Negative Impacts and Issues
It is important in today’s education system for teachers to move from a traditional classroom setting where the teacher is just a lecturer, to a constructivist classroom setting where the teacher becomes a facilitator while working together with the students. Teachers must realize that even though they are using technology in their classrooms it does not mean that it is being used effectively. According to Fatemi (1999) “there is much more to using technology effectively in a classroom than simply being facile with the equipment”. Until recent times education, its fundamental structure and mode of delivery had not wandered far from its traditional model. The teacher was the giver of knowledge and the students were the receivers. Over the past number of years there have been efforts made to reform education and to move it towards a constructive why of teaching, using technology as a tool for instruction. A teaching style as stated by Jonassen et al (1998) where technology is used as a “mind tool” that doesn’t try to teach students, but helps them in critically thinking about the content they are studying.
The technology revolution has had an everlasting effect on education and the expectations of what it can deliver. The educational world has endeavoured to keep pace with the demands of technological change and educational reform movement. Provincial education departments, school board administrators, principals and teachers have had to refocus and work diligently at trying to catch up to the ever-changing tide of technology. In delivering the curriculum, educators are starting to implement a constructive approach to teaching centered on instructional technology.
With all the research suggesting that that use of technology such as tablets in the classroom, we need to be aware of the negative impact that these applications have as well. Parr (1999) suggest that teachers’ perceptions of learning technologies are likely to be vital factors in the successful integration of learning technologies. Parr found that students’ perceptions shaped the way that the learning technologies were used (Cope and Ward 2002). Students' approaches to learning are related to their teachers' approaches to teaching (Trigwell, Prosser & Waterhouse, 1999 as cited by Cope and Ward 2002). This finding shows that there is a correlation between teachers’ perception and students’ attitudes towards technology. For successful integration leading to enhanced learning outcomes, teachers need to perceive learning technologies as part of a student centered learning environment.
“Teachers face understandable challenges while trying to connect students to the increasing complex subjects that must be mastered to be successful in today’s world” (Guhlin 40 as cited by Synarski, 2002). Teacher spend a good part of their day maintaining the class roster, taking attendance, recording assignments, recording grades, posting information about assignments, filing papers, retrieving notes and examples, filing course materials, etc. When do they have time to prepare their lesson plans and familiarize themselves with new applications and technologies that are becoming readily available? “Technology alone will not improve the quality of education, however, when integrated with curriculum and instruction it can be a powerful tool” (Reed, 2000). With this balance, more information and materials can be integrated into a challenging curriculum, since the instruction is not only limited to the teacher’s general knowledge. Davis and Shade (1994) stated that how teachers implement computer use in their schools is critical. Without proper integration of computers into the curriculum, the benefits of technology to foster children's learning cannot be fully achieved, regardless of the creative potential of any software used.
According to Hursh (2005), along with the positives there are many drawbacks to the use of tablets in the classroom. He believes that “tablet PCs are expensive, more so than notebooks of the same processing power. Not all software is Tablet-aware. If the instructor uses specialized software in instruction, he or she may be forced to use a keyboard and mouse and carry them, if the Tablet is a slate model. Tablet PCs can be difficult to read under some lighting conditions (some fluorescent lights or bright sunlight)” (Hursh, 2005).
Some other negative impacts that the tablet has in the classroom setting are typing can be difficult at first to get used to. Having to use a touch screen can be frustrating to say the least and also time consuming to complete a task. In many cases the applications and software that are available and compatible with the tablets is limited. This is mainly due to the ever fast growing market and daily manufacturing of new apps. Printing is difficult and unreliable when using a tablet. The tablet is essentially connected to nothing like a regular pc where a cord/USB is used for printing purposes. The tablet is set up mainly for wifi printing capabilities making it difficult depending upon where you are at a given time. The tablets also have limited multimedia capabilities (Michael Arcand, 2011).
Other things that negatively impact on the use of tablets in the classroom is the battery life need to power the tablet PC. The tablet battery tends to run down quickly and would need adequate time to recharge before each use. This may cause some difficulty with time management for the teacher/instructor and the students/learners if the tablet is not sufficiently charged before instruction. Another concern can be maintenance and wear and tear on the tablets themselves. These are very delicate pieces of equipment that need to be handled carefully and cautiously. Maintenance on these pieces of equipment can be expensive and pricy.
