RE9 ARGUMENTATIVE: Looking at the Brighter Side

It is no doubt that most of the households nowadays contain the newest of gadgets such as computers, laptops or tablets. And with their immediate access to such technology, children tend to spend a lot of time using these gadgets either for education of for leisure — which then becomes an issue to most parents. However, parents must not be bothered or worried about this because it is with the use of technology where children benefit, learn and explore, especially in terms of education.


In 2011, one of the published articles from The Guardian, a British national daily newspaper, stated that the e-Learning Foundation said that pupils whose families have a computer were likely to achieve a higher grade. A leading charity claimed that children’s exam results would be (on average) a grade lower than their peers if they did not have internet access at home. Research showed that 1.2 million teenagers logged on to revision pages every week and those who used inline resources were likely to attain a grade higher in exams.

Meanwhile, an article was published recently in The New York Times stated that last September 28, Google began to offer Expeditions, a free field-trip simulation system, to schools as part of a company effort to further develop technology. Google’s introduction of the virtual-reality kits for classrooms emphasizes the progressing importance of the education sector to technology companies.

The article also claimed that, last year, for instance, Google introduced Classroom which is a free app which teachers can use to create, collect and comment on student assignments. Furthermore, in 2006, for instance, Google introduced Apps for education which is a bundle of cloud-based email, calendar and document-sharing products available free to schools. Now, 45 million students and teachers around the world use the apps. Meanwhile, Microsoft also recently introduced several new products for education customers, like the OneNote Class Notebook which is an essential app for taking down notes.

These new technologies are, indeed, provides a lot of help to students because access to resources is immediate on the internet. Children are not only able to learn easily but they also enjoy studying because they are able to explore using these new tools. They are more likely to be interested and to be engaged in their school works because of the interactive materials that they are accessible to. Also, children will develop independence because, with the simple manipulation of these apps, they can do their assignments all by themselves without needing the help and assistance of their parents.

Certainly, parents should not be anxious if their children is constantly using the computer and instead, they should see it as a helping tool for their children’s progress in terms of academics and education. Although, it is still their responsibility to monitor the use of technology such that will just have an ample time of use and not too much.




Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/technology/google-virtual-reality-system-aims-to-enliven-education.html?_r=0
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/may/21/children-internet-access-exam-advantage