Screens flicker and promise. Mesmerized kids merge their brainwaves to the speed of the game or websites they frequent. Homework slows to a crawl as the iMessages, Skype requests, and other "social" media notifications blink on the screen. Is this the best way to educate our kids?
A worksheet is a worksheet on paper and online. One is not "better" than another. However that is being passed along as educational progress in some circles. I'm not sure the research would bear out the assumption that if it's on a screen it's inherently better learned. Nope.
What I can report is screens have been responsible for lost sleep, lies, deceipt, very low quality homework, and teachers passing off classroom teaching for online videos. Now there is the problem of time: one child is required to use her computer for assignments, even when it takes her three times longer to finish the assignment.
Each child should be encouraged to learn. Many can learn fine with the aid of the screens. But many others need to hear, touch, and move the material before they learn it. For too many IT stands for Idiot Tech. Schools should adjust their assembly line expectations and get back to the business of learning.
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