The ultimate goal is to use technology as one of many tools to implement a learning process through the students strongest learning styles (MI) while hoping a positive outcome will develop around the weaker styles. We as teachers need to be aware of both the positive and negative impacts that technology through the use of tablets can have in our classrooms before we attempt to integrate them into our curriculum.
The technology revolution has had an everlasting effect on education and the expectations of what it can deliver. The educational world has endeavoured to keep pace with the demands of technological change and educational reform movement. Provincial education departments, school board administrators, principals and teachers have had to refocus and work diligently at trying to catch up to the ever-changing tide of technology. In delivering the curriculum, educators are starting to implement a constructive approach to teaching centered on instructional technology.
With all the research suggesting that that use of technology such as tablets in the classroom, we need to be aware of the negative impact that these applications have as well. Parr (1999) suggest that teachers’ perceptions of learning technologies are likely to be vital factors in the successful integration of learning technologies. Parr found that students’ perceptions shaped the way that the learning technologies were used (Cope and Ward 2002). Students' approaches to learning are related to their teachers' approaches to teaching (Trigwell, Prosser & Waterhouse, 1999 as cited by Cope and Ward 2002). This finding shows that there is a correlation between teachers’ perception and students’ attitudes towards technology. For successful integration leading to enhanced learning outcomes, teachers need to perceive learning technologies as part of a student centered learning environment.
“Teachers face understandable challenges while trying to connect students to the increasing complex subjects that must be mastered to be successful in today’s world” (Guhlin 40 as cited by Synarski, 2002). Teacher spend a good part of their day maintaining the class roster, taking attendance, recording assignments, recording grades, posting information about assignments, filing papers, retrieving notes and examples, filing course materials, etc. When do they have time to prepare their lesson plans and familiarize themselves with new applications and technologies that are becoming readily available? “Technology alone will not improve the quality of education, however, when integrated with curriculum and instruction it can be a powerful tool” (Reed, 2000). With this balance, more information and materials can be integrated into a challenging curriculum, since the instruction is not only limited to the teacher’s general knowledge. Davis and Shade (1994) stated that how teachers implement computer use in their schools is critical. Without proper integration of computers into the curriculum, the benefits of technology to foster children's learning cannot be fully achieved, regardless of the creative potential of any software used.
According to Hursh (2005), along with the positives there are many drawbacks to the use of tablets in the classroom. He believes that “tablet PCs are expensive, more so than notebooks of the same processing power. Not all software is Tablet-aware. If the instructor uses specialized software in instruction, he or she may be forced to use a keyboard and mouse and carry them, if the Tablet is a slate model. Tablet PCs can be difficult to read under some lighting conditions (some fluorescent lights or bright sunlight)” (Hursh, 2005).
Some other negative impacts that the tablet has in the classroom setting are typing can be difficult at first to get used to. Having to use a touch screen can be frustrating to say the least and also time consuming to complete a task. In many cases the applications and software that are available and compatible with the tablets is limited. This is mainly due to the ever fast growing market and daily manufacturing of new apps. Printing is difficult and unreliable when using a tablet. The tablet is essentially connected to nothing like a regular pc where a cord/USB is used for printing purposes. The tablet is set up mainly for wifi printing capabilities making it difficult depending upon where you are at a given time. The tablets also have limited multimedia capabilities (Michael Arcand, 2011).
Other things that negatively impact on the use of tablets in the classroom is the battery life need to power the tablet PC. The tablet battery tends to run down quickly and would need adequate time to recharge before each use. This may cause some difficulty with time management for the teacher/instructor and the students/learners if the tablet is not sufficiently charged before instruction. Another concern can be maintenance and wear and tear on the tablets themselves. These are very delicate pieces of equipment that need to be handled carefully and cautiously. Maintenance on these pieces of equipment can be expensive and pricy.
The ultimate goal is to use technology as one of many tools to implement a learning process through the students strongest learning styles (MI) while hoping a positive outcome will develop around the weaker styles. We as teachers need to be aware of both the positive and negative impacts that technology through the use of tablets can have in our classrooms before we attempt to integrate them into our curriculum.