Technology and Education

Sir Ken Robinson said in his video that, “all kids have tremendous talent and we squander them pretty ruthlessly”. With education being geared at a higher rate one of the things we need to focus on with teaching is technology. My 3 year old already loves playing games on the computer. He can turn it on, load a disk and bring up one of his games. Therefore, technology as it grows needs to be used and taught in every form and way to our children so that they are receiving a complete and marketable education.

We need to look at ways to incorporate more into the classroom. I take courses all the time at UNT that after and 1 ½ in class I think wow, that could have all gone on the web for me to read at home in my pajamas instead of driving 35 miles to Denton and 35 miles home in the pouring rain. Technological resources need to be integrated from our pre-K classrooms all the way through our graduate programs. Colleges and Universities like UNT need to focus on getting the entire faculty trained in making use of the technology that is offered so they can better assist the students with their courses. If students are comfortable texting, e-mailing and tweeting then the teachers need to take advantage of those avenues to better reach and teach today’s children.

On a side note in reference to Sir Ken Robinson video and speaking as a mother who was very hyperactive (ADHD) as a child I disagree totally with his analysis of putting children on medication for the disorder. I had such problems focusing in school and my father refused to drug his children. I eventually gave up and dropped out my senior year. I will be graduating this fall with my BA in English Language Arts which I feel is a great accomplishment but it has taken me 20 years to get to this point. My daughter has the same issues. She’s a straight A student with a great social life but she has a hard time concentrating and focusing on her school work. The medication she takes hasn’t changed her energy, her abilities, or her social standing at school but it has given her the ability to concentrate. Now when I come home from work her homework and nightly reading is done and no one has to remind her or fight with her she’s just able to focus better and concentrate on the tasks she needs to complete. I’m hoping that this will help her do better in school than I did and therefore maybe it won’t take her 20 years to finish a 4 year degree.