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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't understand. Why does it have to be one or the other. Obviously textbooks should be essential, but supplement and expand on the textbook with some stuff pulled from online that might be beneficial in explaining a concept better[/quote]

It shouldn't be one or the other but the reality is that school systems have been making the choice to eliminate print materials in favor of digital resources. Not just digital texts but apps/games in lieu of worksheets and written assignments, videos instead of live instruction.

If schools were just using technology to support and expand learning, I don't think you'd see as much push back. The problem is that there are kids who literally don't know what to do when provided with a written math problem, because they are so used to doing math via an app on a tablet. Kids aren't doing as much writing across the board, because so much of their instruction is on tablets (but also not learning to type, go figure), which impacts overall literacy since being able to clearly articular ideas in writing (and not just answer questions about a text via an app) is an important part of literacy.

It also just makes kids lazy. It would be different if the tech used in schools was more like the tech they might use as adults. But most often they are using programs that were designed by educational app designers that create closed systems that rob kids of opportunities to get curious, creative, and proactive. A reading app that will give you the definition of any word if you click on sounds cool, but does it teach kids what to do if they run into a word in a book or on a form or in a job application they don't understand? No, it teaches them no skills except how to click and scroll.

Technology isn't evil but the way we're using it in schools is really alarming. A total reset with a return to textbooks is needed, so we can then introduce technology in intelligent ways instead of just handing over the education system to app developers, which is what we are doing now.[/quote]

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