Technology in our school

In the year 2020, a global pandemic outbreak caused a massive lockdown, which encouraged the extensive use of online tools. Since then, our school has adopted a new way of using these tools. We introduce you to the One-to-One program, in which all students are provided with a laplet which is used for almost every aspect of learning in our school. Is this program helpful for students or does it constitute a further burden on their school life?

 

On the one hand, providing a student with an electronic device is a risky move. They can easily participate in illegal activities through these devices, even if a safety app is installed. Remember; students are quite often much more knowledgeable about technology than their teachers. It is pretty difficult for teachers to supervise their students’ online activities. It is very easy for students to trick their teachers into believing that they are actually paying attention, which brings us to our next point. Students can easily get distracted using these devices. The laptop’s user interface contains vibrant colors, which are guaranteed to cause distraction. Furthermore, students are expected to study through these devices, which results in excessive screen time that can even cause an addiction. While this way of teaching seems innovative and helpful at first glance, it contains a lot of dangers.

 

On the other hand, electronic devices can be -and are- quite helpful for students and teachers as a whole. Students are not obliged to carry a heavy bag full of books every single day. Instead, these heavy books are replaced by a laptop, which can be used to access the same books online, which prevents spinal problems that heavy bags often cause to students. Moreover, if a student is missing, there is no problem. Teachers can easily upload the notes that were written on the whiteboard during the lesson using OneNote, Microsoft’s online notebook. Using this tool, not only can students make much better and more organized notes, but teachers can also upload extra material for students to study, so that students can understand the lesson better.

 By Ioannis Pontis