Numeracy:

What is reasoning? Why is reasoning and problem solving important to teach in modern primary education?

Reasoning? What is reasoning? Reasoning within maths in education involves using systematic thinking with effective problem solving to come to an answer to a mathematical question. NRICH Primary team (2014) say that reasoning doesn’t only help children with solving strictly maths problems but is seen essentially as the ‘glue’ which helps mathematics make sense to children within education. The primary national curriculum says that the aims for mathematical reasoning are to follow a line of enquiry, conjecting relationships and generalisations, developing an argument and then finally having justification or proof using mathematical language. This may all sound complex however when broken down into a simple formula which it would be for children, all of these points begin to make sense and all form into a neat and tidy formula as such to follow for the children. Why? You might ask well according to Drury (2014), a fifth of all children who happen to fall below national expectations by the end of primary school yet teachers who teach for mastery with using reasoning expect every single child within their classroom to succeed. According to Drury regardless of background, prior engagement, gender or race everyone should achieve. However the modern trait is nowadays that maths is only seen for clever people, which isn’t true, however teachers seem to appreciate equal efforts from everyone in the class when going towards a numerical area which isn’t always the easiest to achieve.

Reasoning is seen as such a critical skill in modern education as it is crucial to succeed within the new curriculums Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), which is being introduced within the new national curriculum in Wales and across the United Kingdom (UK) according to Mr Teach (2019) a blogger from within the UK it is his firm belief that primary school mathematics should be not only be about the maths as a whole but should also be about exploring, reasoning and challenging thinking. This should be taught over learning abstract rules for calculations and facts. Even though abstract rules and facts within mathematics are seen as essential I to agree that it should not only be taught for exploring, reasoning and challenging thinking but should also be based around abstract facts and calculations. I believe this as I am also a firm believer in this but also disagree slightly as I think that there should be an equal combination of both within the new curriculum not to only engage the students more which is the most fundamental skills but also to make things more interesting by basing the scenarios and questions upon real life situations.

Whilst recognising how key reasoning is, we also need to acknowledge how essential that allowing the children within modern education to recognise the key skills and facts are within the system. As during the early key stages such as key stages one and two it is important to acquire the basic skills which can then be used by the children to apply in real life situations.

Many sources believe that the reason behind the putting so much importance on reasoning according to Drury (2014) the author of mastering mathematics logical reasoning requires metacognition which in simple terms is thinking about thinking. This influences behaviour and attitude through greater engagement, self-regulation along with seeking conceptual understanding. Drury also states that reasoning seems to promote these traits not only in primary education but throughout it as a whole as it requires children to use their mathematical vocabulary. In basic terms this all essentially means that the key behind reasoning is communication as when using the skill it requires talking whether that be to peers or the teacher. Within my personal experience I feel as though reasoning is essential in getting a deeper understanding in questions especially in certain maths topics where I have struggled in at some point in the past. However during my experience of numeracy during my time in primary education more than ten years ago abstract facts seemed to be a bigger factor rather than reasoning which I feel could have left many peers behind. However with reasoning being implemented more frequently in modern education it could be a chance for a breakthrough along with the new curriculum.

Problem solving according to an ACME report is that ‘problem solving in mathematics: is realising the vision through better assessment’. Problem solving is used every day in modern education throughout primary school as well as secondary, the only problem is that it is a skill that doesn’t seemed to be acquired easily be students and used to its full potential according to Lucy Kilgariff (2018) the head of maths in a successful Devon school, some ways to effectively teach problem solving in modern education can be to use open book tests, these give the students and the teachers the opportunity to assess how far the students are willing to push themselves as she says during an open book test ‘students are much more likely to attempt a question’. Doing these tests personally I can confirm that this is true, having the key information in front of you pushes you to attempt more adventurous questions that you wouldn’t have attempted before through using problem solving. Another key way which is being implemented according to Kilgariff is using free writing is also key when introducing problem solving within education as some pupils seem to fear attempting a question that they don’t seem to know how to get to the answer so they avoid writing anything down at all. This can be very relevant for the children within the class who have a fear getting something wrong or aim highly, Kilgariff said that an easy activity within her own personal lessons to implement this is using a five minute free writing activity to try and combat this fear.

