Everyday education is currently taking an upgrade with the addition of an electronic learning experience. At my school, this includes giving each student a Windows Surface to use in each class of their school day.
There are many pros to this, but it also has its faults. Electronic education can be beneficial in that it can help students with different types of learning and make it a more personalized experience, but the issues with software that are bound to happen can almost ruin the experience.
In my algebra class at Georgia State University, where I am dual-enrolled, we use an online software for our homework assignments. I have had an issue with the software where it will not allow me to turn in my assignments. I have only recently been able to fix the issue and will now have to make up my assignments from the beginning of the semester. This is one of the negative aspects of technology in any type of situation. There will always be a flaw to the system.
When students are asked about the integration of technology, they are usually unenthusiastic. When parents are asked however, they either think it is a terrible idea or an amazing one.
As a millennial, I have the constant experience of being told how privileged and ungrateful I am. I am told how technology is taking over, and I am just idly sitting by as it happens, encouraging it. Well, it’s actually quite the opposite. As you can tell from my previous statements, I am not for the integration of technology in my school.
I understand how spoiled that sounds, but I honestly think that the money being used to buy 2,000 Microsoft Surfaces can be used for a better cause. For example, the student classroom size limit has grown to about 34 students per teacher, which doesn’t provide the best learning experience. The money could be better used to hire more teachers. Or it could be used to upgrade the current computer systems we have in the school. The computers we use for yearbook are too slow to work on, so most of us end up bringing in our own laptops so that we can work on the project that we make and sell in benefit of the school.
So what's my point? We should concentrate more on quality over quantity. I would rather have learning experience that isn’t interrupted everyday by poor computer systems. We should work to improve what we already have rather than to add something to the mix that may interrupt things even more.
