Technology in Education

As educators, we prepare students for a future that none of us has yet seen. The best we can do is to assess current trends and progress in various areas of society to gauge what the future may hold. Today, we know that with the artificial intelligence becoming common, most jobs will require digital skills; neglecting the use of technology will not prepare our students for the future. We must also consider the potential loss of cognitive development due to shortened attention spans, dependence on digital tools, and artificial intelligence replacing critical thinking.

If we look in the past, we see that by the end of the 20th century, technology and the internet had become commonplace. Students were being trained to use technology in their education. While many people embraced these changes with excitement, there were others who expressed doubts and fears about the increasing reliance on technology. Over time, it became clear that integrating technology into everyday life was inevitable. As we prepare our students to navigate the future world, we must incorporate technology into classroom settings.

I am passionate about the impact of technology on children. We live in a technology-driven age, and children born in the 21st century often struggle to imagine life without it, especially in the world’s most developed countries. For a long time, I resisted using technology in education, particularly while homeschooling my son and daughter in the early 2000s. I worried that they would become overly reliant on videos and tablets for learning and that their interest in reading would diminish. My concerns stemmed from a lack of training and understanding regarding the benefits of technology.

Since then, I have evolved in my perspective. I have come to understand that the use of technology is unavoidable. During the COVID-19 pandemic, education and learning were made possible largely because of technology.

While I acknowledge that we cannot escape technology in any aspect of our lives today, we must also prepare children for the future—those who will lead the world in the next 20 to 30 years. It is essential to teach them to balance natural intelligence with artificial intelligence. We need to instill in them the understanding that we have been given dominion over creation (Genesis 1:26-28).

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201%3A26-28&version=KJV