The Evils of Classroom Wifi Access

The wonders and advances of technology never fails to amaze me. As a student, I remember we'd have to use manila papers and markers to present our reports. Our visual aides were all hand made, and if ever we'd resort to some technology, it would be limited to the overhead projectors. Oh, how I can still remember my undergraduate days: without laptops in class, no internet access anywhere, ginormous cellphones that had but call and text capacity....but today, technology in the classroom is so different.

These gadgets and tools have definitely grown leaps and bounds. Not only have overhead projectors become all but obsolete. Because of these, the attitudes and processes in the classroom has changed drastically. While definitely mostly for the good, there are many evils lurking from these technological changes.

Nowadays, classroom gadgets are LCD/multimedia projectors for powerpoint presentations. But because they are so accessible, the students no longer take down notes. Rather they take photos of the slides projected on the screen. Taking down notes is a rarity.

Nowadays, most students have laptops in class. Although doing class outputs (i.e. writing essays) is so much easier for them, it opens up the avenues for distractions...especially if there is wifi access in the classroom. Because of this, many times students do not pay attention anymore...as does the teacher.