Technology Should Be Used In Schools Argumentative Essay

You finally graduated from high school and are now going to your first office job, however, there is one big problem. At your school, they did not use technology but now, in the real world, you must use it every day and you don’t know-how so you fall behind on your work and get fired! This is why schools all across America should use technology because it improves learning, makes students more engaged, and prepares students for the real world. 

Technology has proven to increase learning in classrooms throughout America.  A study done by the Department of Education found that “children ages 3-7 increased their vocabulary by as much as 31% after two weeks of daily use of a PBS educational gaming app,” which is a crazy increase since the average 7-year-old knows about 7100 words according to familiesonline. That means that a kid could have learned up to 2200 more words in 2 weeks! McGraw Hill, a trusted educational resource, performed a study in 2016 and found that “Two-thirds of students report that adaptive learning technology and online quizzes are very or extremely helpful in learning retention,” as well as a survey that reported that 81% of students believed that technology improved their grade and improved their efficiency and effectiveness to learn. Not only that, it has been shown to help teachers and professors teach as well since 97% of students believed that technology has helped their teacher teach effectively and efficiently. Personally, last year I used to take notes in a journal for my Biology class and received grades I was not very happy with, so I decided to switch to taking notes on my iPad. After I made this switch, I instantly saw my grade jump up. I believe it was due to the higher accessibility to take notes on an iPad such as being able to use multiple colors, being able to insert pictures and drawings, etc. 

Have you ever been sitting in class while you are taking notes in your journal while your teacher talks? Well, a solution to that is technology! Technology helps students, and at times, teachers are more engaged in the lesson which helps students retain the information longer. This can be done by teachers adding gifs, pictures, or even videos to colorful and vibrant slideshows, or students can draw or take pictures to help them better understand the topic and better retain the information. In addition, there are many educational apps and websites, such as Quizlet and PBS kids, that can help students better study and learn. According to the Massachusetts Institute of technology, computer-assisted learning has improved engagement in many areas, especially English language arts. Digital Promise, an organization whose goal is to accelerate innovations in learning, found that “students reported using technology more often for working with their classmates, solving problems and keeping track of their work,” which helped them not only gain skills that helped them in the classroom but outside of it too. Not to mention, teachers reported things such as rowdy and misbehaved students that became eager after the use of technological apps and devices. 90% of teachers and principals believed that their students have become more engaged after the use of technology. In the words of one of my peers “working on technology has helped me focus so much more… it's so much easier to work and take notes on my iPad rather than a piece of paper,”.

In today’s day and age, technology has become such a big part of daily life. Every profession uses technology in some sort of way and it is almost impossible to live without it now, so kids must learn how to use technology efficiently and effectively. This can be done by schools using technology for learning so students can get acquainted and know how to properly use it when the time comes. My brother, who recently graduated from college, always stresses the importance of knowing how to effectively use technology. In his job, he uses technology daily, and when recently asked a question about the use of technology he stated that “he wished he learned how to navigate the internet and technology better,”. This is something that can be fixed by schools teaching kids how to use technology properly and efficiently at a younger age. According to a study released by the Brookings Institution, “The use of digital tools has increased, often dramatically, in 517 of 545 occupations since 2002” and “Those 545 occupations reflect 90 percent of all jobs in the economy,”. This means that 9 out of 10 students will likely go to an occupation that requires them to use technology! Moreover, “between 2002 and 2016, the shares of U.S. jobs that require substantial digital knowledge rose rapidly,” a number that will continue to rise as the world becomes more digitalized.

Some people say that students will become too reliant on technology, however, this will not happen if teachers and administrators can find and teach balance for the appropriate times to use technology. Also, how many times have u been in a situation where you desperately need to use math or English but don’t have a technological device around? Becoming reliant on technology is not such a bad thing as our world transitions into a more technological era.

In conclusion, the use of technology should be implemented in all schools around America because helps students learn, makes school more engaging, and better prepares you for your work life. So when you are at work using technology, remember all that you learned in school using technology and how that has made you a better person overall.