Media and Education Essay 1

When it comes to media and education there are obviously pros and cons to using it in the classroom. Media and technology, whether we think it is useful or not, is only going to become a more intimate part of our lives as time progresses. As can be seen in the trend of cell phones and computers – Ten years ago few people had cell phones, and at that they were all adults, while today it is unheard of to not own a cell phone and many children who have not yet entered high school are a part of that population; Same goes for computers which were as large as entire rooms and never thought to be something operated for personal use but now occupy every home and college student’s dorm room.

With the trend of owning these devices goes up so does our society’s use of them. It seems that we are growing a generation of children who cannot survive without instant answers from the internet, quick communication via texting or e-mailing, and entertainment from video games and television. As youth are increasingly exposed to media and their lives become saturated with it what are they missing out on? Are their childhoods ending sooner? If you ask me the answer is yes. Their over-exposure to media, constantly watching TV or playing video games detracts from their creativity and imagination. If they never go outside how can they learn things about nature on their own, if they never read a book will they be able to imagine as well? Called me old-fashioned, but many of the traditional teaching techniques and ways to learn are still beneficial.

I do believe that incorporating technology in the classroom is good to a certain extent, especially since children must be equipped with the skills to use it in order to survive in the job market and world at large. Without using it many teachers won’t be able to reach their students. However, with the proliferation of media and technology in all other aspects of life I think it wise to stick to many of those traditional teaching tools because they will be novel to such technology savy children – with those techniques the children will experience and be exposed to things that they haven’t been anywhere else.

With technology also comes higher expectations. Children are now leading busier lives than ever before, juggling so many activities and responsibilities. In order to get ahead a child must be in extracurricular activities, be a strong student, help the community, etc. and the age to begin this upward journey is getting lower and lower. With internet, e-mail, texting, and the works it is expected that we constantly communicate and be super productive. At what point do we take a break and turn it all off? When do we let children be children? Technology is taking precious time away from many of the other things we as people should be doing and there is no exception for children.

Technology can help us get a lot more done, and at a faster pace, but it can also distract us and actually numb us to thinking creatively and doing things differently. There are good things and bad things about it, as there are with most things in this world, but I feel educators need to not rely so heavily on it and make sure that their students have mastered the abilities that are becoming extinct instead. For the most part everyone is going to have some degree of knowledge about how to use technology and the media, but what they're probably not going to know how to do is write a poem, brainstorm their ideas, read the body language and social cues of others, etc. That is what is scary about integrating the media and technology into education as heavily as we are seeming to do.