We have all discussed how technology can help students and education today but there are some ways it can hurt. As a math teacher I have a little problem with the fact that my students do not know their multiplication tables. I do not expect them to multiply 3072 and 134 in their heads, but I do expect them to be able to multiply 12 and 6. In this case, I believe technology is hurting us just by depending on the calculator. This will not help them if they cannot figure out basics in their heads. The other problem is spell check on word. Many of the students I tutor depend on it just to spell simple words. What are your thoughts on how technology is hurting our students? Is there something we as teachers can do to reinforce the basics? Do you think it should be required to take a certain amount of time during the school year that technology cannot be used?
37 Comments
Ryan Mansfield
4/3/2012 10:34:04 pm
I agree. I think with all of the new education models out in the world today and all the new theories, some things are best left unchanged. Our kids are being introduced to technology at younger and younger ages without first being taught the basics. I think that as educators, we need to go back to the basics with our younger kids and teacher the basics such as reading, writing and math and absolutely hammer that into their heads all through elementary school and possibly even through junior high. The basics are being pushed to side in a fast and easy replacement were are kids are not really being taught but more or less being occupied and kept company.
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Stacy Crommie
4/3/2012 11:47:57 pm
I agree that some things are better left unchanged. The basics DO need to be hammered in and I definitely agree that many use technology as a babysitter.
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Audrey Crabtree
4/6/2012 12:13:05 am
I agree with you and feel as if it is too late to just drop technology now. It is being pushed too much and from people high up. So we need to find a way to channel students interest in technology and use it in an educational way.
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Thomas Buehler
4/15/2012 05:08:40 am
I agree with you coach Mansfield. If our students are first taught the basics of learning, then they will be more successful with the introduction of technology.
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Stacy Crommie
4/3/2012 11:53:58 pm
Technology is a could thing if it is used correctly. If we don't reinforce the basics and let the students build a dependency to technology, we are doing an injustice to the students. There is a time for technology, but we need to reinforce what is learned by using their brain to work. A famous saying is "you don't use it....you lose it" and it is so true. The students learn how to do the basics in elementary school, but hand them a calculator and they get lazy and dependant upon it. I believe the state should require teachers to take one week a semester to not use technology. This would be a good way to reinforce what the students have learned and to see what they remember.
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Kelli Miller
4/4/2012 04:25:33 am
I think your idea of the state mandating teachers to set aside one week a semester to not use technology is great. Students still need to learn how to do basic skills. When standardized testing, they do not allow any form of technology (the ACT allows calculators), but other than that, children are expected to complete spelling and grammar portions of standardized tests as well as show their mastery of math problems. Why are students so dependent on technology through their schoolwork when they don't have the opportunity to use it on standardized tests; tests that help shape their future?
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Matthew Clanahan
4/8/2012 10:42:24 pm
@Kelli: I have a real gripe with that... While I realize that standardized tests are important and perhaps necessary, many feel they're a poor assessment of what students have actually learned. There has to be a balance of standardized and non-standardized testing. I do agree that students could benefit from NOT using technology sometimes; however, when they get out in the "real world," aren't they going to be using whatever resources are available to them? Won't those resources, more than likely, include technology? I think it's important that we teach people to learn HOW TO LEARN and to use what is available to them.
Audrey Crabtree
4/6/2012 12:19:33 am
I agree and think that students need to be pushed to use their own minds. I know on the ACT test we were not allowed to use our calculators and I feel like this will grow to be a problem for future generations.
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George Pincock
4/4/2012 03:49:22 am
I say it helps and hurts. Technology allow us to do things so much faster. Think how long it might take us to create a spread sheet if we didn't have excel to work with. However, we have become depended upon them to help us with our basics skills like reading and math. we need to find a way to utilize both technology and good old fashing reachin
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Ryan Mansfield
4/4/2012 04:25:26 am
I agree that technology definately helps speed up the process and that is what technology was designed to do. However I think with the way things have turned, technology is now being used to think for us and do things for us that used to be very simple tasks but now days seem too difficult to do.
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Casey Costa
4/4/2012 04:50:12 am
The convenience is nice, but at the same time becoming dependent on such things as you said is harming the education of children. I know when my computer isn't working I can't get my homework done because almost all assignments require some sort of technology that I have on my computer
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Robert Thomas
4/4/2012 11:58:37 am
Is faster really better when it comes to technology. Before the boom of technology there were very successful people. With or without the use of technology things will get done
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Audrey Crabtree
4/4/2012 03:59:46 am
I agree also!! I think that we are way too dependent on technology when it comes to math and grammar. I, myself, am a victim of it. It’s easy, so why wouldn't students want to use it. I think that there are some subjects that need to try and not use technology because in the end it will be better for the student. We need to establish the basics for the students so they can grow and then they will have that base knowledge to hopefully continue to learn greater things.
