Technology in the classroom

To further clarify my original statement, this debate is on the level and types of technology that are appropriate for a secondary level classroom, not whether it should be in the classroom at all. I do believe that technology is not just important, but imperative in today's society. It is true that the majority of students have access to cell phones (smart phones), tablets, and computers from a very early age. Unfortunately, the primary purpose of this technological use outside of the classroom is for social media, pop culture consumption, and gaming. The reason this is unfortunate for educators, parents, and the children is because these educational distractions are also available on any internet enabled device students use in a classroom. Textbooks do not have extra distractions, need login info, or run out of batteries. E-readers and tablets have all of these issues. Not only do tablets cease to function as anything more than a paperweight without power, but they are more expensive than textbooks. Since school budgets are often quite limited, it is not common to have a 1-1 tablet ratio but having enough textbooks for students is rarely an issue. Even if a school used tablets and e-readers to present information for students, including digital textbooks with enhanced learning tools, the school still needs to pay for textbooks, and textbook edition updates. Having tablets only seems to increase the cost of classroom materials, and increase the electricity usage (and carbon footprint by extension) for the school. I agree with opponent's point about the possibilities of visualizing the inner workings of a molecule, or biological cells and systems, and with the use of virtual reality it almost reminds me of the kinds of activities the fictional Mrs. Frizzle led on The Magic School Bus cartoon. Fanciful, entertaining, and also not necessary for student understanding. Teachers can present the same content, with the same levels of student understanding, using an overhead projector, blackboards, and textbooks as a teacher using Powerpoint, SmartBoards, and tablets. Students are going to be bringing their phones to school, and we can not monitor what is being used on them without looking over every shoulder all the time. The ease of app switching, and the prevalence of popup notifications, makes it inevitable that students will be off task if they have access to these devices during class time. The alternative of giving students devices with lockout restrictions is only a temporary stopgap. I've seen the hacks they use to access sites that are not allowed. One example among many is YouTube. A network firewall prevents any computer connected to the school's internet from accessing YouTube directly. It does not limit the use of Google Translate, which has an imbedded mini-browser, which they exploit to watch any YouTube video since the main browser shows they are only on the Google Translate website. Technology can definitely enhance learning, and like any tool, can be used properly or grossly misused. I maintain that the effort to monitor and control misuse often outweighs the small benefit for the current usage in classrooms.