TECH IN THE CLASSROOM WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

Eddie Woo was just another teacher in another classroom back in 2012 when one of his students became ill. Concerned that the teen would miss out on lessons, Eddie decided to film his classes and posted the videos to Youtube.

Six years later and Eddie is a maths rock star and global sensation, thanks to his super popular ‘Wootube’ channel.

His success can be attributed to two factors: he’s an engaging teacher and uses technology to help students develop knowledge.

There is much debate over the future of technology in classrooms, and while some experts believe it is essential to equip our children with the latest skills, others insist it’s more important that teachers shape kids’ attitudes and mental habits.

Speaking at the recent Edutech Conference in Australia, visiting scholar Guy Claxton said teachers needed to ask themselves whether the technology they use in the classroom helped with curiosity, inquiry and rumination.

There were also concerns that children were suffering a form of digital dementia caused by using keyboards rather than handwriting. Because students can type faster than they can write, they often don’t take time for deeper thought. Some experts suggest typing doesn’t allow for the retention of details in the same way that handwriting does.

Educators were also concerned that teachers were mistaking entertainment for student engagement when devices, and some learning apps, were used.

Advocates, however, believe integrating technology prepares students for their future, encourages collaboration and keeps them abreast of the most up-to-date information. With calls for teachers to be renamed ‘learning designers’ and the growth of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, coding and hyper-collaboration in the classroom, the blackboard and chalk model is being challenged.

One convincing argument is that using technology in the classroom gives teachers the opportunity to help students develop sound digital citizenship skills, so they use their devices responsibly. week’s education over the course of the academic year.

Researchers found test scores increased by more than six per cent in those schools that banned phones. Further, psychologists point out that face-to-face communication is diminished and that phone notifications prompt dopamine release, leading to addiction.

One Australian school that banned phones at the start of this year reports that the playground is now noisier thanks to the kids chatting, but that learning had improved.

Melbourne’s Mckinnon Secondary College brought in a new rule where students had to store their phones in their lockers and not touch them until they left school – not even during lunch and recess.

Principal Pitsa Binnion said there’s more laughter in the school grounds, but she pointed out that messages from parents were often to blame for the constant distractions. She said when she began confiscating phones she saw how many notifications were coming through, many from the students’ mums and dads.

Interestingly, the decision to ban phones came from the students who said phones were a distraction in class.

However, some studies have reported that students use their devices to help them stay organised, plan their homework and remember things they needed to take to school.

Some educators believe digital literacy is now so critical to schooling that banning phones would inhibit their learning.

Educational technology expert Dr Joanne Orlando believes banning devices will lead to underground use and exacerbate issues such as cyberbullying.

‘Banning students from using smartphones is a 1950s response to a 2018 state of play,’ she says.