Olszowy, Filip

Professor Katelyn Conroy 

FIQWS 10103

12 November 2021

Discovery Essay

Currently we live in the 21st century where our technology is better than ever. Everywhere you go you see electronics being used. It got to the point where we can’t step outside without seeing an electronic device. These devices are everywhere, at work, at meetings, and at schools which could be pretty distracting, which leads to the question, Should electronic devices be allowed in the classroom? Now there are a handful of people that believe “yes” they should and of course there is another side that says “no” they shouldn’t. I can’t make this decision for the whole world, but I can do research, present it to you and make your decision a whole lot easier. 

Given the current technology we have today, it is really easy to find the right tools that a student needs to learn. It can really help them further understand what they are learning about. Not every student is the same and many students may need different learning methods to learn. This is where the electronics come into play. Visual aids could be displayed on tablets, phones and tv’s to give a different perspective on the topic that is being taught. Based on personal experiences I have had a lot of trouble with learning english and math in the past and videos really helped me learn. Not only can electronics help students but it can also help teachers in  multiple ways. Daniel Churchill states,  “Mobile technology offers a spectrum of tools for teachers, twenty-first century educational opportunities and new options for student-technology partnerships in learning. Empowered with interactive multimedia presentational capabilities, mobile technology enables the delivery of a range of multimedia material such as video, audio, graphics and integrated media ” (Churchill, pg.4) Churchill is trying to bring attention to the amount of technology that we have at our disposal and how it offers new ways to teach. Using electronics in class can also be good for the environment. Instead of using paper to write notes and do homework on, students can upload their work on a computer or phone. It helps both the students and the teacher stay organized, as they do not have to have tons of papers laying around. Their homework is just one click away, unless they don’t do it. Saving trees and avoiding cutting them down is very crucial to our environment. First of all, cutting down trees destroys the homes of many animals . Orangutans, ​​Chimpanzees, Pandas, Sloths, and many more animals are going extinct because of deforestation. Their homes are destroyed and they have nowhere to go. They are left to die. Richard S. Mbatu says, “Another deforestation associated activity contributing to the declining ecology of Cameroon’s forest is hunting. Both large and small mammals in the forest of Cameroon are threatened or endangered due to habitat destruction.” (Mbatu, pg.20) Cutting down trees also has an effect on the climate. Deforestation causes beautiful green land to dry and dull where no organisms can live. The earth is our home and we have to protect it from all the dangers. Using electronics instead of paper is a small thing that if a lot of people do, it can have a great effect. 

Now with every positive there has to be a negative. Electronics such as cell phones could be very distracting. William Baker from the book  On the Use of Cell Phones and Other Electronic Devices in the Classroom: Evidence From a Survey of Faculty and Students. “Around 80% of respondents indicated that ringing cell phones in the classroom are disruptive (Q30) and that students who let their cell phones ring or make other noises are being rude or disrespectful” (Baker, pg.282) Let’s say the teacher is going over something crucial to the topic and a phone goes off. Now the whole class takes their attention off of the teacher and completely ignores what he/she is saying. As I have seen throughout my whole highschool experience, there are a lot of students that wear headphones during classes and listen to music. As soon as the teacher called on them, they didn’t hear a word the teacher said prior. The teacher could be discussing something important and the student is over there in his/her own land listening to music. “Eighty-six percent of students disagreed or strongly disagreed that students should be allowed to listen to MP3 players in class (Q43), whereas 94% of faculty disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement.” (Baker, pg.285) Cellphones can also be used to cheat on tests and exams. They are small devices that can fit into your pocket which make it even easier to cheat. You just search up the answer on the internet and put the phone back into your pocket. Bullying is also an enormous problem that electronics don’t help in. Phones can be used to take pictures of students and those same pictures can be posted on social media making fun of that student. In school you are supposed to learn, not worry if someone is taking a picture or video of you for their own humor. 

The technology we have today is the most advanced it has ever been. There are just an endless amount of resources available with just a click of a button from a device that fits in your pocket. Humans have developed so much in the last 10 years, who knows what else they will think of. Technology will keep getting better and more advanced, hopefully allowing for people’s lives to become even easier. We live in an age where completely living without technology is inevitable, we can’t escape it, so why not use it? There is a certain type of technology that is becoming more and more popular every year. It is called “artificial intelligence”. To put it in simple words, artificial intelligence is basically a robot that could be programmed by humans to do certain tasks. Who knows, maybe in the future we won’t need any teachers. We would just have robots in front of a classroom teaching students. How crazy does that sound? 

Now back to the main question. Should electronic devices be allowed in the classroom? Well it’s a difficult decision. Everything depends on the person and what their needs are. Some people work better while listening to music, some people need peace and quiet. It all depends on the person. However, I do believe the teacher should make the decision. Each teacher has their own teaching style and they should decide if they want their students to have those electronics in their possession. 

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.