Submitted By: Katherine Han
It all began in 600 BCE when a man by the name of Thales of Miletus discovered static electricity by rubbing fur on substances like amber. Since then, people have invented things such as the telephone, the TV, the radio, and the light bulb. Now we are here, in the twenty-first century, with iPads, iPhones, computers, and even more modern technology. It was only a matter of time until the idea to bring this technology into schools came up. Students now have access to computers everyday, and some schools have even given students iPads to use for school purposes, although there are still many schools that have decided against bringing technology in.
This year was the first year that my school gave out a school iPad to every student, so this was a new experience for both the students and the staff members. The benefits of having a school iPad were proven quickly. First of all, we were able to type and have digital copies of everything, and typing is much faster than writing by hand. Even when we didn’t have iPads, I still prefered typing over handwriting. Ideas can be typed quickly, whereas handwriting is slower and I find that my hands are always sore and tired after writing out an essay. Typing also allows for easy editing, whereas editing on paper gets messy quickly.
In addition, having digital copies of things allows for more organization. Many times when a teacher gives out paper handouts, I just stuff them in my backpack. I either end up losing them, crumpling them, or ripping them. Digitally, though, I file my documents in folders and save them on my device for easy access. There are many different tricks or “commands” in technology that help me done faster and more efficiently, such as the command plus the “A” key (which allows me to select all that is on my page), or the “find and replace”, which is a feature I’ve grown very fond of.
There are also reasons why some schools have refrained from bringing technology into their school. At my school, the teachers have allowed us to download some personal and game apps onto our iPads, making them more of a distraction rather than a helpful school tool. Even if there aren’t any games, iPads can always malfunction. Sometimes, the device will go through a glitch, which can end up deleting your recent edits, or even your entire document. This is one of the worst part of having school iPads. Since all of our school data are on the iPads, if the iPads glitch, it can very well delete something that is very important. Another downside of iPads in school is that my work can not always be accessed. Some applications such as Google Drive require WiFi, and sometimes I need to access my documents from somewhere that may not have WiFi access. If my documents were paper handouts, I could access them WiFi or not.
Technology has developed so much over the centuries, and I can’t imagine my life without technology. Now that schools are starting to take technology into their environments, I find that it’s become more convenient to get assignments done, but sometimes technology can distract me from my learning.
