Is modern technology teaching our kids to be lazy?

As a future teacher I am concerned about how I will use the technology that is available to help my students achieve and "Keep Up". In most of our educational classes it is constatnly stressed that technology is the new way and that we must be prepared to implement it in our classrooms. Our students are bombarded by technology everday but I agree that the basics must be taught. We must find a way to find a balance and implement both.

Now I am all for technology and teaching children how to use it, but they have to master the basics first. I love to use technology to enhance my students' learning, but I believe that before they can type up a paragraph they have to write it out. This is a problem though when many students cannot write. I am a second grade teacher. I have found that many of my students have very poor handwriting skills. We start teaching cursive at this grade in my district and many of them do not even form most of their printed letters correctly, so it makes cursive more challenging. Often what I hear my students saying is "I played video games for two hours last night." I realize that there is not much I can do about that, but it is frustrating to know that many students are not getting practice at home (and this extends beyond writing).

I feel that there are way too many parents who let their children waste hours in front of the TV or playing video games. It's so frustrating. I do think students need to learn how to use the computer and that it can be a great way to teach certain things, but that doesn't make the basics obsolete. I think the same is true with calculators. I know most people can use a calculator for even the little math projects, but I went to a store the other day and the cash register didn't give them the amount of change and he couldn't figure it out. He had to go get a calculator. I was so saddened that this young mancouldn't do simple subtraction. I think there is a lot of computer skills kids need to learn that doesn't take they can't do off the computer and this is what I try to use it for or to make things more fun and reinforce something already taught.

I believe today that students have to have the knowledge of using the technology in order to survive in today's world. Years ago, it was important for us to know how to do our basic skills because we did not have this technological advance equipment to help us. Our society relies heavily on computers and equipment to make our lives easier, but you have to have the skills and the know how to use the equipment. Our students are becoming more advance than we are and we need to appreciate this fact because they are evolving to survive in our society. I teach special education and it is nice to see technology like "Kindle" and smart boards. My students will appreciate the fact now material can be delivered in are kinesthetics. I am one who is not afraid to learn the new technology and embrace it for tomorrow, if knowing that my students will be able to survive int he world.

I think it goes back to the saying, "Working smarter not harder." Technology enables us to accomplish many tasks in a more efficient way. Businesses and industry are moving towards technology to get the job done. The education system often restricts and reprimands technology due to funding or misinformation. Netday Survey 2005 found 81% of students in grades 7-12 have email accounts, 75% have instant messenger, and 97% believe strongly technology is important in education (NetDay News, 2005). I think the key is to incorporate technology into education.

Technology is a tool. Like all tools it is the use that is important. If it is combined with physical, kinesthetic, artistic and emotional activities then it is good, it is not a "one stop shop" but a powerful means for children to communicate, create and learn. I do not feel that it is making our children lazy unless it is allowed to do so.. which is why it must always be seen as part of the answer and not just the answer.

I wonder if long ago there were old bards who bemoaned the fact that the new generation couldn't memorize long passages of literature like they could in the past because this younger generation could simply use this new gizmo called a book to reference the parts that they wanted to remember. "What will happen when there is no book around?" I imagine them saying. "How will they access the information that they need if there are none of those new-fangled books available?"

Here's a good TED talk I watched today:

Dan Meyer: Math class needs a makeover
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html

It points to kids wanting or expecting "sit-com sized problems" and the impatience they experience when things don't resolve quickly.

I see over 150 students each day for an entire semester in my Communication Applications class (speech). I look at two sides of the teaching puzzle. 1) Technology is the key to success in the workforce today. Students need to know how to do traditional things like appropriate writing using technology. They also need to know how to find quality sources of information on the web. However, handwriting is not a lost art. Students still need to learn basics skills through traditional means because they will need those too! Books are not yet antiquated, and still have vast amounts of information. My boss likes to be able to read my handwriting on reports. My professors in college made me do my math tests without a calculator, and we still have to know how to answer a telephone politely.

So are students lazy because of technology? Yes. Can we still teach them traditionally? Yes! Should we be teaching students to utilize all basic skills whether traditional or through technology? Absolutely! The world demands change, but has not forgotten tradition!