Test scores are plummeting while tens of billions in federal aid flows to schools. A visit to a recent education technology convention provides a glimpse of the frenzy to profit from the recovery efforts.
It is possible for tech to be useful in schools. There may be a time in the best future where AI gives children across the planet access to much more education than they have historically had. The issue with the way the tech is used in the West right now is that it destroys classroom cohesion. Phones, tablets, and Chromebooks have become YouTube and tick-tock machines that kids retreat into whenever they are able. Getting kids to be interested in working with others on anything is becoming a monumental task. Not to mention that hardly any of them think it’s actually valuable to learn anything at all other than how to make money as a streamer or influencer.
It is possible for tech to be useful in schools. There may be a time in the best future where AI gives children across the planet access to much more education than they have historically had. The issue with the way the tech is used in the West right now is that it destroys classroom cohesion. Phones, tablets, and Chromebooks have become YouTube and tick-tock machines that kids retreat into whenever they are able. Getting kids to be interested in working with others on anything is becoming a monumental task. Not to mention that hardly any of them think it’s actually valuable to learn anything at all other than how to make money as a streamer or influencer.