Project Tomorrow

Speak Up by Project Tomorrow


Project Tomorrow’s, Speak Up survey focused on the disconnect between how today’s students are learning in school and how they learn and use technology in their everyday lives outside of the classroom. They called this disconnect the “relevancy crisis.” Students complain that lack of sophisticated use of emerging technology tools in schools is retarding their growth and disengaging them from learning.

Question 1 – Is developing mobile technology in classrooms equitable treatment of all?

I believe that only technological devices that can be provided by the school to every student should be emphasized in lessons. Otherwise, students that don’t own smart phones, for instance, would feel left out and may even feel social pressure to “keep up with the Joneses” which may be beyond their families budget.

Question 2 - Students surveyed indicated a desire to use the technology they already know during school hours. Should the ban on cell phone use be lifted?

The disconnect here is that students say they will use the phones to attain outside help and tutor each other, while the parents and teachers fear that the phones would be misused and create a distraction from the lesson at hand. I believe that the technology is here to stay, so any way we can encourage students to utilize phones or other technological devices in a positive and productive way would benefit the students in the long run. We need to teach the children responsibility for their actions by teaching them what the appropriate uses are of the electronics in school and then empower them to ‘step up to the plate’ and show teachers that they will be used to supplement their education, not hinder it.

Ryan Kelly