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Ryan Mansfield
4/4/2012 04:28:05 am
One of the best examples of this would have to be the cell phone and in particular the gps. I use the gps every so often if I am going somewhere that I have never been or need to find something such as a gas station or restaurant. Some people however seem to use the gps just to find their way to class or even car.
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Stephanie Armiger
4/6/2012 07:42:28 am
I use my gps quite frequently too, but I can also use a map. I agree that some skills are lost when technology, such as gps, is over used. I remember hearing one of the characters on the movie "Lightning McQueen", say they had a gps so they would never need a map again, unfortunately many young people feel this way.
Kelli Miller
4/4/2012 04:20:56 am
I agree with you all that some people are just way too dependent on technology. I believe that students (k-12) should have the basic skills needed to graduate. Basic skills are being lost on the youth today. Simple math equations and spelling simple words are just too hard on students growing up in the technological era. I can see the difference in my education and learning style versus my sister's who is seven years younger than me.
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Elyce Lamphere
4/4/2012 06:34:20 am
I totally agree with children today still learning the fundamentals of things, such as: learning to write in cursive, learning how to use a real book dictionary and thesaurus.I feel like in the short time I have been out of school those things are no longer being stressed and kids are just relying on computers to fix what they can not spell or do.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
4/5/2012 03:10:09 am
Too bad they are taking cursive out of the curriculum because it "takes too much time". Schools are having to focus more on literacy and reading skills instead of handwriting . . . My 2nd grader is teaching himself to write in cursive.
casey costa
4/4/2012 04:48:26 am
I do feel that there needs to be a certain amount of rote memory that needs to take place in the classroom. I know even in my high school and college courses we were not allowed to use calculators for many sections even the advanced math portions. I feel that having to do it by hand helps immensely and if you learn to do it by hand then you'll better understand what you're entering into your calculator which will avoid errors in using that when it is used.
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George Pincock
4/4/2012 10:30:06 pm
I agree that rote memory need to place at some point in a students academic life time. Any technology that is used should only be used when the student has a firm grasp of how to handle the material with out the technology.
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Popi Stevens
4/6/2012 03:17:53 am
I agree, by using our memory or challenging our mind to figure out the problem i believe we challenge ourselves and we become smarter and sharper by doing this.
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Elyce Lamphere
4/4/2012 05:59:18 am
I think technology is a good thing and can become a bad thing if we as teachers and parents do not regulate proper use of technology. There are so many "easy ways out" such as spell check and the use of calculators that the ability to use our own brains can be lost. I think there should be time set aside to not use technology and learn the "old fashion way" and then the time to use technology and learn all the new ways technology can help in the learning process.
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Robert Thomas
4/4/2012 11:48:55 am
I like the idea that there should be times where the students should figure answers out on their own without the use of other things. Whatever is the most efficient way for each individual student to learn I think that is how they should learn. You have to get to know each and every student and do what is best for them to succeed.
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Heather Kirkendoll
4/7/2012 08:12:24 am
I agree that we should do the best for the students' learning, but sometimes I see that people confuse getting better grades as learning more. Meaning, that sometimes a students works really hard and can only get a C, and other times, they are able to use as many notes as possible, calculators, and other assistance and get an A. But what sticks with them is what they worked hard for and got a C.
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Nick Camp
4/4/2012 10:56:29 pm
You bring up excellent points here. I was speaking with a father of a player on our baseball team the other day. One of his gripes with our education system was in fact how students today solely rely on technology to figure out everyday problem rather than use there brain. Today's students have turned off the portion of the brain used to solve basic math and simple spelling as they know that technology can accomplish that same task for them. I believe that technology has severely hurt that aspect of solving simple math equations and spelling words that should be no problem to sound out. If schools were to go to a system where technology was only allowed to be used a portion of the day, I think it would open up students and teachers eyes on how much they use technology as a crutch. Maybe that is exactly what our educators need to expose, students today using a crutch rather than making their minds work.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
4/5/2012 03:08:06 am
To be honest, I used to be super fast at multiplication facts (learned them in 3rd grade) because we did timed tests on our tables . . . they were drilled into my head. However, today I have to stop and think about what something is timed and when it comes to adding I sometimes have to use my fingers. I'm so embarrassed that I'm admitting this, but it's true. I don't use math in much of my daily life so I feel that I've lost it anyway- plus the calculator on my phone helps me figure it out much quicker than my brain . . . . When I was in HS we didn't get to use a calculator on our ACT's. I took the ACT the year after I graduated (the same year they allowed calculators to be used) and I raised my ACT score 3 whole points! Some of us just don't do well doing it in our heads (or on paper).
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Popi Stevens
4/6/2012 03:14:32 am
This blog has a great point! I was recently talking with a student who will graduate in may with an accounting degree. The interesting thing is that she said she could not tell you what 7x7 is. Its crazy how dependent we are on technology now days (and i really think its only gonna get worse!). Spell check does the same thing. People have horrible grammar because of it. It is crucial for students to still learn the basics of education (math, English ect...). Technology can be a very big help though, as long as it is used correctly and used in moderation during the lessons taught.
