Schools and colleges have undergone a sea of change from the days when I was a regular at both. And lest you think that I’m as old as Methuselah, let me stress that I graduated just a couple of years ago, which means that there’s been a rapid change in a short span of time. Technology and the way it’s being leveraged in schools is a major debating point with both pundits and laymen alike – neither is sure if it’s a boon or a bane in the classroom. 

Take the controversy surrounding the introduction of laptops for every child in school – some condemned this move arguing that it would distract children from their lessons, that they would be immersed in the world of video games and the Internet and forget what they were in school for; others claimed that by denying children this opportunity to explore and learn for themselves, without relying too much on teachers and facilitators, we are setting them back in their academic pursuit.

The thing with technology is that it works wonders as long as the child is interested in learning and is not easily distracted by other pastimes. Some argue that interest is born when technology is involved, that when there are more interesting aspects to school than just books and teachers, kids show a keenness for learning that was never there before. But is it interest in the technology itself or an interest for the subject that the technology allows access to? Can we make this distinction to the advantage of the child?

Another question that crops up with relevance to education and technology is - Does reliance on technology make us more stupid in the long run? With the advent of calculators, we’ve forgotten how to do mental mathematics; with the introduction of mobile phones and storage memories, we’ve forgotten how to remember and recollect phone numbers; and with the advent of social networking, we’re all hiding behind screen personas that we work so hard creating that we’ve forgotten who we really are.

What then, does this mean for the future of technology? Are we to eschew it altogether simply because it makes our brains lazy and prevents us from thinking for ourselves? Or should we say to hell with the consequences and let the march of the machines continue unchecked into every aspect of our daily lives? The truth is, we’re not forced to choose either extreme – there’s a middle ground that’s totally acceptable with the way things are today.

Technology must be used as an aid to education and nothing more – the trick lies in knowing where to draw the line between using it as an application and as an addiction. And when students are able to make this distinction for themselves, only then will technology truly contribute to our learning experience. 

(This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of an online university. It represents Kelly's opinions, and she invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24@gmail.com.)