Technology in the Classroom

With the rise of digital technology comes new trends. While mine and the generation before us had chalkboards, more and more classes are getting smartboards. Personally I think that this is a very good thing to happen to education. Things can be much more interactive with the students than ever thought possible. It also makes it so those with bad handwriting can still add to the class without fear of embarrassment from the other students. Another good thing it does is allows a quicker deployment of media. Before it used to be a pain to cart the VCR from class to class, but now it can just be put on the smartboard! It saves tons of time and is much higher quality. The most important thing that digital teaching does is prepare those for the real world. While some older people tend not to use as much technology, it is important to realize that that job sector is becoming increasingly digital in America as industry becomes outsourced.
 Of course this is to say that there are not all pitfalls. Some technology may be difficult to adapt to. The most prominent difficulty I've seen is someone switching UIs from Mac to Windows or Linux. When done without any explanation, a student can be left behind by the class and will struggle to find all the ins, outs, and shortcuts in the new UI. It can also be very distracting. I know I've spent a good chunk of my late junior classes making Gangnam Style themed mashups and hacking into things. Another problem many see (though I find it to be a bit unfounded) is that our technology usage will create more children with ADHD than there ever was before. While this is possible, we have only recently been correctly and accurately diagnosing ADHD. Overall I think digital technology is going to be very important for not only education, but the economy, arts, music, culture, and fostering intellectual growth.