal world, all schools would have access to all of the latest technology. However, lack of funding makes it difficult for all schools to have the same opportunities. I know a lot of people in this class know about and have dealt with delegation of governement more than I have. It's my understanding that the governement attempts to help out in need communities on an in need basis. I think that any money given to a school by the government should be used for supplies and technology that is crucial for learning.
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Robert Thomas
4/1/2012 10:23:48 pm
It will also cost alot for the updating of the technology as well. With the changes it seems like there is new technology everyday. Schools are cutting alot of programs that they use to have. It will be tough for any school that doesnt have it in the budget to update the technology in the classrooms. Then it comes down to if they did have money where should it go. Because with technology it seems like u always need something more to have the thing you just bought work.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
4/2/2012 12:07:27 am
Updates are an issue, but hopefully there's a buyback type of program that the company would honor. If a new SMARTboard was being purchased, perhaps the company would take the old one and give credit for the "recycled" one. Or maybe companies would be able to give education discounts or bundle things together too.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
4/2/2012 12:06:07 am
Technolgoy is a huge burden on many school districts. The financial cost is outrageous, however it's the future and to prepare our students for it, we've got to be able to provide them with access to technolgoy. There are grants and other matching funds for technolgoy- some districts have grant writers on staff, others have teacher that apply themselves. Other districts are wealthy enough (because of sales taxes) that they don't have to worry. It's not equal across the board but access to technology needs to be. Even if each school had one iPad or one SMARTboard- the teachers could share it and expose their kids to the technology.
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Nick Camp
4/3/2012 10:36:03 pm
Government funding is already extremely bare as it is. I doubt that schools will be able to keep up with the trend of putting new computers, Ipads, SmartBoards etc in classrooms as they have been. School districts are cutting programs and laying off teachers as it is, I don't know where the money would come from to keep up with all the technology advances. I do think students should be able to learn how to use new technology properly, but sometimes I wonder if going back to the traditional school model may be more efficient.
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Ryan Mansfield
4/4/2012 11:18:04 am
My question is with the economy the way it is, is the whole I-pad, smartboard and every other piece of technology thing really the way to go about keeping costs down in schools? The more items that have to be plugged in, the more power a school uses, the more virus are spread and the more tech people have to hired and the better chance a student has to damage his or her piece of machinery.
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Ryan Mansfield
4/4/2012 11:21:41 am
The biggest problem that I see with this is the fact that in some districts, schools are laying off very good teachers in order to replace them with machines in an attempt to cut costs. What happens when the machines break? Do the students just not learn or do anything until the machines are fixed? What happens when the machines have a glitch and keep turning off in the middle of an assignment? Are the machines going to be able to sit down with a student after class or before class and explain the lesson from that day in a different way the student may be able to understand it? Probably not. But yet we see this as a cheap and easy fix to replace people.
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Melea Shimkus
4/6/2012 01:58:18 pm
I think that the cost of technology is worth it. But I also think that schools should not spend all of their money on technology updates because there are many other needs that schools have. A fair amount of money from the budget should go to new technology, but many schools cannot simply afford it. The schools that cannot afford new technology each year should wait and only purchase things every few years. This could help with the cost.
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Student BlogThis blog is for class conversations for ED 514 at Central Methodist University. These post are by the students of ED 514. We invite input form other teachers about how they use technology in their classrooms. Archives
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