Reflection 1: Technology Bits, Bytes & NIbbles: The Great Technology Debate

I read two articles from the blog. One dealt with eBooks, the other with technology purging. And comparing the two is very interesting. The one about eBooks wondered if Kindles and iPads would extend or bridge the education gap. It is a very interesting point. I couldn’t read the entire article, but I believe that this will go one of two ways. If low-income students receive access to this technology, it could infinitely help them. eBooks are cheaper than normal books, meaning students can afford to buy more books. The books are stored digitally, giving families that don’t have room for a library, digital space to keep them. However, if it is left up to the students to acquire this technology, it will only benefit the wealthy students who can afford books in the first place. I readily believe that, if technology is given equally to all students and used well, the benefits can be beyond imagination. Opposing that, the other article shows a case where students benefited from going back to “1983 technology.” It says students unplugged from cell phones, the internet and video games. Most of the students reported liking and benefiting from the technology purge. They said it helped them focus on school and other pass times they had given up. The article then questioned if moving to a Web 2.0 school would really help students. Based on the study, that is a seemingly valid question. But in all reality, what these students gave up wouldn’t be the types of technology that would be useful in a classroom, and few supports of a tech-savy classroom would oppose students playing less video games. Though the technology of future classrooms is found on the internet, its purpose is different from being strictly social media. It is about being connected to share knowledge and ideas, not what movie you saw or who your latest crush is, like social media.

(http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/01/03/can-ebooks-help-bridge-achievement-gaps/)
http://www.good.is/post/should-schools-go-back-to-1983-technology/