Why Technology in Education?

Technology has forever impacted education, both positively and negatively. Some schools fully embrace technology usage while others do not incorporate it at all. Both extremes can be detrimental to education. Since technology exists in personal and professional areas, teachers should implement a balanced amount of technology into their curriculum.

Purpose of Technology in Education

Professional Skills

One of the most important goals of education is to prepare students for their place in the world, to be successful citizens. Therefore, the U.S. Department of Education claims that technology in education enhances their preparation since technology has not only impacted but altered the world as we know it both personally and professionally (U.S., 2021). Students learn valuable communication, research, and writing skills that most occupations require. English teachers have shifted from requiring a handwritten essay to one typed and formatted appropriately in Word or Google Docs. Science teachers have shifted from purchasing multiple specimens to cover for accidents during a first-time trial run of an experiment to having the students practice with a virtual lab. Some schools that do not possess the funds to purchase the actual equipment necessary benefit from the technology in that they can even practice the lab at all! History teachers have shifted from offering a field trip just to say they did one even though it was not the greatest quality or relevant to using Google Earth and other virtual field trips so students can experience a greater level of appreciation and authenticity for the subject they are studying. Ultimately, regardless of subject area, the U.S. Department of Education articulates how incorporating technology in the classroom teaches students how to be resourceful, responsible, creative, and professional (U.S., 2021).

Technology as a Tool

Another observation made due to the increase of technology is the students’ accessibility to social connectivity as well as innumerable resources (U.S., 2021). Not only is social media increasing social connectivity personally, but even something as simple as email or Google Classroom has increased the student-to-teacher, teacher-to-student and teacher-to-parent, parent-to-teacher connectivity. The ASCD reported that educators first resisted technology in education because the initial phase of technology was created primarily for the business world, then people’s personal lives. It was educators that recognized nothing could replace humans due to the nature of education; however, they viewed technology with a paradigm shift in mind. So they asked the question, unlike businesses, “How can these new tools contribute to a more powerful educational experience?” (Peck & Dorricott, 1994). Although this article in the ASCD’s educational journal is a bit outdated, I believe the same is true of educators today. Between 1994 and today, many educators sought to merely find ways to bring technology into the classroom. After years of trying so hard to the point that the technology seemed detached and actually distracting from the content or skill, teachers began asking this question again.

Teachers today view technology as a tool to assist learning content or developing a skill. The U.S. Department of Education explicitly mentioned resources and the skill of researching. Teachers today no longer simply require two of the ten resources for a research paper to be from an online source. Teachers today are actually taking the time to teach students research skills and how to interpret journal articles or use databases and find key words in the abstracts and interpret data. The computer at this point is merely a tool to gain the content and develop the students’ research and data processing skills. Using technology this way in education then achieves the goal of preparing students for real world experiences and occupations.

Biblical Defense

The Bible teaches that Earth is not humanity’s true home; it is temporary. Everyone is merely a pilgrim (1 Peter 2:11-12). Those who believe in Christ will reside with Him in Heaven for all of eternity (Mark 16:16); those who reject Christ will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15). God also teaches that believers should be “in the world but not of it” (1 John 2). This verse in particular shows the responsibility we as believers have to live our lives. We must still exist and thrive in the world, but we do not have to be “conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2). In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to “build houses and dwell in them” (Isaiah 65:21). In context, they were not home, on their land; they were pilgrims. God knew that His people were not going home for some time and that they would be able to best make a difference by living amongst the Gentiles rather than hiding. He wanted them to become a part of the community, contribute to the community. Building a house implies staying and becoming invested rather than pitching a tent, which was common in those days when passing through.

Each of these passages speaks to the principle of being a responsible citizen in the world. While the U.S. Department of Education focuses on students developing skills to contribute to the business world as citizens, God expects His people, believers, to demonstrate to those around them how to be a responsible citizen. Teachers have a wonderful opportunity to educate students how to use technology responsibly. Christian teachers, especially, have the opportunity to teach students how to use technology responsibly in a different way than nonbelievers.

Personal Application

Because I believe that students need to be responsible citizens in the world, which includes their use of technology, based on research data and biblical principles, I intentionally focus on at least four areas.

The first area I teach is plagiarism. I am extremely clear about what it is, how to identify it, how to avoid it, and why it is wrong. With the access students have to so much information today, it is easy to simply copy and paste. Scripture is clear about not lying or bearing false witness and not stealing (Exodus 20). I also emphasize that while not wanting to plagiarize, it is ok and actually good to use somebody else to support their claims.

Another area I teach is credible information. When I give lessons, I try to teach them where I found the information and why that makes it credible. Again, with the access students have to so much information, it is important to teach them what can and cannot be trusted and why. It is not simply enough to teach them to support their claims; they need to make sure their support actually supports. Jesus quoted the Old Testament prophets often to validate their teachings and prophesies. Then later, the apostles referenced Christ and each other often for validation.

Emailing is one area that I do not explicitly teach in the classroom, but I definitely address it. If a student sends me an email that looks like a tweet or a text, I either do not respond or I respond asking them to email me properly before we can engage in a conversation. Most of the time, they send me an email immediately that is correct. It amazes me that they know how to write a proper email—title, greeting, content, closing—yet so few do it. This simply example reminds me how much technology has altered the world, especially in people’s personal lives. Therefore, I do my best to teach my students how to separate the two. As an English teacher, I found it fascinating in my studies that humans actually have three different vocabularies: speaking, reading, and writing. People can usually read at the highest level, then write, and then speak. We are capable of comprehending a lot of words, retrieving fewer for writing since there is time given to think, and even fewer words can be retrieved when we speak. So I teach this concept to my students as a way to challenge them and remind them that even if they claim they will not go to college and enter the professional business world, they should still distinguish the way they talk from the way they write because they can.

A final area that I teach students to use technology responsibly is with their submissions. It may seem little to some teachers, but I stress a proper and on time submission. If students invite me to edit their paper instead of properly submitting it to the assignment posted in Google Classroom, it is late. If they email me their work instead of uploading it, then it is late. If the time stamp on the submission is late, then it is late. Sometimes students ask me to check their “last edited” history to prove that they were not working on it after the due date and time. I always do just to say that I did, but I still deduct late points. My lesson to these students, I believe, is teaching them to be responsible with their work. A friend of mine in a non-education field once forgot to print her pitch for her boss and the board. She had her PowerPoint all prepared but forgot the printed notes and charts and such. Her pitch was not accepted. Another friend of mine once forgot to submit some paperwork to her boss. She had taken it home to finish in time for his board meeting; it was finished, on time, but at home on her desk. I explain to my students that simply having work completed on time does not mean that it is correctly completed. My friend lost her job that day; she was fired on the spot. Since I teach high school, and the point is to learn and prepare for the real world, I do not give my students a 0% simply for being late. But I am strict about submissions.

References

English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online. https://esv.literalword.com/

Peck, K. & Dorricott, D. (1994). Why use technology? Educational Leadership 51, 7, pg. 11-14.

U.S. Department of Education. (2021). Use of technology in teaching and learning. Ed.gov.