Why Screen Free Week Should Not Be Considered

Why “Screen Free Week” Should Not Be Considered
Does technology negatively affect us, or does it inflict beneficial learning capabilities? The wide use of technology entwined around our lives, especially at school, has definitely changed the way we operate. Without doubt, this contentious topic has intrigued several minds, including parents and staff at Sonora High School. In fact, they believe that by participating in “Shut Down Your Screen Week,” a national event demanding a week off all electronic devices, students would open up their minds beyond screens. While many argue that by being engaged to this event, students will be more productive and creative, I on the other hand, believe it’s an incompetent idea because technology is a key aspect
of learning and can be easily altered to differentiated instruction.
To begin, one of the most fundamental reasons why our school should not participate in “Shut Down York Screen Week,” is because we get different homework assignments online, daily. Sometimes we need to watch videos, read online articles, write essays, etc. In order to do this, various schools use a helpful app called Google Classroom. With this app, homework notifications are sent out to students through an easy, online process, preventing students to stuff stacks of papers and books into backpacks. According to an online article, “Google Classroom in eLearning,” written by Christopher Pappas, founder and CEO of The eLearning Industry’s network, “Assignment process has never been quicker and more effective, as in Google Classroom you can easily check who has submitted their assignments and who is still working on it, as well as offer your feedback immediately” (Pappas). This proves assignments would not be done without the use of technological devices that have access to Google Classroom or the Internet in general. In addition, homework contents aren't only posted there, I in the past have been provided with numerous school reminders, endless informational announcements, and resources to help me study. This being said, shutting screens down for a week will not be useful nor convenient as technology also assists students to be informed about upcoming events or tests which will prepare them ahead of time.
Another crucial reason why our school shouldn't participate in “Shut Down Your Screen Week” is because technology helps teachers prepare students for the real world environment.
As the world becomes increasingly more technology-dependent, it's even more necessary that to be successful, students must learn to be handy with technology. On top of being able to search through a variety of job listings that will spark interest the most, being good with technology is a sharp skill that can be listed to create strong resumes now that every job is involved in the use of technology. Although majority of students know word processing as second nature, knowing how to use specific softwares and technology can make an employer feel better about spending the extra money to hire instead of worrying about tightening the company’s budget even more. The reason behind this is because employers want to save not only money, but time as well, on someone already trained. In an article called, “Benefits of Technology in the Classroom,” by Janelle Cox, an education writer, states, “ Ed-tech in the classroom prepares students for their future and sets them up for this increasing digital economy” (Cox). This means that the more technology students are used to, will have its
advantage. Last but not least, one more reason why technology should stay is because of how easily it can be modified to differentiated learning. For example, things such as podcasts and vodcasts, give students the opportunity to learn at their own pace, while also having a chance to go back and relearn content whenever they want. This could be especially important for students who have learning disabilities and need additional support, or for students who might have difficulty reading and reviewing complex texts. The article, “How Technology is Helping Special-Needs Students Excel,” by Heather Hayes, a published writer, claims, “With an interactive whiteboard, "they [students] can touch the screen, see and manipulate visuals illustrating the vocabulary words, move words around to make sentences — it gives them something to which they can attach language" (Hayes). This shows that students will be motivated to continue learning no matter what. Technology makes these resources accessible that can help address these students' needs, which is why I don’t support taking seven days off of screens.
Of course, one cannot deny that there are other assets that can “replace”technology, like workbooks. Though the idea of a student having the ability to take the workbook home may sound brilliant, how many times have teachers heard, “I lost mine,” or “I forgot it at home.” If different students continuously keep forgetting their academic utensils, they will no longer be engaged in class because they lost the potential to participate, causing them to defocus. Also, if homework is assigned in exercise books, students may forget, which will not only cause them to fall behind and affect their grades, but they will also miss the opportunity to learn something new. With apps such as Google Classroom, a teacher can see who has done their homework and they can always send reminders more than once, which will decrease excuses for not doing homework. One last thing would be the use of textbooks, yes they can improve reading skills, but what about the way students mistreat them? There’s been times where I’ve received books covered in distracting written comments from others, and books that are missing pages or covers. Because of this, the school will have to keep purchasing new books and there really isn’t much that can be done to prevent students from writing in books. This is not something that can easily happen with technology since writing comments or ripping pages will be impossible. Firstly because it’s a screen, but also because students tend to be more careful with the way they handle devices. These reasons help support why I think taking a week off is not a good idea.
Given these points, with technology increasing at school it’s impossible to say that we will go backwards from here. Although education combined with technology has a very positive outcome, I don’t see technology taking place of impassioned teachers educating students, I see it as an important resource to help the education process and students in the time to come. Overall, students seem to feel excited about using something new everyday while teachers still maintain control over learning, which is once again why I believe partaking in “Screen Free Week” would be anything but useful.