If technology is effective in the classroom, why do some students dislike it?

by Nayab T.

Tuesday, August 04, 2020 at 11:23 AM

If technology is effective in the classroom, why do some students dislike it?

The effectiveness of technology in the classroom has become a controversial issue. While many teachers and students feel that it is better to use technology because it improves teaching, many others find it too challenging and a waste of time. If technology in class is as effective as many teachers think it is; Why do some students dislike it?

To objectively answer this question, 3 articles have been analyzed. 2 out of 3 is about how the use of technology in the classroom disturbs students and the latter forces students who feel that classroom technology meets their needs. So the problem is not that technology is ineffective, but some teachers have to consider the use of technology in the classroom, while others have to be trained to use technology to teach students not to see technology as a learning barrier. as an improvement tool.

Summarizing the three articles reviewed, we can show that there are 2 groups of students who say they do not like classroom technology: for those who do not work well for their teacher and for those who have not given enough time to get to know it. Then we can make a logical conclusion that the same students would appreciate the value of technology in the classroom if their teachers were using it correctly. First, let’s summarize the articles we are talking about.

Students complain that technology makes their teachers less effective than they would if they were attending the conference. (Young) Other student-related issues include teachers who lack time to learn about the web tool or use a projector or software. ”When teachers are not familiar with the technology, they are unlikely to have more time trying the technology that they usually use pupils are PowerPoint, and students complain that teachers use it instead of their lesson plan, and many students find it harder to understand “I call it abusive. PowerPoint (Young) Teachers also publish their PowerPoint presentations to the School Board before and after the class, and this encourages students to spend more classes.

Another problem reported in the article using technology in the classroom is that many schools have time to teach their staff how to use a particular technology, but not to teach them “strategies to use them” (Young). The writer believed that schools should also provide teachers with small financial incentives to attend seminars.

Interview with 13 pupils, “some gave the teacher a mistake when using PowerPoint, course management systems, and other technologies in the classroom” (Young), some of the complaints were about using PowerPoint inappropriately and being instructors uses to tell what is on the scale. Another complaint was that teachers who are unfamiliar with technology often miss class time because they spend more time-solving problems than training. The last complaint is that some teachers require students to comment weekly on online chat rooms, but they do not control the result or never pay attention to the classroom discussion. Similarly, the article “I’m not a computer person” (Lohnes 2013) speaks to the fact that students' expectations as far as technology is concerned is very different. In a study completed with 34 undergraduate university learner, they advise that technology is an essential part of university students living because they have to do must everything online from applying for college or institution of higher education, probing and registering for classes, pay tuition and that in addition to being integrated with the administration, etc. technology is also extensively used to educate and is appreciated by higher education.

However, these students believe that technology is an obstacle to success, as they try to adapt to the institutions that value the way. “The student explains that their new-year technology is used to transform tasks, participate in discussion forums and blogs, email teachers, review grades, and other administrative tasks, including tracking the school bus. This particular student named Nichole says she does not have a laptop but shares a family computer. who also uses a computer to complete his schoolwork, so he must stay late to complete assignments. She says: “Technology and I, we never had such a link.” (Lohnes) Nichole does not like the university to ask her to get in touch with technology instead of being compatible, that they were not a blog like that.

One of her problems, although with the technology, is that she came from Puerto Rico about a year ago entering the university and never had to use the computer so much. The articles are related to the fact that other university students, such as Nichole, have admitted that they are “technology-averse users” (Lohnes). The article seeks to explain that, although the majority of people expect university students to prioritize the technology and are already familiar with them, “this assumption is wrong” (Lohnes).

On the other hand, the article “What it says …” High school students were asked what they thought about technology, but most expressed it. One of them said about PowerPoint: “My history teacher has done a good job with PowerPoints. (Screneagers, 2011) Others have shown that technology is what they are and that teachers should understand, for example, that when they write in the classroom, they are not rude, but they get used to many tasks. Another student invites teachers not to fear technology “Teachers should not fear technology, understand that this is how we live our lives, so do not just push it in. Learn how to deal with us and how we work.” ( Screening, 2011)

However, another student has expressed that he wants a simpler technology, that his teacher is satisfied, not thanks to high technology, that the teacher does not work well. ” The most important thing for teachers is to be comfortable with what they use. my math teacher used a projector and it was one of my favorite classes, then I went to the next class where the teacher used the PowerPoints and the SMART Board, but I was not there anymore because I was not satisfied with the technology “(Screenagers, 2011) The students talked about their gratitude to almost all the technologies used in the classroom, and another said, “One of my teachers used Skype.” This is eye-to-eye interaction if I had problems with some math problems, I worked, I could take pictures and place them on the Skype screen where I made my mistake (Screenagers, 2011) The most important thing is that those high school students wanted the teachers to know that they like technology and that it is already a very important part of their daily life, but They should have used it properly to enjoy it.

In the same way, summarize some things that they do not like. Among the list, they said: read on the computer, pay a lot for the online textbook, and the fact that they often forget everything when they enter technology.

