Running

head: UNREQUIRING TECHNOLOGY

Unrequiring the Use of Technology in the Classroom

Sheryl Schiefelbein
Western Oregon University

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Technology can be an engaging addition to curriculum in order to secure

students attention at all ages in any classroom. It has the potential to add enrichment to
curriculum and lessons with little difficulty and minor adjustments by the teacher.
Students can become more engaged in lessons when they use technology they are
familiar with to improve their learning and understanding of the presented concepts.
However, just because technology is integrated into our everyday life does not mean
that each moment should be spent with it- especially within the confines of schools. Neil
Postman addresses this thoroughly in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, and
discusses the effects of technology of people in everyday life. Technology can be a
valuable resource in the classroom, but it cannot and should not replace all the
curriculum and teachers with decades of invaluable and irreplaceable experience.
Technology is a resource to access information and ideas, but is not the solution to
curriculum.
One of the first challenges when considering technology in the classroom is that
it already impedes the communication among people outside of school walls. Students
have regular access to technology in their lives, both inside and outside of school and
rarely have a conversation with their peers that are sitting right next to them. When a
device is in their presence, the peer is replaced with a device and students are in
cyberspace not making any real connections with the world around them. Technology
has the uncanny ability to eliminate any conversation within a room, while still providing
us with abundant information at our fingertips. According to Postman (2006), Most of
our daily news is inert which does not allow people to engage in stimulating
conversations with one another. The ability to transmit news and information

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immediately diminishes our abilities to have meaningful conversations with those

around us. Since everyone has immediate access to the same breadth of information,
there is no need to share that information unlike in decades past. Prior to technological
advances such as mobile devices and the internet, people shared news with one
another and had in-depth conversations about what was happening in the world.
Postman (2006) also argues that people no longer argue about ideas and opinions but
rather argue over celebrities and other materialistic goods. Instead of having meaningful
conversations regarding political agendas and world events, people discuss events in
brief. There is a lack of challenging or engaging with each others ideas, beliefs, or
thought processes. Technology impedes the ability to communicate effectively with
others and hold meaningful conversations with those around us.
Students across the globe are seemingly attached to their electronic deviceswhether it is laptops, tablets, or cell phones. Creating meaningful lessons as a teacher
while trying to engage students that need constant stimulation can be difficult and nearly
impossible at times. In attempts to create relevant curriculum for students, teachers turn
to projects where they have a purpose and may be in the public eye. In Raw Materials
for the Mind, the author claims that students may be unmotivated to complete work
unless they see a useful connection to their world. Warlick (2000) iterates this sentiment
in his book; Traditionally their work is read only by the teacher and only for a grade.
This sets up a frame where the student is learning to communicate, but learning to
satisfy the teachers requirements. While students strive to meet the requirements set
out by their teachers, they also must consider the possibility of using their work further
on in their lives and without a large audience, such as portfolios to show competency in

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multiple areas. In other countries, portfolios are regularly used to show competency in
areas of education. Technology isnt always required to show competency in all skill
areas and careers, so there shouldnt be a push to use technology if it is unneeded.
Students need to be aware of the careers that do not mandate the use of computer
skills, but they need to be aware that it might make it easier to function in a technologydriven world. Technology should be used purposefully to train students in the proper
usage to meet requirements.
Technology can help teachers and students access an insurmountable number
of invaluable tools for the classroom, but teachers cannot rely solely on apps or the
internet to teach students. Technology should never be a babysitter in a classroom, it
should always have a concise objective. In addition, audiences arent always easy to
attain in an educational setting. Not every assignment needs to publicized and
advertised like a grand painting. Some assignments are meant to be learning activities,
not presentational materials, it would be nearly impossible to acquire the means to
publish everything. One of the biggest challenges faced by teachers today according to
Semali (1999) is students have continuous access to technology while doing everyday
tasks. Frequently, the television is on and earbuds are in the ears of students that are
studying; they also surf the internet for hours on end without a second thought. Students
need to disconnect from their electronics and learn from what is directly in front of them
in the moment- regardless of how it is presented. Losing educators who teach with
experience and irreplaceable knowledge is not a road education should travel down. By
replacing teachers with applications and thousands of dollars of electronics, we as a
society are doing a huge disservice to our students. Without the experienced workforce

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of our educators, students are not going to earn a well-rounded and complete
education.
With information in abundance and so readily available, educators must decide
what information to give to students. Teachers also must make the decision to choose
how to present this curriculum for the needs of students. Advances in technology makes
teachers question if technology is the solution to traditional paper and pencil methods
and original artifacts. Technology has the ability to be helpful and create new resources,
but older, authentic resources serve a purpose in education too. Resources exist to
show students how life was at a specific time; authentic relics are far more meaningful
in education than videos or PowerPoints can be at times. Having students plug-in for
additional time at school is not the solution for a better education if the end goal is to
have students make educated decisions and not repeat prior mistakes. Postman
references that technology is impeding upon education stating that it is "accurate to call
television a curriculum. As I understand the word, a curriculum is a specially constructed
information system whose purpose is to influence, teach, train or cultivate the mind and
character of youth, (Postman, 2006, pp. 145-146). Technology is teaching students, not
teachers; it continually molds the brains of young people. Students turn to the internet
instead of their teachers for help with assignments, and that is the loss of a wondrous
resource that not everyone has access to. Enough teachers are lost each year for
countless reasons, but technology can alienate thousands of teachers that arent
plugging in and adapting to the world around them. A middle ground must be found for
technology in the classroom.