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Jeremy Esry
4/7/2012 03:56:15 am
Wow 7x7? I didn't realize it was getting that bad with students. That is crazy and sad at the same time and I completely agree with you that it is only going to get worse. Students are always going to do things the easiest way as possible and skip as many steps in doing so.
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Jeremy Esry
4/7/2012 03:53:23 am
I really liked both of the examples you used especially the spell check one. Sadly, I can be placed in that category, especially while posting on here!! I often find myself copying and pasting my responsesto Microsoft Word before I post them because I am unsure on how many easy words I have misspelled and it is easier to just let them be autocorrected rather than think about or look up how they should actually be spelled. To solve this problem and the math problem, yes I do believe that teachers should set aside time each day to cover the basics and make sure students understand the fundamentals of their school work.
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Stacy Crommie
4/7/2012 10:21:48 pm
You are not the only one guilty of copying and pasteing these posts. I do it occasionally and have many students that do it too. It is a way to ensure accuracy.
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Robert Thomas
4/8/2012 01:26:54 am
The mind can do amazing things on its own if it is trained. Just like how you brought up in 3rd grade with the mult. problems you could solve really quickly. If the brain doenst have to think because technology can do it for them then yes there will be alot of things that a person can forget how to do.
Melea Shimkus
4/8/2012 01:05:16 am
I also liked the examples used for this post. And you're not alone in using Microsoft Word to check everything; I know many people that do this. I must say, that I use Microsoft Word if I need to make sure that I have spelled a word correctly rather than using a traditional dictionary. But I also check everything over before I resort to this because Microsoft Word does not find all of the mistakes. For example, there are several words that have multiple spellings and meanings.
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Heather Kirkendoll
4/7/2012 08:01:10 am
I completely agree whole heartedly. I am a 6th grade Math teacher, and it amazes me year after year how so many of my students do not know how to multiply, even the easy facts like 6 x 2. I do not let them use a calculator, and when I see them use the charts in their notebooks, I take those too. After that I see them counting on their fingers, for simple facts like the one listed above. I am not sure when memorizing the facts got to have a bad name, but the investigative is not working from what I have seen. I do not have the students use calculators for the first half of the year. And when we get to cross products or finding area of circles where I let them use the calculators, it doesn't help them as much as they think. Because they do not realize when they have punched something in wrong, that it couldn't logically be that answer. I also think handwriting is a lost art as well. I was shocked when I started to teach at the handwriting I saw. Grammar has also been tossed to the side of importance (and for me, someone who is not very strong in the comm arts department to notice, it has to be pretty bad). Many students do not make sentences when they write. It can just be one long thought written out with no capitalization or punctuation. Some say texting is the culprit... possibly. I think adults also need to model these essential skills as important as well. Work with our kids, and lead by example. This may seem extreme, but I think elementary schools shouldn't even use a calculator for 90% of the time, if at all. I hardly use it in 6th grade, so I don't see why this would be an issue.
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Melea Shimkus
4/8/2012 01:00:36 am
I think that students should be able to do basic math and spell simple words without any aid. If the students cannot do this, then the teachers need to go back to the basics. Teachers should reinforce the importance of being able to calculate simple problems in theirs heads and spelling simple words without something to correct them. I think the focus should go back to what the student knows on their own, without any help from any form of technology. As a teacher it can be frustrating when students are working on more advanced problems, but cannot solve the simplest of problems.
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Stephanie Armiger
4/8/2012 01:21:36 pm
I feel that with all of the advances in technology that it is definitely over used. We no longer have to think and memorize basic information, because we have a technology device to do so for us. As, I type this I have auto correct underlining words that I misspell, however, auto correct doesn't quite catch everything because that happens a lot if a person misuses a word, but spells it correctly.
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Matthew Clanahan
4/8/2012 10:33:55 pm
Tutoring math, I definitely see what Stacy is talking about here on a daily basis. Students don't always seem to recognize that, while technology can be an extremely useful tool, they shouldn't rely on that technology to the detriment of their own academic skills. I cringe when I see students struggling to multiply single digit numbers together. Multiplication tables used to be drilled into students' heads in elementary school. Now, many students just aren't learning them at all. It's just too easy to pull out a calculator and not have to think.
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Thomas Buehler
4/15/2012 05:07:34 am
I think that there are many instances where the student should not be allowed to rely on technology to help them. For example, using a book reference from the library as oppose to googling a source or using a calculator. However, our society is beginning to centralize on technology as information becomes more computerized. I would prefer my students were able to access and use technology than not. They need to know their basics like you stated, but they will always have technology to rely on so it isn't completely bad if they depend too greatly on it.
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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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