Topic: Comparison-contrast essay on the perspectives of Neil Postman and Thomas Friedman on technology and education
Final Draft
Thomas Friedman and Neil Postman both have strong beliefs as it pertains to technology and education. However each of their respective opinions contains minimal similarities and a vast amount of differences. Friedman and Postman both recognize that incorporating technology into the learning process is beneficial to students. However the volume in which these resources are used is where their ideas conflict. Friedman views the use of technology as the future of educating the masses at an affordable rate. While Postman argues that the overuse of the technological factor is detrimental to other
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In turn this can create more interesting discussions and the ability to recognize the perspectives of people from different demographics. An extremely hopeful Friedman sees MOOCs as the future of global online higher education. Friedman believes that MOOCs can help lift people out of poverty “by providing them affordable education to get a job or obtain a better job than the one they currently have” (Friedman). Due to its affordability and certifications that people will be able to obtain from MOOCs, it is not hard to see why MOOCs will potentially increase in popularity and growth. Thomas Friedman had an interview with the “National Education Writers Association”. In the interview he illustrated the “risk to potential reward” in students paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a four year degree and the potential return that students hope to see in their investment. He used Google and Caterpillar as examples of companies that are not satisfied with potential employee candidates that only obtained a four year college degree. Then argued that obtaining a degree and certifications through MOOCs financially makes more sense due to its convenience and cost. Friedman is passionate that this is only the beginning and MOOCs is the beginning of a new educational revolution. While Friedman is a strong advocate and firmly believes in the use of technology for education for many reasons, Neil Postman presents a different opinion on the matter. Neil
The price of college admission has more than doubled but the value has not. Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus start off with money grabbing statistics of tuition rates. Following that, they question the reader on whether or not college is a good investment and what the students are gaining from higher education. Hacker and dreifus went out to seek the answers and they concluded that colleges “are taking on too many roles and doing none of them well.”(180).
There’s no denying that technology has grown to play a major role in education and learning. Students are using laptops, tablets, and smartphones to research, complete, and even collaborate on assignments, both in and outside of the classroom. Timothy D. Snyder and Thomas L. Friedman both have written articles expressing their opposing opinions on technology in the classroom. Timothy Snyder is a Professor of History at Yale University who has written five different award-winning books. In his article, “Why Laptops Are Distracting America’s Future Workforce”, Snyder explains to students and teachers why he is against technology in the classroom. Thomas Friedman is a reporter and columnist for The New York Times, author of six award-winning
America’s education system has been in a state of distress for the past decade, but garnished headlines recently as the student loan debt crisis reached over a trillion dollars. In conjunction with that, tuition is no longer the only obstacle a student faces when considering their future. As generations come and go, universities have slowly, but surely, been angling their education in a way to favor profit over knowledge. Because of the new direction higher education models are taking, Magdalena Kay questions her readers, “is there a problem with students, with teachers, with administrators, or maybe
Undoubtedly, technology has done wonders throughout and left an ineradicable mark on education, but technology has its
An Analytical Comparison of Matt Britland’s “What Is The Future Of Technology In Education?” and Samuel G. Freedman’s “New Class(room) War: Teacher vs Technology”
Samuel G. Freedman’s article “New Class(room) War: Teacher vs. Technology”, which was published in 2007 and Matt Britland’s article “What is the future of technology in education” which was published in 2013 both discusses about the role of technology in education”. While Britland feels that we should embrace technology, Freedman feels otherwise. Britland believes that the future of education is in technology, in the form of cloud and advocates that inculcating technology into our education system is the way to go while Freedman believes that bringing technology into the classroom will act as a source of distraction for the students and shows the battle of technology versus teachers.