Cotton (2016)

In 2016 the ACME report that was published reported that ‘changes in assessment of problem solving should be introduced incrementally’. Therefore meaning that problem solving will be introduced more heavily within education in primary and secondary school and as mentioned previously this will be essential to pass the new SATs tests that are being implemented into the new curriculum that will be fully in place by 2021. However no matter how much students and pupils try to achieve the skill of problem solving, it is inevitable that it will always be an everlasting problem within education.

In one of our seminar sessions we learnt about the values of problem solving and reasoning and the real life effect they are having on education today. Within this seminar we went over a book designed for year three students by the Welsh Government titled robots, we went over test questions that had previously been used in the 2015 National Numeracy tests for reasoning. These questions weren’t necessarily a difficult task for me and my peers however, they did have us using the skills required to answer them, this only goes to show that being taught reasoning and problem solving at a young age can carry the trait on into higher education. The tasks set within the test often required audio visual aids to be shown (AVAs) to the children prior to them being assessed, which shows the use of technology within the classroom as an additional aid rather than a ‘distraction’ as called by many. Throughout the seminar I and my peers discussed how to not only solve the questions but the thought process that had gone into them to get the end result. I found this particularly intriguing as it allowed me to attempt a modern day test and assess my own ability. The Welsh Government (2014) also now use Literacy and Numeracy Framework (LNF), this has been designed to help students aged five to fourteen with scenarios such as the one I mentioned previously. Some of the key skills they expect leaners to accomplish include:

·         Developing numerical reasoning

·         Using number skills

·         Using measuring skills

·         Using data skills

Welsh Government 20^th Oct 2014

To conclude on this blog post, I personally all of the skills I have mentioned are all equally as important when trying to successfully achieve something in terms of numeracy. These skills are just some of the skills that are currently being taught in our modern education system, it has been intriguing to research these different areas of skills and the reasoning behind actually teaching them as well as being taught them prior to this. I hope this gives you a deeper understanding of the reasoning and problem solving skill sets as a whole.

Reference list:

 Nrich.maths.org. (2014). Reasoning: Identifying Opportunities (Article). [online] Available at: https://nrich.maths.org/10990 [Accessed 20 Mar. 2019].

Drury H, 2014. Mastering Mathematics. Publisher: Oxford University Press [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019]

Third Space Learning. (2012). Developing Reasoning Skills in Maths for KS2 - Third Space Learning. [online] Available at: https://thirdspacelearning.com/blog/developing-reasoning-skills-maths-ks2/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2019].

 Kilgariff, L. (2018). Teaching Problem Solving. [online] TeacherToolkit. Available at: https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/2018/01/30/problem-solving/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2019].

Learn.cardiffmet.ac.uk. (2018). Cardiff Metropolitan University. [online] Available at: https://learn.cardiffmet.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/905299/mod_resource/content/1/Reasoning%20Resources%20/Unprotected_Year_3_Reasoning_Robots_English.pdf [Accessed 18 Mar. 2019].

Digital Competency:

Gamification: is it being used effectively to enhance learning?

Gamification is a very controversial topic within education as it can often be perceived as a massive distraction to education itself as well as influencing bead traits within education itself. Gamification is described as the “introduction or application of elements of games into non-game contexts” (Oxford Analytica, 2016,p.4). It can also be argued that in many ways games are being used more and more in the classroom (Selwyn, 2016). As well as being beneficial in education within this blog post I will be discussing both sides of the argument and convey a fair point as to why gamification is such a big controversy in modern education. Gamification can’t only be seen being used within a primary environment, it is also used throughout high school as well as higher education such as university, sixth form and college. According to Gee (2004) “good video games incorporate good learning principles, principles supported by current research in cognitive science”. Along with this from my own experience with video games within a classroom environment, they can also have a negative effect and leave a negative trait with pupils. Such as causing lack of engagement and willingness to learn which are two big factors in a successful education.

