I recently came across an article about the downside to implementing technologies into a classroom. Teachers, administration, and parents have been pushing school districts to get tablets because they provide the ability to personalize learning while in the classroom. Instead of having the same format of a lesson in the front of the classroom, the tablet can be loaded with tools to help different types of learner, learn. Administrators are especially interested in the abilities these tablets have outside of the classroom, such as calendars, to-do lists, and time management apps. Since students use these technologies outside of school, integrating them into the classroom would be seamless. And the possibilities, they are essentially endless. So what's the problem?
The cost. For anyone who has personally bought say, an iPad, you know how expensive they are. So to buy them for a classroom, even at bulk pricing, would yield a bill I definitely would not want to pick up. Aside from just the price of the tablet itself, there are many hidden costs to maintaining and operating them. Other costs include maintenance, higher bandwidth, security features, and more manpower in the IT departments. And then there's the issue of educating our teachers to learn how to best utilize the new technology they have been presented with.
Another issue has been brought up the digital CEO Mike Silagadze. He wonders if the technology will surpass the life of the hype. The movement to put iPads in the classroom echo the movement to put computers in the classroom. He says, and I agree, that desktops in the classroom have become antiquated, and now they're stuck in the classroom.
I hadn't thought of it before, but this raises a really good point: technology is always changing. How many generations of iPod's have we lived through? Or even iPhones? Even though it's the same technology, each newer model boasts something new. At what point do we leave the old technology behind and invest in the newest gadgets?
This is a sad but true topic, Erin.
ReplyDeleteWe see the benefit of technology in the classroom all around us but the cost of keeping up with technology is very expensive. In the school where I'm doing my Fieldwork they have many desires for new technology, but it's simply not an option with their budget right now. They do have smartboards and most teachers benefit from them now, however they expect those smartboards to be out of date in less than two years. It's crazy to think that the newest prized technological possession of my school will be out of date only 2-3 years after it was purchased. That's the cost of keeping up with these advances and unfortunately, with a limited budget and limited help from the government, many schools can't keep up.
I remember in elementary school the old computers we used to work on. I wonder if in a couple of years students will look at the technology in their classrooms the same way, as outdated and boring. Technology keeps changing at such a critical rate it is hard to keep up. An spending all that money on maintenance just to get outdated and have to buy and learn all new programs in a year or so. You bring up some really good points and discussions.
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