ARGUMENT ESSAY: Does technology benefit the educational system?
For centuries, classrooms and teachers across the world relied solely on things like chalkboards and white boards to use as writing platforms to teach their information to students. While this method of teaching may seem outdated, it is the only way teachers and educators back then knew how. This method of teaching required a student’s full attention in order to receive the information being taught, but whether they took notes or not was up to them. Back then, students’ only options when they had a question were to look it up in the textbooks, dictionaries, go to the library, or simply ask the teacher. They did not have the google search engine to open up and get their answer in 5 seconds. We, as students in today’s society, would see that as being “forced” to go back to the books, but to them, it was completely normal. I do see how a classroom without technology can be a beneficial resource, however, towards the end of the 20th century, technology started to be introduced into the classroom in various forms and soon took off. Beginning with radios being used for “on-air” classes for a wide range of students to be able to listen in, next came the overhead projector, which became a widely used device across schools around the globe. Teachers were able to rest their papers of information onto the projector for it to be projected onto a big screen or wall so that all students could see it. The introduction of the projector into classrooms greatly aided teachers in their methods of teaching. Technology only got better from then.
In the earlier years, teachers were very limited in their educational resources and would use things such as leaves, wood, cloth, ink, etc., as learning devices. Students were only able to get a basic understanding of the content they were taught, rather than a broader, more informational understanding. In today’s world, teachers have unlimited resources to utilize for their students at their hand, and that is thanks to technology. Now in schools it is normal to see devices such as computers, promethean boards, iPads, etc. being used by the students for educational purposes. Platforms such as Zoom, Google Drive, Medium, Slack, or Quizlet would not exist today if it were not for the advancement of technology in the classroom. Imagine, what would happen if the coronavirus pandemic happened in a time where technology was not used in the classroom? Teachers and students would have no safe, effective way of learning- platforms like Zoom would not exist! Also, information regarding the virus would not be as easily spread, which could result in a much higher infection rate. Technology has opened up so many doors for not only the educational system, but also for the world. For many, a classroom without any technology being used would be an unfamiliar experience and I believe technology provides great resources for today’s students.