Can gamification actually enhance learning? The answer appears to be yes, as gamification according to Oxford Analytica (2016) is a “new mode of teaching and learning”, as explained within this report made by the Oxford Analytica it is a relatively new concept that can be incorporated into education with a more than positive outcome. Within this report it says that there are many elements that games consist of that have relevance to education but however these are the three main ones:

·         Mechanical elements, such as incremental progression, on boarding, and instant feedback.

·         Personal elements, these include status, visibility, collective responsibility as well as leader boards and rankings.

·         Emotional elements, in particular the psychological state of flow.

As far as gamification goes in education so far it is only led by a small number of teachers and academics. As far as the positives go for gamification they are seemingly endless, however there is one advantage within gamification that is sticking out the most in my research which appears to be the freedom to fail. This is seen as a key part in the gamification element of education as within the majority of games that are used for education purposes failure is key in learning how to play the game. As tendency to avoid failure is usually particularly high within pupil’s video games teach the students that you only have to fail to eventually succeed. Within a book wrote by McGonigal (2011) she writes how she captures students “engaged” and “fully alive”. Engagement appears to be a key element within education that we’re missing with the use of technology within classrooms and lack of engagement, perhaps including more technology such as gaming within the class room could stop this problem or could it have a negative effect?

However on the other hand gamification could also have a knock back and negative effect on the pupils it is effecting within modern education today, as students should see failure as an opportunity, instead of becoming unmotivated or fearful (Kiryakova, 2014). This could have a detrimental effect on several pupils as they might not only be fearful of trying again but may also become embarrassed in front of other students which could also have a massive negative effect on their education all together. As well as this Tiffany Ford (2015) says that gamification can decrease student’s attention span. This is believed to be caused by the speed of instant feedback which creates a problem with the student’s attention span. This could lead to children expecting instant feedback from all parts of their education which will lead to frustration which is again another negative trait. Ford (2015) also implies the reality and the problem of cost that gamification can bring, as there is always going to be initial equipment costs, software costs and sometimes training of the teachers of instructors to actually teach you how to use the gaming software effectively enough for the student to actually benefit from the process. As well as this students could also face costs for the gaming software which then creates a barrier essentially for the children to enter the classroom which can also have an overall negative effect and lead to more problems down the line in their education.

Is gamification actually effective? According to Harvard Graduate School of Education only 56% of students complete there four year degree in six years. According to Suzanne Holloway (2018) this is due to the systematic flaws within the education system as schools are seemingly behind in areas all around technology and gamification. During my education which is still currently on going I experienced no gamification at all until I entered higher education, therefore have not experienced its capabilities however according to Education Technology (2018) “research suggests that we learn best by doing, not just reading”. However gamification is not quite the same as its close relative game-based learning in fact it is completely different, as these two can sometimes get confused. Gamification aims to enhance the learning experience through motivation and the feedback loop process which offers direct feedback which benefits the pupils greatly to a certain extent. In recent years gamification has become a heavily recognised teaching strategy, according to Matthew Glotzbach (2018) gamified education apps have proliferated, leading students to expect them in the classroom. This has a negative and a positive to it. The positive being it is helping engage but on the other hand students may become impatient when asking for more gamified lessons as it could become a norm.

Within the classroom teachers could also not be properly equipped on how to use the devices provided which could also have a negative effect more so than a positive as Glotzbach (2018) states that “Learning resources are only as good as the educators who put them to use”. The theory behind almost all learning comes from the scaffolding theory which as Kriti Khare (2018) says “is closely related to Vgyotsky’s Zone of Developments.” This is based off the theory that if students want to learn the teacher can help them essentially build a scaffolding structure. Scaffolding within education is seen as using techniques such as modelling and continuous feedback, this is how gamification functions so in hindsight this can be applied to essentially gamify a lesson effectively.

During my time studying within sixth form I can reflect on a time using apps such as Kahoot to enhance learning and engage the class, however this app was seen more as a reward system at the end of the lesson. Therefore seen as something to work towards which motivated me and my peers heavily, the impact of gamification during my experience has been extremely positive. As it doesn’t only engage the students but in my instance was used effectively as a reflective tool throughout my A-level ICT lessons which had more than a positive outcome. However during some of my experience whilst using these apps such as Kahoot it has had a negative effect as the class seem to lose focus on the task at hand which results in a lack of learning which could be perceived as a result of lack of attention span from gamification itself. As Glotzbach (2018) emphasizes that “one of the most vital benefits of gamification is its ability to provide variety for teaching students how to learn and how to think”. And within my experience it has done exactly that.

