POSITION 1: FOR TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

When I was ten years old, I remember thinkin' how cool it would be, when we were goin' on an eight hour drive, and I could just watch TV, and I'd have given anything, to have my own Pac-Man game at home, I used to have to get a ride down to the arcade, Now I've got it on my phone, Hey, glory, glory, hallelujah, welcome to the future
- Country Music Singer-Songwriter Brad Paisley (Welcome to the Future)

Suppose it is a warm Friday afternoon on a sunny spring day. You have just begun to teach a fifth grade science lesson on how a geyser works. A quick scan of the classroom reveals that several students appear to be disinterested, others are starting to doze. One student is staring at his watch. Suddenly an idea flashes into your head. You fire up the classroom personal computer and quickly navigate to the national parks website. Today is your lucky day. In five minutes Yellowstone national park's most popular attraction, Old Faithful is scheduled to erupt. With a few short clicks of the mouse you are able to project a live video stream of Old Faithful. Instantly, your students are captivated as they anticipate the countdown to one of our nation's natural wonders.

Unless you were teaching class in the southwest corner of the state of Wyoming, the example above would not be possible without the aid of technology. Perhaps the greatest technological tool available to today's students and teachers is access to the World Wide Web. Internet access in the classroom offers options that could only be dreamed of in the past. Teachers are able to liven up their lessons by using the internet to run virtual field trips or display live video stream. Students can research information quickly and have fun while they are doing it. Information is only a keystroke away.

In the early 1800s, a technological innovation was introduced to classrooms that would prove to have a profound impact on teaching. Although advocates called this new tool "invaluable" and it was installed in classrooms throughout the country, many teachers ignored it at first. Schools had to encourage use of this new technology by preparing training manuals with step-by-step instructions to help teachers integrate the device into their lessons. What was this technological wonder? The chalkboard! (Cooper, Ryan, 2004 p179)

Yesterday's chalkboard has been replaced by today's Smart Board. A Smart Board is basically an electronic chalkboard. You can write on the Smart Board using your finger or a stylus. Internet pages can be displayed on the Smart Board by hooking it up to your classroom computer. Teachers can use the Smart Board's built-in map capability to teach a geography lesson. One of the really nice features of the Smart Board is its ability to save text that is written on it to a file. The file can then be distributed electronically. It can also be connected to the computer to teach the class software applications. The teacher can display the application on the Smart Board while students practice at individual work stations. This would be the ideal tool for a technology class.

Many computer applications can be used as cognitive tools. CD-ROMS are similar to audio compact discs but store computer programs. CD-ROMS can be used in classrooms to offer supplemental instruction in a myriad of subjects. They can be used as encyclopedias, interactive storybooks, instructional software, and simulation software. Students can use CDs for direct instruction, research projects, worksheets, or working in groups (Northrup, 2010).

Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences emphasizes that different individuals learn best in different ways. Students who struggle with written expression may enjoy the chance to publish a web page or create a multimedia presentation instead of submitting a traditional five-page essay. Presentation tools, such as PowerPoint, can combine text, graphics, audio, and video to communicate complex ideas (Cooper, Ryan, 2004 p. 185).

Imagine that is one o'clock in the morning and you are rushing to complete a research paper that is due later that morning. You are exhausted from a long night of writing but relieved that you are about to compete the assignment and get a few hours of needed sleep. As you scan through your paper one last time you realize your mistake. In your haste you mistakenly keyed a paragraph on page six that belonged on page four of your report. Because the year is 1980 and you are working on an electronic typewriter you will have to retype pages four, five, and six of the report. What a nightmare!

Fortunately today's students are unlikely to face such problems thanks to an application known as the word processor. In its most common form a word processor is a computer application that is used for writing, editing, and formatting text documents. The problem presented above could literally be solved by executing the cut and paste options of the word processor program. This task could be solved in seconds. Word processing software is also equipped with spelling and grammar checking capabilities. Thus, students are free to spend more time concentrating on the content of their work and less time typing and editing.

Technology can be used by administrators as well. Every day, about 12,000 Philadelphia students are out of school with no excuse. Every year, the Philadelphia School District, city courts, and the department of Human Services spend $15 million on truancy-prevention programs (Graham, 2010). Automated voice messaging systems can help to curtail this problem. Imagine the surprise on little "Johnny's" face as he's sitting at the dinner table thinking he pulled off the caper of the century by cutting school. Suddenly the telephone rings. "Johnny" cringes as hears the recorded voice of the assistant principal broadcasting to his parents that he was absent from school that day. Announcements such as school closings, event cancellations, and other important messages can be conveyed in this manner as well.

Parents can be kept informed of their child's progress with online Instructional Management Systems. These systems allow students to view their own academic records and to access resources for planning their paths to graduation and beyond. Students can view their grades, homework assignments, and announcements. Teachers can use these systems to view assessment results for the sections that they teach. Online calendars are available to help teachers keep track of curriculum pacing guides, upcoming assessments, and professional development activities.

While technology may not be a panacea for education, it is certainly a tool that should be embraced by modern educators in our knowledge based economy. Like it or not, technology is the future and it is here to stay. Exposing children to technology at an early age will help to build a stronger, brighter America. Welcome to the future!

POSITION 2: AGAINST TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

DONT CARE IF UR JK IM TELLIN UR MOMMY AT FIAESTIA. IM TELLING UR MOMMY WHEATHER U LIK IT OR NOT. I CANT WAIT TILL U CRY CUZ I WILL TELL UR MOMMY ND ULL GET COD TOOKIN AWAY FROM U. I DONT CARE IF U DONT CARE CUZ UR MOMMY WILL NOT BE VERY PLZED WIT U.

- fifth grade student on facebook

Has this ever happened to you? You stop at a convenience store to purchase a few items. The line at the register is short; you should complete your transaction quickly and be on your way. However, there is a stalemate at the register. The customer preceding you just handed the cashier a nickel and three pennies expecting an even one dollar bill for change. Normally this would not present a problem for the recent high school graduate operating the computerized cash register. Except our friendly neighborhood store clerk had already entered the transaction into the machine and is bewildered as what to do with the seven cents he has now been handed. The machine says to dispense 97 cents change. Who is he to argue with the machine; after all it's never let him down before.

The example above is what technology in the classroom has yielded to our society: brain dead "zombies" that are unable to think for themselves. Students of today rely on calculators and spreadsheets as a "crutch" for performing basic arithmetic. The widespread use of calculators in the classroom is "dumbing" down the curriculum" (Van De Walle, 2007). The overuse of computational devices in the learning center can lead to lazy students who don't learn the "Basics". It is import for students to learn the "Real Way" of doing mathematics by rolling up their sleeves and getting "down and dirty" with some old fashioned pencil and paper. It is essential that mastery of basic facts, mental computation, and some attention to by-hand techniques continue to be requirements for all students (Van De Walle, 2007, p. 109).

Technology has bred a nation of indolent students. Young learners no longer see the importance of spelling and grammar. Instead they are content to rely on automated tools to do the work for them. But what happens when they misuse a homonym (i.e., right, write)? The spell checker will not catch the mistake. Conventional spelling is often considered to be the hallmark of an educated person. Parents say that they view spelling as critically important, citing the relationship between reading and spelling, the need for students to be conventional spellers to be successful in the job market and in higher education, and the negative effect incorrect spellings have on compositions as reasons for its importance (Tompkins, 2009, p. 406). Proper grammar has been replaced with a new language of hieroglyphics. "Thanks" is now spelled "thanx". Love is "luv". Because is "cuz". "What" is "wut". Noah Webster must be turning over in his grave.

Good handwriting is critical for note taking and developing good writing skills. Note taking has been substituted by videoing the teacher with a cell phone. Electronic email and text messaging have replaced hand written documents. Students no longer possess cursive writing skills. Research has concluded that handwriting instruction improves students' writing. If children cannot form letters with reasonable legibility and speed they cannot translate the language in their minds into written text. As a result, their ideas will slip out of their memory (Graham, 2010). Technology has taught students that quick and easy is the most effective way to accomplish their tasks.

Research has become a lost art. Many students don't know how to use a library. Why would students spend time thumbing through a reference book when they have what many teachers describe as "the work of the devil" at their fingertips: Wikipedia. Students think that this site contains the answers to everything and go no further with their research. What they fail to realize is that this site can be updated by anyone and has been found to have inaccurate information. Students who rely on the Web for their research material often use this information without scrutinizing the source. In their haste to complete an assignment they are often eager to use whatever material they find without considering that the website they are using may be bogus.

With the widespread use of computers comes a myriad of security issues and increased budget expenditures. School districts must now provide networking specialist in their IT departments whose job it is to prevent students from gaining access to restricted websites such as, pornographic, gambling, and social networking. This adds another cost to already tight school district budgets and takes funds away from basic school needs. Many districts use web filtering software to perform this task. Some schools see problems with relying on web filtering software: the filtering technology is not perfect, and schools that rely on it are more vulnerable if it fails. The use of filtering software also brings up censorship and first Amendment rights. Some teachers believe that even though the Web contains a great deal of inappropriate information, students should have unlimited access but be closely monitored. Teachers need to instruct their students in ways to evaluate the authority of web sources (Cooper, Ryan, 2004 p. 205). This will likely infringe on precious classroom time.

In addition to security concerns there are also concerns over the physical safety of young children. Too little is known about technology's physical effects on digitized youngsters, but troubling evidence of problems resulting from computer use include: vision, postural and orthopedic complaints, neck and back problems, radiation emitted from the backs and sides of machines, and even the rare possibility of seizures triggered by some types of visual displays (Healy, 1999).

Technology also opens the door for misuse. The Lower Merion School District is facing a legal bill of over $550,000 dollars for invasion of privacy accusations for allegedly spying on their students with a digital camera placed inside of a laptop computer (Martin, 2010). Students have also found creative ways to cheat. Many cell phones have internet access. Some students are secretly able to "google" answers on a test with their cell phones. They can use the camera option on their phone to take a picture of the test and then email it to a friend in a later class.

There are also issues of fairness. Schools with large percentages of low-income children are only about half as likely to have classroom web access as those with higher-income populations. Students from poorer families are more likely to use computers for games whereas children from middle class families are more likely to use the computer for online research (Cooper, Ryan, 2004 p. 185).

When teachers were asked in 1940 to identify the most serious problems in schools, they listed talking out of turn, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, cutting in line, dress code infractions, and littering (Postman, 1995, p. 421). Today, teachers are likely to cite students talking on cell phones, sending text messages, and listing to iPods.

In conclusion, most school districts would be better served using their financial assets to upgrade rundown buildings, provide teacher professional development, and purchase up-to-date textbooks for all students. While technology has its place it should not be at the expense of teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic.

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