Nonetheless, they had many more positive things they liked in technology like for example that some teachers would text a question for them to think about before class, so if they do not know the answer, they would communicate with classmates to discuss the possibility for the answer before class. This allows them to go to class prepared. They also like using Skype, emailing their teachers instead of going to speak to them in person. They also enjoy discussion boards. The advice they would like to convey to their teachers is to make sure that they are comfortable with whatever technological tools they are using, to give them more freedom to use the good sites and those in the middle range when they are surfing the net using school computers and to understand that technology is part of their lives.

After summarizing these articles, we see that Youngs, 2004 The students mentioned did not like the technology because their experience with it was not satisfactory. In other words, the group does not like technology because some teachers are unaware of the use of technology or need additional training. For example, some students feel frustrated because they believe that instructors are losing time when they are not properly trained to use technological tools. Others didn’t like some teachers having PowerPoint presentations that didn’t make sense or just read what they wrote and didn’t add any additional comments. These examples are called “poor training” (Young, 2004) and are, in fact, terrible examples that teachers should not follow, as technology is not designed to help teachers do the minimum job or poor training practice. PowerPoint has been widely used by teachers, so they even call them PowerPoint abuse.

I can talk about what these students are saying. Recently, I have noticed a teacher in grammar class. He bought a device to monitor the screen without touching the computer. By changing the slides, he could walk around the class. Everything seemed so impressive, but despite all these shows, at the end of the lesson, the students were very confused. When they asked questions, he returned to a slide that had a grammar rule and read it in the classroom. PowerPoint was a duplication of the textbook section. The same examples of the book were used. At the end of the course, he thought he did a great PowerPoint when he didn’t make sense. It was a copy/paste project from the textbook to the screen. This example shows that we have to use common sense when using technology. When grammar is taught, the teacher must be able to give other examples that are not features of the book, you should write on the board, have the student’s practice, what he learned. Using PowerPoint was, in my opinion, a very bad idea to teach this course. It was simply not the right technological tool for the lesson.

Students in this class may decide that they hate PowerPoints because they are more confusing and the problem is not using PowerPoint, but the teacher’s poor choice of technology. Here, too, I would like to point out that sometimes teachers are not aware of the inappropriate use of technology. That is why, as educators, we sometimes have to ask students to comment so that we can correct them if necessary.

We can then conclude that students do not like technology because teachers are not using technology properly, and because many teachers do not attend seminars or training to help them gain more technical knowledge. because they are very busy. As suggested (Youngs, 2004) and (Lohnes, 2012), the same busy teachers would have been involved in these training if they were given an incentive. The article “Technology Standards in the Third Classroom” (Kovalik, 2001) refers to how the study conducted in the third grade of class 25 showed that students use technology correctly. There is no indication that these students do not want to use technology. The article also mentions how well-trained teachers are because the Ohio Board provides teachers with incentives to participate in technology training, which teaches them not only how to use technology but also teaches them strategies to use them.

The councils of other states should consider the same to ensure that their teachers respond to the technological needs of their students and that they teach them according to standards.

The Ohio School mentioned above-met standards when it came to technology, as teachers obtained the technology. If teachers learn to use technology properly in the classroom, they will be less inconvenient for them and the student, since they are less likely to dislike the technology because they will fulfill their goal of improving training.

Other technologies that do not like technology are those that did not work well for her. College Nichole reports that she has not been exposed to so many technologies when she was in a gym in her home country; He felt he needed a computer to complete most of his homework, but he could also communicate with his classmate on the board. However, it is interesting that, although he said he did not like technologies, he said that when he started using it for so long, he realized that it was not so bad. While it is unlikely that some people like phones and text messages, the computer and some sites have become part of most people’s routine. In the case of Nichole, he does not have a laptop and he has to wait until he starts using the family’s computer, which means he does not have access to this medium, because its use is controlled. However, when you get your computer, it is guaranteed that your approach to the technologies will change.

I returned to school after about 12 years. When I was in college for the first time, nothing was electronic, but when I contacted the USF, they told me everything was online. At first, I asked why everything was online, but when I got used to it, I began to understand how useful it is to do many things without having to live in my own home.

Then Nichole will not like technologies as soon as she becomes familiar with it. The fact is that she said that she began to realize that she was not so bad when she started many tasks. He came to the conclusion that the computer was not yet a friend, but it was no longer an enemy; she became familiar with it.

According to this understanding, depending on the background of some ELL students and whether they were exposed in their own country or not, at first they may not like the technologies, but it should not be a sign that they will never remove it. As a teacher, we will have to give them time to become familiar with it until we continue to make good use of it, so that we do not support information about its true value sent against or inadvertently.

On the other hand, the last article shows that the new generation is technologies, and when used properly, they benefit from the classroom, and there are some examples of how the teachers used the technology that the students initially evaluated. What should be the conclusion?

We have shown that the use of technologies in the classroom is effective, but teachers must take measures to benefit students. They should receive some training if they are missing, and as a Screening student, they should refrain from using sophisticated tools if they are not sure how to use them. It is better to use something much simpler since they are familiar, as suggested by the high school student.

Also, teachers must examine and explore the innumerable technological tools before introducing them into their training. If you try a few that do not work well, you must stop using them and look for a better one. Most importantly, technologies are not always the answer; That is why teachers should be balanced when they use it. If you need to use a board and chalk to help students understand better, we should do that. By doing this, we will ensure that more students evaluate the use of technology in the classroom for what its worth.