In conclusion I believe if used effectively gamification can be used to effect any classroom positively, as well as this have an endless positive trait for the students that it is effecting. From the research I have done prior to writing this blog post it is easy to be misled by the negatives that gamification can bring however when looking deeper into the topic it is seen that the positives ultimately outweigh the positives massively in all aspects of learning. My final conclusion is that “Thanks to many of the above principles, good games stay within, but the outer edge, of the player’s “regime of competence” (diSessa 200).

Reference List:

Gee, J. P. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. New York: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2003.

Analytica, Oxford.(2016) "Gamification and the Future of Education”. World Government Summit (2016).

Selwyn, N. (2016). Education and technology: Key issues and debates. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

 Worldgovernmentsummit.org. (2016). [online] Available at: https://www.worldgovernmentsummit.org/api/publications/document?id=2b0d6ac4-e97c-6578-b2f8-ff0000a7ddb6 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2019].

 you found me. (2011). you found me.. [online] Available at: https://janemcgonigal.com/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2019].                                      

Kiryakova, G., Angelova, N., & Yordanova, L. (2014). Gamification in education, Proceedings of 9th International Balkan Education and Science Conference.

 Top Hat. (2018). 4 Pros and Cons to Gamified Learning | Top Hat. [online] Available at: https://tophat.com/blog/gamified-learning/ [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019].

 Glotzbach, M. (2018). Gamification can help education — here’s how. [online] VentureBeat. Available at: https://venturebeat.com/2018/09/06/gamification-can-help-education-heres-how/ [Accessed 4 Apr. 2019].                                                

 Medium. (2016). Educational Practices behind Gamification. [online] Available at: https://medium.com/a-teachers-hat/educational-practices-behind-gamification-cf316acce60f [Accessed 3 Apr. 2019].

diSessa, A. A. Changing Minds: Computers, Learning, and Literacy. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2000.

Literacy:

How does pleasure reading and synthetic phonics effect someone’s education?

Within this blog post I will be going over the realities of pleasure reading and the effects it can have on the students whether it be positive or negative and be relating all this to reliable sources with the thorough research I have untaken during this process. During education reading is sometimes perceived as more of a task rather than something done for pleasure. However the OECD (2002) reported that reading for enjoyment has been proven more important in a child’s education success than their family’s socio-economic status. As well as this the Reading Association has also pointed out the fact that reading has never been more crucial.

Research that has been done in 2012 by the Education Standards Research Team (ESARD) in the UK that goes to show that reading for pleasure has educational benefits as well as personal. Some of the positive effects that reading include are:

• reading attainment and writing ability
• text comprehension and grammar
• breadth of vocabulary
• positive reading attitudes
• self-confidence as a reader
• Pleasure in reading in later life.

• general knowledge
• understanding of other cultures
• community participation
• Insight into human nature and decision-making.

— UK Department of Education, Education Standards Research Team, 2012.

The positive effects that reading has on a student’s education as a whole is endless however above there are some of many of the benefits that reading for pleasure can bring. From personal experience in taking part in group reading activities and nomination within classroom activities, reading for pleasure helps tremendously and I can say personally it improves every aspect of your school life and gives you a feeling of achievement when being able to complete an activity successfully. However this can have a negative rebound on the students who dislike reading as research done Mcgrane et al. (2017) show that only 35% of ten year olds in England report that they like reading. This statistics is also on a decline as many students now see reading as outdated and boring and studies shown by  the OECD (2010) shows that children who read books regularly at the age of ten more than once a week at sixteen gain superior results in maths and spelling tests over the people who do not read regularly.

