How is technology affecting education?

From tablets, to smart phones and computers, technology is all around us these days. As you are walking down the street, you will witness many people with phones in their hands, looking at reviews, taking pictures, and glued to their screens. Even while I am writing this, my wife and son are playing a game on a tablet to pass some time. Technology has become part of our everyday, and it has made it's way into the schools as well. While it has plenty of good applications, there are some downfalls that it causes as well.

Technology is playing a huge role in education these days. One instance that stands out to me is special education teachers using tablets with students that do not the ability to speak using tablets. The students are able to tap pictures to say the words, or put together full sentence and the tablets are able to say the sentences for the students. Another situation that comes to light is students using tablets to identify constellations. The students were able to use an application on the tablet that when they put the camera to the sky are able to see the constellations that are in the sky and able for them to identify. In a personal situation, when I was teaching a golf course in college, I was able to use technology to my benefit. While it was in the later part of winter, we were stuck inside most of the time. I was able to use an I Pad and computer to record the students swings and break them down with each student on the computer. Technology has become an integral part of education, and most students and teachers can not imagine their day to day without it.

While there is a lot of good that technology does in education, there is a bad side of it. Most of the negative that you will see with education is the same that you hear about in everyday life. Students can become too invested in technology and lose sense of what is around them. This can also translate to students not interacting with their peers or teachers as much, which in early childhood can be a big burden on their social development. If a student is reliant on a tablet or computer, they will not have to relay on their own skills or development as much. For as much good that technology can do with students, there is a downside that has to be looked at.

Technology is here to stay and is ever evolving in our day to day lives. Making sure that we are incorporating it the right way not only in our lives, but in the education setting is extremely important. We have to make sure that schools and teachers are not using this as a crutch, but as a supplement to the everyday learning that is going on within the classroom.