Blog Post 13

Answer these questions after reading Pros and Cons of Allowing Digital Devices in the Classroom and Tablets vs. Textbooks. Watch the video Mobile Devices in the Classroom.  You can also use other websites to support your answers.
1. What are the pros and cons of smartphones in the classroom?
2. What are your thought on tablets vs. textbooks.
3. After reading these articles will you still use technology in the classroom? Why?

Smartphones in the Classroom
Pros
1. In case of an emergency students can call their parents.
2. Students can look up information on their smartphones for a class project.
3. Students can find new and exciting ideas and projects.
4. Students can excess instant videos, music and images.
5. Social information - students can share information with each other.
Cons
1. The EPA discourages too much exposure to video screens, which could harm people.
2. Students can excess material that is not monitored by the school.
3. Child predators and cyber bullying can hurt students and it can get worse.
4. Some people are concerned that students will stop interacting with their peers and rely on electronic devices instead.

Tablets vs. Textbooks
Pros
1. Tablets help students learn faster.
2. Tablets can hold up to a 1000 books on 1 gigabyte, which reduces storage space.
3. E-books are cheaper than a textbook.
4. Tablets can excess information that is not in a textbook.
5. Textbooks are heavier than tablets and has been known to cause back-pack injury.
Cons
1. Tablets are more expensive than textbooks.
2. Some homes do not have sufficient broadband usage for tablets.
3. Tablets are expensive to fix.
4. Tablets can freeze, crash, or get hacked.
5. Tablets have too many distractions for classroom use.

Using tablets in the classroom will give the students a wide range of information than from a textbook. By using their smartphones, students can talk with people from different countries to get an idea of what the world around them is like. In an earlier video, Anthony Capp mentioned that you should always have a backup plan just in case an emergency occurs.  You never know when the electricity will go off or the tablet quits working, so you should always be prepared with something non-digital.  Having lectures with open-ended questions, project based, and technology is a great way in directing our students for the future.