Positives and Negatives of Technology in the Classroom

With technology ever-changing, there are many pros and cons that can exist in the classroom. Negative effects might include the following: Students may become very reliant on technology, instead of thinking about an answer or trying to remember something, a student might simple just "google it" instead of actually thinking of what the solution might be. For younger students the internet and digital networks can be a dangerous place. Cyber bullying can happen, dangerous tracking of information and whereabouts can happen, people pretending someone they are not, there is a lot of faceless interactions that can occur and ultimately be harmful to a student if not careful. Some students may not have grown up with technology and might "fall behind" in learning in the classroom, as well as student's whose parents that will not allow a student to use technology. Plagiarizing may become easier for a student and therefore the student can become lazy and not actually learn. Also information found on the internet can be untrue.
I think the positives definitely out-weigh the negatives. I think technology can be a creative and useful tool in the classroom on a daily basis. If used correctly a student can have a vast amount of information by articles, journals, statistics etc at the tip of their fingers. Also because of what technology has done for the economy, students can acquire skills that will be useful for future jobs. Technology interconnects the world globally and breaks barriers that otherwise would exist. A student from Africa can discuss a topics with a student from Japan, it's totally amazing. It also gives students the ability to be more creative. Using digital tools students can use many platforms to explore and discover different techniques in learning. It also gives the ability for students to share and give feedback to each other. Technology also gives the teacher a chance to be more creative, being able to present their curriculum in many different ways using digitals tools. Teachers can also become more interconnected. Teachers can have a better correspondence with parents and students over grades and assignments on the internet. Overall I think technology out-weighs the negative and when used correctly, technology can change the teaching/learning process for the better.