Blog Post 7 - The Darker Side of Technology - Inequity
I found an interesting article on "The Edvocate" webpage called 'The Dark Side of Educational Technology" which explored an interesting side of technology in school. In his article, Matthew Lynch discusses the 'one-to-one tablet program' throughout America, and the financial hangups (purchase costs, maintenance costs, and high bandwidth requirements) that make implementation difficult.
But Lynch states that many schoolboards are short-sighted, in that they fail to consider what needs to happen after they get tablets (or other technology) into the classroom. Some of the struggles he identities include: software and app purchases, teacher training to make the devices effective, and the inevitability of the devices being outdated not long after purchase.
He quotes digital CEO MIke Silagadze, who warns that "“We need to be careful to introduce technology in thoughtful ways or else we will be left with another generation of teachers who see technology as nothing but overpriced distractions rather than useful teaching tools" (in Lynch, 2016). The author goes on to question whether "learning is being sacrificed for the sake of flashy technology", and point out other problems like increased cheating, which I presume is more of a likelihood in high school, where smartphones are more regularly allowed in classrooms.
One particular issue he raises is the matter of equity. Although technology can be a great equalizer for students when they're at school, what happens when they go home? This reminded me of the scramble to set up students with devices during the COVID shutdown. Luckily, our district had just decommissioned a number of older school laptops, and these were provided to students who lacked devices - to keep! Lynch notes some statistics that suggest while 97 % of white and 94% of Asian students in one Wisconsin town have internet access at home, that number dropped to 74% for African-American students and 79% of Hispanic students. The statistics were similar when comparing high to low-income earners - 98% to 78%.
The question of equity is interesting. Should we limit the use of technology in schools purely because some students don't have internet or a laptop at home? I know from experience that many of the homes without laptops have a dazzling array of video game consoles and games that cost into the thousands.
While he raises some interesting points, I'm not sure Lynch makes the strongest argument for limiting classroom technology. I think, like many things in life and teaching, we need to be aware of the likely speedbumps, and prepare for them. For example, developing strong anti-cheating policies, or ensuring that students are making meaningful use of screen and device use. Again, servant versus master. Meaningful versus meaningless use. Applying wisdom and prudence while also being forward-thinking.
References:
Lynch, M. (2018, August 16). The Dark Side of Educational Technology. The Edvocate. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://www.theedadvocate.org/dark-side-educational-technology/
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post, especially because it presented a different perspective on technology integration! While collecting resources for another PME class on technology, I often had to remind myself that not every student would have access to the same devices. I think that it is important for teachers to regularly reflect on their classrooms and the diverse backgrounds that their students come from. What will be best for your students? Is technology going to help or hinder those in your class?
Just to add to your comment on cheating, my school had to ban smart watches during tests this year. Students were using smart watches to send the test answers to the entire school...It's crazy what the implications of technology can be.
Thanks for the interesting read,
Megan
Hi Megan,
DeleteWow... do you teach elementary or high school? Cell phones are banned during school hours at our elementary school, and I'm thankful because its one less headache to deal with. As somewhat of a Luddite, I wouldn't even think of half of the potential issues that Smartwatches and other technology might contribute...
Dan
Dan, again, your post made me think about tech in my school. Here are a few random thoughts I had while reading it.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I loved the quote from CEO Silagadze about how, if not properly utilized, technology becoming nothing more than overpriced distractions. Makes me think back to when our district started the roll-out of Smartboards for all classes, over 10 years ago. Those devices were incredibly expensive and I know that even today, after a decade, some teachers still use it mostly as a projector, one with bells and whistles. What a waste or money!!
Second, how lucky your students were, during COVID, to have computers given to them. That's incredible and it warms my heart to think that this kind of generous decision is being made by some in the world. For us in PEI, we had the added obstacle of internet speed during COVID. As a lot of the island is very rural, very few high speed internet companies were offering services at the start of COVID. I know for myself, as I live in the country, I had difficulty utilizing all the online teaching interfaces because of slow internet speeds. Thank goodness for Starlink! Ha ha.
The last thing I want to leave for you is a little image I found during one of my other PME courses, which sort of talks to the different ways technology can be utilized by teachers. It's called the SAMR model, and you can find more common representations of it online, but I liked this particular representation because it implies that if you want better results in your classroom, you have to dig deeper, think more, about how to use technology in a way that can transform your lessons, not just sub technology for paper, as sometimes happens. I couldn't paste it here, but have a look at : https://theowlteacher.com/all-about-the-samr-model/
What are your thoughts?
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThanks, Melanie. I hadn't even thought about the difficulties faced by more rural schools with limited internet during the COVID online teaching days. Two months of online learning was enough for me... although in hindsight I'm super thankful for how it forced me to catch up in terms of my technology use. I hear you about SMARTboards. As I was reading I was thinking "Man... I could NOT live without mine!" But I guess that I do kind of use it as a glorified projector! SMART technology never really lived up to the promise of the actual screen I guess...
