To Restrict or Promote Technology in the Classroom?

Technology has taken society by a storm. If you are waiting in line at Starbucks, people around you will likely be on their phones. When you take public transit, many people will be either listening to music, reading, or watching videos. Right before bed, a staggering number of people use their technology to listen to a podcast/music, watch videos/memes and more. From my perspective, our current society struggles with a technology/device usage problem. In addition, I firmly believe that this problem is more prominent in the younger generation (i.e., elementary/high school students, and post secondary students). 




In schools, it seems like every break is associated with technology. Even when I coach sports, water breaks have become phone breaks. I personally find this concerning. Furthermore, in the classroom, students are constantly on their phones. Sometimes, many times actually, for their own leisure. As a result of this, I firmly believe that technology and device usage has become a problem in the classroom today. Are teachers not being strict enough about device usage in the class? Are educators uneducated about how to use technology to promote learning and critical thinking? Are students addicted to their phone and social media? These are the types of questions we have to ask in order to get an answer to the title of this blog post - "To Restrict or Promote Technology in the Classroom". Answers will vary depending on the teacher. That being said, I think it is important and imperative for educators to have a discussion amongst themselves and their students. If we continue down this "grey path", it could be to the detriment of the next generation.

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