While the emphasis on technology has become more and more pronounced, we also see values such as equality coming to light. The financial burden of technology is not only existent for schools and school districts, but also for families. Should the cost of increasing the technological capabilities of a school/district be at the expense of the families or the school/district? In terms of equality, who should be responsible for the cost? There are rarely multiple schools/districts with the same budget, just as there are rarely two families with the same budget. If a student in one particular school receives new technology at the expense of the school/district, should this luxury not be extended to every student in the school/district? If the expense were left up to the parents, what would happen to the child who cannot afford the updated technology? Do you think there is a good solution to the financial concerns of updated technology and does the cost of updating technology outweigh the benefits?
12 Comments
Ruth Ann Pfremmer
11/11/2013 11:54:45 am
I don't think you can ever expect/require a family to supply specific technology for a student. Many people struggle every month just to pay rent on time or purchase clothing for their children. When school districts make decisions on expendatures they look at many things the same way a family does. Some items are necessities for the school/students/teachers and other items we want to purchase to enhance education. It is always difficult to decide exactly what item(s) will benefit the most students. There are no guarantees in life and the same goes for expenditures within a school district. General technology will be purchased with the intention of enhancing the learning environment for all children within the school district regardless of what the student has available at home.
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Lynn Royer
11/20/2013 09:28:24 am
I agree, you cannot require students and families to provide their own technology. I cannot see that it would ever work. Some families do well to send tshirt money, etc, much less be able to afford technology such as cell phone or ipad.
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Joshua Hancock
11/11/2013 11:22:24 pm
I feel that the cost of technology used in schools should be paid by the school district. If students are required to use the technology to complete school assignments, those responsible would be the school. This means that it is their responsibility to pay for the technology and pay anytime it needs to be updated. I teach in a district where many of the students could not afford to pay for the technology. Many cannot even pay for simple school supplies. I see the need and necessity in using technology in schools, but a family should not be responsible for paying for it.
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Travis Dalton
11/12/2013 02:42:01 am
While I agree that the cost of the technology should be paid by the districts the reality is the districts have a lot of pay for themselves. Most of your advanced school districts can afford technology and better resources due to a higher tax in the houses of their districts. I feel that this is the best way to raise the funds to help students obtain technology.
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Thyago
11/12/2013 05:04:52 am
In brasil this is a reality because not even half of familys and students can afford a smart phone or tablet or even internet on their cellphone. I think for a country like that the government should provide those tech to everyone. But we have so many other problems that are worst, like medical care, homeless, trasnportations so I think will take time for government pull some money on that.
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Morgan Goetschel
11/12/2013 11:55:19 pm
i do not think there is a good answer, or option to this question because no matter what is decided it is not going to be fair most likely. I feel you cannot put it on the families to buy this technology because there are countless families that cannot afford to buy many types of technology for their children to use at school let alone if they have multiple children attending school. At the same time many school districts cannot afford to buy technology for every child that attends their school in their districts.
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Trisha Shannon
11/15/2013 11:24:07 pm
I don't ever thing that the technology cost should be left to the family. If a school or teacher is expecting the class to have tablets or smart phones then that should be coming from the school district. You are not required to supply your own text books in middle and high school you should not be required to provide your own technology to read those text books. I think technology can be great and really helpful for students. But it can also be expensive and with todays economy parents should have the stress of trying to pay for the latest technology for their child to go to school with.
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Jodi McSwain
11/16/2013 11:42:15 pm
In my opinion, I don't think families should ever be responsible for the cost of technology in schools. Many families struggle for basic necessities already - like food and a decent place to live! Parents shouldn't be given the added pressure to provide technology because the district doesn't. Even if they were able to, would it be adequate enough? Not to mention, don't we already provide the funding the schools could use? We pay taxes don't we!
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Dustyn Yung
11/17/2013 12:10:25 pm
I dont think that the students/families should pay for the technology needed in a classroom. This should be on the school district. If the school buys a certain student new technology then everyone should get the same thing. If it was left up to the parents I could see a lot of parents just saying they couldnt afford it and make the school pay for it. I just think the school should do ask for donations and grants to help pay for it.
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Alanna Dennison
11/17/2013 12:15:41 pm
Growing up in Canada and having quite a few American friends, I always wondered why they talked about our "free education" in Canada. University education (in addition to all education) is extremely cheap in Canada due to the high taxation that we have. There is a portion of our taxes that fund education and help schools pay for things such as updating technology. I think this would be a hige asset in the USA. The cost would be much less for individuals than purchasing the technology themselves and it would be a great way to ensure all students are able to learn about and use appropriate technology in the classroom.
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Ethan Mignard
11/17/2013 12:24:23 pm
I think that the responsibility for purchasing technology should fall on the school districts, not on families. Some districts may not be able to afford the same technology as other districts, true. Those districts just need to find other ways to teach their students. Other considerations, such as having adequate facilities, trump introducing new technology, but if a school has the budget, I believe they should add new technology, as it can provide students with many benefits.
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Derek Lannigan
11/17/2013 09:47:14 pm
The cost of upgrading equipment and buying more unit for students to use indirectly falls on the shoulders of the parents no matter what the argument is really. Taxes are what fund the schools/districts unless you go to a private school, so if a school is looking to go all tech then the parents should look at their new tax bills and see what areas have increased over the last year. For schools that are located in lower income areas, they can apply for federal grants that help cover the cost of upgrading their schools.
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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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