DeleteAlso, thanks for the SAMR page. I appreciate how it made me wonder where I am on the graphic. I think I fit in all the spaces, at different times!
Thanks,
Dan
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic! I’m glad you discussed it in your blog. This is a question that I have been thinking about for the last couple years. In fact, I was more worried about it these last couple months of this past school year. The middle school I was recently at provided each student with a Chromebook. At the end of the year, we boxed up the Chromebooks. Grade 8s would move to high school and grade 7s would be given their same Chromebook back in September. When I first started there, I thought it was interesting that each student had their own Chromebook all year. I was told that it is the way that schools are heading, this way we can prepare students for high school and then post-secondary education. However, once a month, my grade 7/8 class would meet with the grade 11 leadership class from the high school next door. I was talking to the teacher of this class about Chromebooks. I was surprised to hear that each student wasn’t given a Chromebook in high school. In fact, the only students who would use a Chromebook in high school were the ones who brought it in from home. I literally gasped. I remember saying, “What? Why are we giving every student a chromebook in middle school preparing them for something when they are going to be going back to using a book, paper, and pen?” The fact of the matter is that those who are fortunate enough to have their own laptop that they can bring to school will continue to succeed in this method that they have been learning in for the last 2 years. However, those who are not fortunate enough to have a laptop from home will potentially suffer from such a transition.
It’s definitely a topic that needs to be discussed more. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Giulia,
DeleteInteresting. I'll be totally honest, there is NO way I would have been able to pay attention in class if I had had a phone or laptop in school. No WAY! I mean, even as an adult I can barely stay focused during a staff meeting without a laptop to do some sort of prep or googling or some other kind of multi-tasking. I can't imagine the temptation for adolescents... I have heard some teachers literally break down and say they have to get out of teaching due to the almost constant dealing with personal devices in classes. Add that to the fear of being on a YouTube or TikTok video, and I can understand their despair.
I would imagine that high school teachers need to put a lot of effort into re-imagining their instruction with personal technology in mind - from math teachers who know that kids can just take a picture of the math problem and an app will solve it, to ways that kids can share answers during exams.
Not sure I could do it!
Dan
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this article and the important sobering statistics. In a class of 25 grade 8's, I might have one who doesn't have a Wifi-enabled device. By Grade 10, I would say about 20-30% of students, depending on the class, bring laptops to school. By this point, there is rarely one student without a wifi-capable tool of some sort. The battle we face, is how to help students stay engaged/ gain the most from our classes, and save the Snapchat time for the breaks.
But because of this, it is perhaps easy for me to gloss over the fact that there is a greater reality, a greater social inequity and conversation around accessibility, than my context.
During the pandemic, I know my district was loaning out devices to student homes that needed them. As a university student, I toured a facility in Downtown Eastside Vancouver where individuals can access the internet and computers for free (as well as participate in workshops for how to set up a LInkedIn account, how to write a resume, etc.). It almost goes beyond social capital, and is instead the societal requirement, to have access to technology.
Then again, are we that surprised?
K
Yep. Tough one for sure. One goal I'm toying with, on a personal note, is to go back to a 'dumb-phone'. Throughout my Master's program thus far I feel as if I've lived in a computer... I spend inordinate amounts of time starting at a screen, whether it's for reading articles, writing papers, designing webpages and projects, or scanning OnQ. Don't get me wrong, the Queen's PME was exactly what I needed for my Master's, and I don't regret it for a second. It's been a great a distraction for some family tragedy. That said... I don't like how computers have kind of taken my prison. OnQ can be a bit like Facebook - always wondering if someone's replied to a post, how is my blog doing, what's the next activity, how does my work compare, etc. I think when I finish (in November, all being well) I need to go on a 'screens fast!'
DeleteHi Dan,
ReplyDeleteYou raise (for me) an important question and deeper learning/thinking. I think technology has its time and place, and it is interesting how a lot of families don't have computers or certain technology but then have lots of video games and cell phones. I too experienced this from COVID and saw how our district managed technology. We had lots of technology and one school I worked at had more chromebooks than students, and the students would leave them everywhere and did not take proper care of them.
Technology is an interesting thing, because I think students know more than I do how to use them and I don't know that we need them in our classrooms all the time. I think it is important to have a break from them.
Daniella
Hi Daniella,
DeleteI couldn't agree more. use has to be purposeful - not just to tick a box. I've had the same issue with lack of care, and I have to be courageous enough to take breaks from technology at those times. The lesson of taking responsibility for your belongings is probably just as important as whatever we were going to do on the computers anyway. As you say, students are so familiar with it anyway, most of the time they are teaching me!
Dan
Hi Dan,
DeleteWhat an interesting topic to be discussing! I do agree that technology does have a time and place to be used in the classroom for sure, but, the negitive effects of technology being a distraction in the junior grades is a problem I have run into often. I have also seen students not respect the technology in the classroom and that is something I do not tolerate. It is so important to teach students early in the school year how to take care of technology.
Thanks for the post,
Ashley