Teachers reflect on technology in school

Jonesboro — Jonesboro High School for the last few years has turned from paperwork to technology. The school work is now being found on sites like Google Classroom, MathXLforschool and Atomsmith.

Taylor Tarbutton, biology and chemistry teacher at JHS, said technology is useful in an academic setting.

“I think it’s effective because it allows students to showcase their thinking rather than just on paper and allows them to enhance their education,” Tarbutton said. “… We can do virtual field trips, Skyping a scientist, and Atomsmith.

“For chemistry, it’s hard for students to relate to what’s happening at the particle level. Atomsmith allows you to see what is actually happening at a tiny scale, and it’s accurate. To actually see it is so cool to me.”

While technology in school has been shown as effective at times, it can also be very distracting. “While the Internet is a great tool, there are lots of things that are conducive to use. When I say to pull up a graph, they can have it open in one tab and something else in another tab,” Tarbutton said.

Tarbutton said using technology in school is great, but it would be great if there was a way to minimize distractions.

“I would love if there was some way we could control while kids are in the class what kids are on. So while we are in class and they are on something else, I could exit it out of their computer while at my desk or while they take a test, I could make sure they don’t cheat on their test. I think that would make it a better learning experience. Learning would be a priority and distractions would be minimized,” Tarbutton said.

Similar to Tarbutton’s ideas, Seth Jansen, head band director at MacArthur and assistant director at JHS, supports technology in school.

Jansen uses technology to improve his student’s music performance in school.

“For band, my favorite part about technology is how easy it is to assess our problems in rehearsal through recording equipment,” Jansen said. “I record weekly so that I can listen back to plan for future rehearsals. Through Google Classroom, my band can also listen to the recordings to assess their own problems.”

Although technology has its perks, Jansen has a hard time with kids being on their phones.

“It is nearly impossible for someone to checkout from their phone for 90 minutes. I am positive that I haven’t gone a single day this semester without telling someone to put up their phone.  They are a curse for the concentration needed to perform,” Jansen said.

Jansen believes Jonesboro School District could incorporate “charging stations in every classroom that require students to plug in and leave (their phones) during the lecture part of class.”

Both Jansen and Tarbutton said they are amazed at how far technology has come and how JHS has incorporated it into everyday learning.

“Technology is a huge influence on learning at every age. I was amazed walking through the Tech Expo with everything going on,” Jansen said. “It has only been eight years since I was in high school. The drive of technology in our district over that time has truly made it a completely different experience for our students than what it used to be.”