The correlation between reading and education as a whole is extremely positive and will inevitably bring the students more positive results throughout the entirety of their education from doing perhaps a basic spelling test in primary school to their GCSE period in high school reading aids each individual process. International research has been done and shows how frequent reading for enjoyment correlates with increases in reading achievement throughout education (Clark, 2011, Clark & Rumbold, 2006, Clark and Douglas 2011, PISA 2009). As well as improving results within education reading for pleasure can result in increasing key skills through a young student’s life such as empathy and social skills, which can benefit a student endlessly through not only education but a life time.

In 2014 the national curriculum for English emphasized reading for pleasure, the report further goes onto how it academically effects students that do so and how negative the effects can be for students who don’t read consistently. Academically reading for pleasure can improve language acquisition, vocabulary growth and most importantly in my opinion having the ability to understand information being taught in all other areas of learning. Some of the negative effects reading can have include lack of imagination and creativity along with lack of motivation (Ron Knight, 2018). These are seen as key assets to have when looking for a career when growing older which only emphasizes the need to read more.

As far as synthetic phonics go the benefits are crucial to the children of a young age as it doesn’t only teach the children the English language as a whole but simplifies the language down to only forty four sounds. Since 2012 when it was introduced it has been seen as an innovative and smart way to learn and read almost any word. This skill has been seen as a help line as such to further a young students education. The importance of synthetic phonics in teaching seems to be crucial, from the research I have undertaken shows that an experiment done by Johnston and Watson (2004) about the effects of the synthetic phonics concluded that with this approach taken the children during the test were a lot more able to read and spell much better than other children taught using alternative methods. During the research undertaken by Johnston and Watson (2004) they also discovered that synthetic phonics whilst being used in teaching resulted in students gaining up to two years higher than the average for their age.

If we look at phonics however from another perspective, this being the negative side students can often get easily confused when understanding words as over emphasis on the phonics leading to students being able to pronounce the words correctly but are then left in the dark when it comes to the actual meaning. An education professor Connie Juel (2002) explains how children during the study that she undertook could sound out words such as “pond” but in reality are clueless to the meaning behind the actual word or start guessing as to what it might mean which can leave a bad trait for the student’s future. Another negative effect that teaching synthetic phonics could have on a student is actually understanding text. For example children with a knowledge base good enough to read a piece of text may not actually be able to make sense of it. A study in 2003 by Marsha Riddle Buly et al. who does research for the Study of Teaching during her research she found that during tests that were undertook the students did well on spelling. However during the evaluation of the text she found that the students struggled to comprehend the questions as obviously phonics couldn’t further help to educate the children beyond the point of pronunciation.

To reflect on what has been said during the research and the entirety of writing this blog, a factor that has dawned upon me is that reading and learning to read is a crucial factor in every single child and students education regardless of age due to the fact and reality that once you have the potential to read and that skill has stuck the possibilities to improve and further gain more beneficial knowledge is endless. Along with this some of the facts and statistics I have found were astounding, such as this statistic from the DCMS (2018) where only 46% of young people aged sixteen to twenty four read and this statistic being on a rapid decline. In my opinion this is due to the modern traits in society where reading isn’t perceived as popular or trendy and this almost scares the younger generation from reading and not being prepared for their later life and further education where reading is essential to succeed. My point is proven in this evidence found by (Taylor, 2011) where “16-year-olds who choose to read books for pleasure outside school are more likely to secure managerial or professional jobs in later life”. In conclusion I believe that reading is a necessity in education and a key tool to be taught as well as the initial stage of learning the synthetic phonics along with this as proven by research life appears to become a lot more successful and with this tool more pathways are there to discover.

Reference List:

 Natlib.govt.nz. (2016). Reading for pleasure — a door to success. [online] Available at: https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/reading-engagement/understanding-reading-engagement/reading-for-pleasure-a-door-to-success [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019].

 Worldcat.org. (2014). Growing independence : competent learners @14 (Book, 2006) [WorldCat.org]. [online] Available at: https://www.worldcat.org/title/growing-independence-competent-learners-14/oclc/166310544 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2019].

 Readingagency.org.uk. (2016). Reading facts | Reading Agency. [online] Available at: https://readingagency.org.uk/about/impact/002-reading-facts-1/ [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019].

