Let’s face it and place it. “Motivating” and “school” aren’t normally used in the same sentence. It’s not that teachers aren’t inspiring. It’s that most high schoolers don’t find doing schoolwork all that interesting.

However, many educators and school officials make the assumption that since technology makes the classroom, supposedly, more efficient, students are automatically engaged in the lesson. After all, with programs like Google Classroom, Quizlet, and online planners, it seems we have the whole educational world right at our fingertips. While technology is great when used in moderation, the question has to be asked: Is there too much technology in our classrooms?

According to The Washington Post, 90 percent of teachers said that technology in the classroom creates easily-distracted generations with short attention spans. With search engines like Google, students can easily look up answers and get what they need to know in less than five minutes. After that, zoning out and an excessive amount of yawning is all some students get out of class.

Most Prosper classes start with the line, “Grab your Chromebooks,” followed by an assignment posted on Google Classroom. These assignments continue for most of the class period, until a few minutes to the end of class, which is when we are told to put up our Chromebooks. The whole hour and 30 minutes of class time is mostly dedicated to online classwork. 

The Washington Post also said 60 percent of teachers saw that digital education is affecting their students’ ability to write and have conversations in person. The share mechanism on the Google programs allows no need for interaction with other students. 

With this much technology, there’s not much time in the schedule for motivation. Lots of times, it feels like there isn’t even much time for teaching. Students are told to watch a video, read the posted notes and finish the assignment on Classroom. There’s no time in between for going over notes or explanations.

Technology is not to be completely discouraged. It is a helpful tool when it comes to studying, reviewing, taking notes and reinforcing topics. When you can’t remember what a word means, or how to do a certain problem, computers are lifesavers. Despite its convenience, technology shouldn’t be the teacher. Less technology-based lessons will allow teachers to do what they do best. Our teachers are important. They need to be able to motivate their students and truly teach – without getting replaced by a machine. 

“Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.” – Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft