Real Life Use of Technology; Pros and Cons

Last week our Internet for Educators class broke into groups and tackled the question "What are some pros and cons of technology? Before we began brainstorming ideas, Mike spoke to us about different ways we can use technology in our classrooms. One of the interesting things he talked about was Lakewood School taking a hands on approach to their morning announcements. A concern for a lot of schools are ensuring that students are hearing the announcements, because many just tune them out. Rather than school administration or classroom teachers giving the announcements, Lakewood School had decided to have the students record announcements in the morning and play them in all of the classes. I think this is such a great way to get the student body engaged in activities and events throughout the school. I also enjoyed a history teacher's use of technology at SJR in Winnipeg. He had his students complete a project Getting to Know Winnipeg. This project encouraged the students to learn about other areas in the city; research online, meet some people and take pictures. This finished product of this project was creating a website with all of the information students had found through their research on Winnipeg. Mike also provided us with an idea for using bucket lists in the classroom. The students were asked to create their own bucket list. They were then told they needed to complete one of the items on their list and share it using a form of social media. I think this is such a great way to get students thinking about all of the things they would like to do in their lives.

Getting back to the pros and cons of technology...
Pros                                                                    Cons
Fast                                                                    Distraction
Immediate results                                              Dangerous (without proper knowledge)
Information at your fingertips                            Expensive
Global connections                                            Lazy ("I'll just Google it")
Sharing                                                              Shorter Attention Spans
Social Media                                                     Once it's on the net, it's always there
Networking
Broadens Communities
Engaging for Students

Our Conclusion:
Our group decided that technology is extremely beneficial for our students as long as we/they are aware of the negative consequences. It is our duty as educators to ensure our students know internet safety, netiquette, digital identities, hoaxes, and unsafe uses.