Is it Good or Bad in Schools?
Technology. Is it an advancement or a hindrance? Here at Larue County Schools, you may have noticed more technology popping up, saying it helps make learning in schools easier. Key examples including the smartboards, and the Lenovo ThinkPad laptops and etc. However, these new ‘advancements’ may actually be hindering students, but before we jump to conclusions, let’s hear what the student body has to say about this issue. We decided to take a questionnaire from several students from Larue County High Schools, asking for their opinion on the use of technology here in the school system. Here is what a few of them had to say.
A junior responded to this question by saying, “I am for technology for It reduces the amount of paper we use, helping reduce the amount of trees ravaged each year for paper.”
The Junior also makes a noticeable point, that we are cutting down on the amount of paper we use by using laptops and such. The school uses a lot of paper each year, so by using laptops, we won’t have to use as much paper each year. This will help stop processes such as deforestation, which destroys multiple forests and habitats for paper and other tree made products.
“I personally think that the technological advancements give us a deeper aspect on learning. It allows students to get hands on with learning.”, quotes a senior from LCHS. This is somewhat true. Some students use this opportunity for research and such. Examples like, research you couldn’t get just from looking in an encyclopedia. It allows you to find more sources, for quotations and such to help research and write papers, to further expand our knowledge.
Some students however disagree with the statement that technology in schools, improves learning. These nay-sayers simply say, “Technology is good for learning yes, but students abuse this privilege and use technology for their own purposes. They decide to play games, listen to music, watch videos, etcetera. They slack off and fall behind on their schoolwork and their grades will begin to drop.”
These people make a very serious point. Students will be distracted with the temptations the internet provides. However, if you place a strict guideline in place, like a proxy server, students will have restricted access to the internet, limiting the usage of games and such. But for the most part this is more of a self-control issue than anything.
To summarize, the student body sees technology as more of an advancement than a hindrance. The main problems they saw with it was actually with the students, and they all agreed technology will make learning better and easier.