 Readingagency.org.uk. (2017). Reading facts | Reading Agency. [online] Available at: https://readingagency.org.uk/about/impact/002-reading-facts-1/ [Accessed 8 Apr. 2019].

Oecd.org. (2009). [online] Available at: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/48852630.pdf [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019].

 Atkinson, P. (2016). Promoting Reading for Pleasure. [online] Ukla.org. Available at: https://ukla.org/resources/details/promoting-reading-for-pleasure [Accessed 8 Apr. 2019].

 Knight, R. (2018). Not Reading Has Consequences |. [online] Authorronknight.com. Available at: http://www.authorronknight.com/2018/05/not-reading-has-consequence/ [Accessed 8 Apr. 2019].

 Readwithphonics.com. (2013). What are the benefits of phonics? | ReadwithPhonics - Learn to Read with Phonics. [online] Available at: https://www.readwithphonics.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-phonics [Accessed 6 Apr. 2019].

Children-learning-reading-review.com. (2016). ✓Why Is Phonics So Important In Teaching Your Child How To Read - Why Is Phonics Important For Children - Is phonics important for reading - Benefits Of Teaching Phonics. [online] Available at: http://www.children-learning-reading-review.com/articles/why-is-phonics-so-important-in-teaching-kids-how-to-read/ [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019].

Harvard Graduate School of Education. (2002). Search Results | Harvard Graduate School of Education. [online] Available at: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/search [Accessed 6 Apr. 2019].

 Classroom.synonym.com. (2003). The Pros & Cons of Teaching Phonics | Synonym. [online] Available at: https://classroom.synonym.com/pros-cons-teaching-phonics-7985135.html [Accessed 8 Apr. 2019].

                                     

 Taylor (2011). Reading at 16 linked to better job prospects. [online] ScienceDaily. Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110504150539.htm [Accessed 9 Apr. 2019].

                

                                                                                    Digital Competence:

Can teachers be replaced by technology in the future?

Within this blog post I will be discussing many perspectives and realities on if teachers can actually be replaced by technology within the near future? In modern times as George Monbiot (2017) states that “in the future, if you want a job you must be as unlike a machine as possible”. As far as this point goes I believe Monbiot has a very fair point that he is trying to convey which as far as this blog post goes if very valid. As humans we can convey and demonstrate emotions, critical thinking, social skills and empathy and sympathy of course which most robots or artificial intelligence (AI) wouldn’t be able to come across as we do. However the realities of AI in modern times are turning out to becoming more of a reality rather than a dream, with all of the implementation in schools nowadays it’s hard to ignore how technology is becoming overwhelming in our education and confusing almost for the youth that has yet to experience little or any technology within their education.

On the positive side of technology as mentioned by Matthew Lynch (2017) as he states that technology can be a major tool within a classroom environment and can be a lot more than an annoying phone going off in the middle of a lesson. The message to grasp when looking into technology being used in a classroom from an observer’s perspective is to consider that it can work as both a pedagogical resource as well as engaging younger students in the classroom environment. A few concepts to consider when seeing the positive side of technology within the classroom is the use of the real-world issues within the classroom as by using resources such as the internet it opens up essentially a whole other door for the students as well as the teacher in terms of resources and lessons that can be based around real life events and people which can engage students more in lessons and activities as it is perceived more as a reality rather than an education. Along with all of this Impact Teachers (2017) mention how exciting the possibilities are for modern day teaching, as they can’t only have an effect on the younger population who wouldn’t know any different but an uplifting effect on the teenagers who are in education who can new use the innovative apps that have been created to make more draining and less exciting tasks such as revising more ‘enjoyable’ and fun to a certain extent.

