technology is not being used properly in schools

R1: "Half the people can't read my handwriting" If you live in the UK, I'm worried, if not, the education you live in is what you suffer from and that's why people can read you're handwriting. I have even tried practice books, but somehow it doesn't improve. That is a separate issue anyway. R2: "Thousands of trees are wasted for those handwriting practise books" Thousands are used for rubber production as well. Laptops don't have rubber, if technology was used no rubber, no sharpener, no pen and no paper shall be needed. R3: "Phone typing is very fast. I just have to flip the cover, open the app and start typing" That requires you to leave your phone on, that will cause huge distraction to the class if you get a phone call, and what if the sun is shining and you can't see the screen, you can close the blinds, but in that time you could have took the pen out of your pocket and started writing. You can tune the brightness to make it easier to see the screen in sunlight. That requires you to leave the phone on in silent mode. You can disable vibration and all sounds in settings. R4: "if it is out of ink again" 'What if the phone is not working? It is as likely as not having a working phone, but you can't ask a friend for a spare phone and you could have spent that money on a tree regrowth project anyway.' That phone which I bought is supposed to survive 10 years if it is good model, so we'll waste more money on paper and other stationery. Plus, what if the ink leaks? Then you need to get another pen AND your hands are smeared. It is much better if the phone crashes, which is rare, and a restart would fix it. R5: "Bad handwriting can become a serious problem" 'Unsaved computer files can also become a problem, and you can't just say people will get in the habit of it as people would just get in the habit of good handwriting.' Word has autosave option, and also while closing all apps ask 'do you want to save this file' and I don't see why I person would still press no. R6: "Electric registers? Not widely used I guess." 'In the UK many schools have systems in which you register using your thumb [1]. I would like to mention the article was written in 2008, 7 years ago. A lot has changed since then. It is not without it's problems, but it is used and you can't argue about that.' What was it used for by the way? R7: "Who needs printouts?" People who want to be able to annotate work, or not have to rely on a good WIFI or phone signal. Phones are too small anyway (that's for this job, not for their primary purpose). You can annotate work using shapes, it is a drag but still. Also it depends on what kind of work. If it is a diagram, we can just get a stylus pen and edit it directly. And who told you you cannot work on labeling offline? R8: "There are apps for that" 'I will do an experiment using an app an documented essays and tell you the results in the comments before round three.' There are paid and free soft wares, like Turnitin and Viper. R10: "There is nothing anti-virus software can't stop" I think you will find if Stuxnet can pierce American cyber defences, viruses can get into pretty much anything. Why would a good hacker want to hack a student's laptop? It is not like we have anything valuable. If it is for cheating, they could just hack the teacher's laptop. R9: Computer crashing may be due to a bad model... cause crashes" 'This is too much to have to worry about, it is so much easier to just keep it on paper' Paper is too much to worry about. Not doodling on your work, keeping it safe from water and not tearing it in angry writing, that is irritating as well. R11 "Loud typing is improper typing" 'This typing is very loud and however I slowly and softly I touch the keyboard it won't be silent, not even quiet, but easily enough to get on someone's nerves during an exam. that rules out the basis of your point, that handwriting is inconvenient to learn. You cannot therefore say that I need to become better at typing, that is no more convenient.;; Well, some keyboards have some spongy covering that seems to reduce sound and keep out dust. Also, handwriting is not easy for me, typing may not be easy but just type patiently, it won't cause problems. Also keep your fingers near the keyboard, distance increases the force and sound. R12: "Please get a touch laptop there is an on screen keyboard" I can't touch type with that as it is irresponsive and slow (this computer also has an on screen keyboard so I know) and all this expense adds up, I am fairly well off but even this is seeming like a lot of money. You are getting devices from China or what? I seem to be having none of your issues. Also, then you'll never be able to type in a phone. R13: "For eye hurting put on screen savers that reduce the impact of rays and turn that full brightness" I have done both and neither help, this is taking a lot of work anyway. Turn that full brightness to the lowest setting then, also go to graphic settings and adjust contrast. A1: Other human effects; Screens prevent sleep, fact. Then I should never be able to sleep and be suffering from insomnia. A2: Symbols If you were to have every symbol on a keyboard it would have to be enormous. If I have to write a paragraph explaining how a building I deigned is resistant to certain temperatures I will often be having to write the degree sign that means I have to constantly go to the extra symbols menu, there is no way to turn this problem into something that is not. Stylus can be used, symbol can be copied from one place to another. Although it is a drag, suppose you have to write the same sentence thrice in your essay. You would have to write it instead of copy paste, wasting time. Also listing your sources is a long drag in writing. A3: Cost 'The cheapest laptop I found at curries PC world is "349.99 ($539.21) [2], the same price as 22,000 pieces of paper found at rhyman's [3]. If you were to store that much in a cheap laptop it would crash, not that you need that much anyway. why should I have to shop around for a laptop when I don't have to shop around for paper? Due to the fact not that much paper is needed that still leaves easily enough money for stationary.' 22,000 pieces of paper won't crash your laptop as you wouldn't keep your grade 6 work in grade 12. So, proper management of files will cause no crashes. Also, when you get a laptop, you only need it and its accessories. But, stationery includes, paper, pen, scale, eraser, sharpener etc. which may end up costing more than a laptop. extra point R10- Also, there will be a problem of waste. Once done with paper, stationery, folders, books it will go in the bin, adding up to world waste. Not all of it is recycled. On the other hand all laptop parts can be sold and then dismantled by an inventor to modify or use in a new model, or simply sold as second-hand. Moreover, usage of laptop is throughout life, from facebook to work. But used paper won't be needed again. Lets hope I can win this debate.