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When teachers and students meet in the middle of the technology nontechnology world, they create goals-based projects to increase student learning. Warlick
(2010) mentions this and states, they are learning and building is connected in some
way with their experience and with the world around them, (p. 110). Authentic learning
is the best learning, which does not always involve sitting in front of a screen. Goalsbased projects create opportunities for students and teachers alike to engage in
meaningful curriculum and learning. Students can create and engage in meaningful
content and enrich their learning, while teachers incorporate technology as needed, but
it isnt a required part of the curriculum or project. Technology serves as a tool for
background knowledge, data collection, and/or sharing learning afterwards. Technology
can serve in a variety of these three ways and does not have to be used throughout the
whole process. By including specific goals, students are not learning for just a grade,
they are combatting a larger problem of creating meaningful content using both new and
old methods. Teachers also need to be able to teach students how to analyze materials
critically and consciously reflect on their interactions with media, (Semali, 1999, p.
187). Ignoring technology wont serve any purpose, but teaching students to critically
look and depict what technology does and the problems that arise are important skills.
Students dont often know how to decode messages in person, nonetheless online
messages and pictures. Educators need to think outside the box when it comes to using
technology for the best purpose that it can be used and not just using technology for the
sake of having it in their building. Technology is todays conduit for information and
teachers need to integrate it appropriately.

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Another problem with technology in education is access to the right amount of

equipment that schools and classrooms need. Schools have long been equipped with
computer labs that are shared amongst all classes in the building. Other schools have
opted for transportable computer carts, iPad carts, and technology labs. Pittman (2015)
says that access to technology has become easier, but schools run into other barriers.
One such barrier is the number of available devices in a given school. In a technology
audit of a rural middle school in Oregon of 526 students, technology is available to
students and teachers through 90 desktop computers, 60 laptops in a laptop cart, and
75 iPads distributed among 3 iPad carts. The desktop computers run on Windows XP
and malfunction regularly, and the laptop batteries do not last more than a class period
which frustrate students and teachers alike. In a school this size, with standardized
testing requiring advanced computer and typing skills, this is not enough devices. These
225 devices are not enough for 33 teachers with an average class size of 33 to share.
Schools who want to integrate technology can no longer survive with a few
computer carts shared among a set of classrooms or grades. School districts can now
apply for funding to receive technology in their districts. Even large school districts have
even implemented wide use of technology, such as Los Angeles Unified School District
and Milpitas Unified School Districts, both of California; it can be done with careful
consideration and planning. However, the point isnt whether teachers can get to the
technology, so much as the problem lies with sharing devices and implementing them
on a regular basis with a meaningful purpose. Schools have access word-processing
software and thousands of other applications- even free versions of applications, such
as GoogleDocs, but lack the infrastructure and ability to create accounts for students to

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effectively use these tools impedes implementation. Creating and maintaining the filters
for thousands of student accounts is a full-time position that many school districts arent
prepared or financially capable of adopting. Pitmann (2015) also points out that there is
a wide range of what is considered appropriate technology in varying grade levels, but
no definition or standard as to what is appropriate. With no regulations regarding the
standardization of utilizing technology, teachers are left with yet another burden. In
addition to using the technology everyday it requires a full time technology army to keep
things running smoothly for everyone (Mccrea, 2015). Unfortunately not all school
districts have the budget to hire and run a full-time support team to support thousands
of devices and manage troubleshooting problems. It requires several people to
maintain, update, fix, and manage all the required components from the devices
themselves to the routers, wireless cables, software updates, and device management
software. This is a financial investment that requires thoughtful implementation as well
as the support of the community.
Technology is a resource to enhance curriculum, but it must be used in the right
format and be appropriate to the learning target. Technology is often found in
classrooms being used for either the right assignments or being underutilized. Teachers
and students become frustrated with outdated technology that is difficult to use and
implement. Schools must weigh the benefits of having portable technology, technology
rooms, and 1:1 device and decide what subject areas a grade levels could benefit from
the devices the most. Teachers need training in how to implement the technology and it
must be carefully considered how student will use technology to the best of their abilities
and benefit both teachers and students.

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