On the other hand technology does have its negatives, costing and student distraction are seemingly the most negative effects technology is having within the classroom at this point in time as Timothy Smithee says in an article he wrote on the negative effects of using technology in today’s classroom that the costing around technology is a big problem as you can imagine supplying a classroom with the amount of laptops needed to be efficient for any student would be pricey. In addition to the costs of actually supplying the equipment, the maintenance and the initial cost of setting up a network able to hold all of the laptops or electrical devices can be costly as well. Even though a student may be more engaged and excited about using or preparing something such as a PowerPoint presentation, this could have an overall negative effect as said by Vawn Himmelsbach (2019) an education professor he says that “technology in the classroom can be distracting and even foster cheating”. As well as doing so in recent studies it shows that the majority of students actually spend more time an effort on doing things such as making a presentation rather than doing the research that the project was actually meant to be based upon. As well as these many factors student distraction is a valid point which comes up upon most online articles including the one created by Impact Teachers who convey the point that gaming, texting and other websites which grasp the students’ attention rather than focusing on the task at hand. Research done by Harvard University shows that 92% of college students have reported using their phones to send text messages or for general use in the duration of time they are in class. These are astronomical figures and goes to show the reality of the effect technology can have on students in higher education as well as lower. Richard Adams (2016) an education editor states that “the results from our randomised experiment suggest that computer devices have a substantial negative effect on academic performance”. This point is conveyed online a lot and all in all is a very valid and relevant point as the use of technology within the classroom is seemingly distracting and disrupting learning and seems to be outweighing the note taking and research during study and lesson times.

Back to the positive side of things Charley Rogers (2017) believes that “96% of teachers say tech has a positive impact on education”. This is an uplifting and positive side of technology on education as it displays how teachers are adapting and overcoming the almost overwhelming reality of using technology the majority of time when teaching. From personal experience and being a teaching assistant during my work placement a couple of years back, technology is almost seen as a necessity in modern education, during my personal experience technology is a huge tool rather than a distraction which is the view seen by many. As I still use technology every single day within education it is hard to imagine what it would be like without it in our system as it is such a normal thing and I feel everybody finds it useful to some extent. The Knowledge Academy also found that “49% of teachers admit tech has made them more efficient at planning and giving lessons”. This reflects on my point that I have previously made that it not only can provide support for students and make their life easier but also the teachers.

As far as AI goes when it comes to replacing teachers Matthew Lynch (2018) believes that “Artificial intelligence will never replace teachers”. For the following reasons that if you are a human teacher you will always be needed regardless of circumstance and statistics found by researchers as a human is the only person with real life creativity, real life class room management skills and the only person who can provide empathy with the encouragement that is needed to help them succeed. Lynch comments on how a large part of education for the children and younger age ranges is teaching the students social-emotional skill which would be unlikely to be taught from an AI system that seemingly has no past or history of events to remember. However AI systems have recently shown that they can in fact teach student’s maths, English, reading and writing skills however teaching pupils emotional and social skills are more complex. From the research I have done prior to writing this now, this opinion is one of the most valid out there as it is the plain and simple truth behind AI systems. A long with this the reality is that students may be brain washed into society with technology and know nothing less, teachers can help children and students gather a large knowledge base from the using the resources given. As well as this the emotional connection children have with teachers is one of the most crucial factors according to an academic journal written by Liu, Jing-qui (2012) as she says that the importance of the relationships between teachers and students is crucial to students’ academic and psychological development. With this according to Liu, Jing-qui the longer the relationship lasts, the better chance the teachers have on exerting a positive influence on the students. From prior experience I can agree that this is true as bad relationships with teachers result in nothing but negatives but could AI’s solve this issue?

To reflect on my points made I believe that technologies positives outweigh the negatives heavily in my opinion however, there are downsides to technology such as distraction but not everything is always going to be positive. From personal experience and the prior research I have done for this blog post I truly believe that technology has endless possibilities and can push education to go further than ever before, with the help of human input as I still believe that AI could never convey and portray the emotional and social connection teachers have with their pupils. However with AI and the teachers that will never be obsolete in my opinion education can push to new limits further than ever before.

Reference List:

 Teachers, I. (n.d.). The UK is becoming a world-leading hub for education technology - Impact Teachers. [online] Impact Teachers. Available at: https://www.impactteachers.com/uk-becoming-world-leading-hub-education-technology/educational-news [Accessed 13 Apr. 2019].

Monbiot, G. (2017). In the age of robots, our schools are teaching children to be redundant | George Monbiot. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/15/robots-schools-teaching-children-redundant-testing-learn-future#img-1 [Accessed 13 Apr. 2019].

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