Positive effects of technology in child's education

Computers are a virus that is not only infecting our homes but also our schools. Nowadays, there is no way that a student living at this time and part of the world would survive the competition without a computer. What thing does the computer provides to the education of young people that makes it so important?

In Puerto Rico, there are private schools, like Radians, that during the previous years has being incorporating computer as fundamental equipment for the development of the future professional. This private school as well requires that every student should have a laptop, even the elementary students. Laptops integration improve student motivation and engagement with schoolwork, also influence classroom interaction among other things.Teacher’s duty is to train students with skills of research and also how to be skeptical, they should be cautious with the information they found on the internet.

On the other side we have public schools, were the computers are rare to be found and with the technology changing so fast they can’t maintain the pace. This is a great disadvantage; the kids of the public system don’t have access to most of the technology, to the internet and to the information but they are curious and they are finding the ways to overcome it, visiting friends, family even going to different universities in order to get in the net and workout their school projects.

The internet provides, to students, access to a huge amount of information, information that is only few minutes away. There is no need for student to wait their parent to take them to the library; there is a degree of kid’s individualization. Computers an interactive tool that is also amusing, entertains, is an excellent motivator, for students, to look beyond what they see and to satisfy their curiosity by looking and searching for information. People says that kids from this generation born knowing, but obviously this is not true. The thing is that they possess the information right in front of them on a screen, while back in the past child remained with their doubts inside them, ignorant.

In the Electronic Literacy reading the author mention the importance of modern technology in order to have, in the future, what the society is asking for: more symbolic-analytic minds. These types of persons are characterized by being skeptical, curious and creative, they are the new generation of professionals and those who do not take the train on time are being left behind.

Computers have shown that they are excellent tools for the education of the next symbolic-analytical minds. However, there are some concerns about the excessive use of computers and like every thing in excess, can be dangerous. In order to have effective results we must implement a balanced education where computers are teacher’s supplemental instrument. But it is essential that as well teacher teach how to sum, it is important to instruct how to use the computer and the internet for educational purposes. Computers may be use as extraordinary tools; but still tools, our minds and knowledge has to be mainly in our brain. So most important is to maintain a healthy equilibrium between our tool information and our knowledge. So being skeptical but open to new information and/or technologies is our major objective. Being able to synchronize all this is a challenge but our kids are ready to assume it. They are sons and daughters of this technology; they are growing surrounded by it, they are capable of integrate it as an important part of themselves. Youngsters feel comfortable with it, is natural.

Young students are having the opportunity that many generations before didn’t have, the opportunity to learn about computer as much as we know about typewriter. Is this revolution the beginning of a new world? I guess it is.