It is no secret that technology plays a critical role in our society. In fact, it has become one of the most used items in the world, starting from personal computers and ending in smartphones, thus it was only a matter of time when educational institutions would start to utilize these gadgets in order to improve the overall state of current education. According to a U.S Department of Education (UDE, n.d) report, all 48 states, including the District of Columbia are now offering online education. Additionally, the report states that these schools operate on all kinds of scales, including state scale, district scale and charter scale, thus it would safe to assume that the whole state of current education in the United States is large and the whole approach is clearly technology based. However, despite the
Every day the world is changing and things are done differently. Technology has also affected the way students are taught and in which they learn. It has changed the classroom. Technology saves us time and allows us to access material in only minutes. “The Internet and online subscription databases, even as a supplement to the printed works in the library, allow students to see, and force them to consider or reject, points of view that they might never have encountered in decades past” (Gow 4).With all the time technology produces, it also has downsides and it also may have created a less intelligent society.
I deem that in order to have an effective governance of public education, we will have to revolutionize our fields of study. This can be accomplished by adding more technology to the classrooms and making it more flexible. Public education is one of America’s hardest concepts to establish changes in or improve on. The high school curriculum has evolved and improved significantly compared to the 20th century. Recently there was just arisen conflict with American families having to do with the fact a lot of parents aren’t able to help their children with their homework, because they are not familiar with the material.
The complex social and historical foundations of education are rooted in the need to create a population of citizens capable of contributing to the continuing economic and political stability of our nation. First we were an agricultural society, then industrial, and now we are educating students for futures with that are yet unknown (explainvisualthinking, 2007). The new dynamic, created by the recent and rapid expansion of technology driven globalization has created the compelling need for technology infused education in our schools (Friedman, 2005). As an educational technology leader, I collaborate with other educators and families to create technology initiatives that will support educational technology in our schools.
Modern technology has penetrated every aspect of our lives and made great impacts on our daily activities, especially in the area of education. The continuous infusion of technology in education has become an unchangeable tendency. Given the increased use of technology in education, much research has been done on the value of technology in education. However, none of the studies have answered all of the questions that are essential to determining whether continuous infusion of new technologies in education can improve the quality of education. Since a clear answer to this question is vital to help educational organizations to make decisions on how much
Technology affects every aspect of our lives. From romance to business, it has shown its presence everywhere. But technology has had a huge impact on education that cannot be denied, and has done nothing but improve the quality and quantity of education.
Waits gives reasons why these myths are in fact false and why it is important for the myths to be overcome by the public in his essay. In conjunction with the importance of parents and teachers fostering technology is the importance for students to foster technology in the classroom. Students should be taught to use technology as a tool for learning and not a “crutch.” As noted in the NCTM Principle, “Technology should not be used as a replacement for basic understandings and intuitions;
Technology has made great strides in the past 20 years. It plays a very important role in our lives today and even plays a critical role in the way students learn all over the world. Unfortunately, students now rely on technology instead of learning key fundamentals. Technology has replaced the need to learn and most answers are just a google search away. Technology has also become expensive and lower socioeconomic school districts have found affording the newest technology difficult because of their lack of funding. Technology is a great learning tool when used appropriately. The lower socioeconomic school falls behind in the expanding frontier of technology in the classroom because they cannot afford it compared to their counterparts and results in a gap in education. The development of technology in the classroom has caused students to fail the learning of fundamentals and has exploited lower socioeconomic school districts.
Twenty-one million students are anticipated to attend some sort of higher education (Barrow et al.). And tuition costs are reaching all-time highs; about high as the salary an average American makes in a year (Kay 36). This is a drastic change in the higher education system in America. Colleges used to be mainly religious institutions hundreds of years ago and were based on moral training and proper conduct. Overall, making better people for society. In the present day, American colleges are helping aid students in getting jobs while building up the student’s values. Many have pondered over if the value of higher education that is taught is worth the price being paid. Some have said that the costs are too high for anyone besides the upper class, but people are still enrolling with increased rates each year. Higher education is worth the price because it provides lifelong benefits to the people who graduate with a degree. People who obtain a degree attain life skills that everyone should learn, get paid more money in their lifetime, and gain a quality education.