Another Rant... (Math 1510, Post 6)

Alright, here is another one of my "rants" to get across the importance of starting our students out right and preparing them for the future. Through my time in the classroom in a leadership position, observing a variety of different classes and going through school myself, I have determined that we have a serious issue on our hands. Some may disagree with me but I believe we have a problematic reliance on technology.

Through computers, the internet, smart boards, calculators, and even cell phones, the ability to find or solve anything for ourselves is slowly diminishing. Why figure out the prime factorization of a number when you can simply ask google the same question and get the answer in less than a second? Say I am stuck in the past, too wrapped up in tradition, but I think as educators, parents and mentors need to encourage students to take the extra steps to do the work themselves. Provide them with the tools (or lack of tools in some cases) and enable them to not be self-sufficient.

I do not by any means disregard the importance of technology in the classroom. But I believe there is a time and place, it can hinder or it can help. Taking and making the time for students to get involved in both the technological attributes of the classroom and time to self-construct content in the classroom is really the key. I believe it is a balancing act. The fine line is the one we need to try our best to stay one. What do you think?