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Will technology make teachers obsolete?

by Wade Deacon High School Senior Debating Society

June 3, 2013

Education, education, education. We are a nation obsessed

with our academia, our schools, libraries and universities. Yet all

that is changing. A new type of schooling is taking over, and that

is online learning. We are bombarded with technology

5 everywhere we turn, and sure enough the 21st‐century has

trickled down into our educational institutions.

More and more establishments are signing up for Internet

enlightenment, and its effects are felt beyond just the UK. All

across the world, students from all walks of life are closing their

10 exercise books and opening their laptops.

The ease of access that humans have nowadays to virtual

outlets is astonishing — online learning platforms, free Internet

services in public buildings and even the revolutionary

educational ‘pods’ becoming popular in Asia and Central

15 America — and so many different pupils will find it quicker and

indeed simpler to access these online resources when they

want. For some, it may even seem easier to log onto the nearest

Wi‐Fi than attend school day in and day out.

Opening up the amount of learning resources and research

20 facilities students can access over the Internet has created new

possibilities for those pursuing studies all over the globe.

Granting students the freedom and flexibility to learn about the

subjects that interest them is an inspiring way to get students to

really follow in‐depth studies on areas important to them, either

25 to satisfy an academic interest or to give them the building

blocks they need for the careers they want in the future.

Particularly in countries with easy access to technology, the

use of computers, podcasts and webcams really allows these

young adults to gain a passion for learning.

30 Of course, there are sceptics who raise common problems

concerning behaviour and self‐discipline to learn. Many worry

that, left to their own devices, teenagers in particular will not

have the desire to spend their own time following up their

education.

35 Lots of schools that have embraced the transition to a more

media‐based programme still keep timetables, school days and

the school building. They appoint a member of staff to watch

the children to make sure they are still getting their work done.

This is where we find the crux of the whole matter: what is the

40 ‘teaching profession’?

If a person’s job is to simply stand in a room and mind rowdy

teens, are they really a member of said profession? Teaching is

more than child‐minding students; teaching is about giving your

pupils a love for your subject, getting them enthused about their

45 education and mentoring them through the course of their

school years. Do we seriously think, even with the new advances

in virtual learning, that all this will just crumble into

obsolescence?

As long as there is education, there will have to be teachers.

Students cannot be given full responsibility for their own

50 learning, or else we’ll end up with half the population practically

illiterate by age twenty. Education needs routine and order and

discipline, yes, but more importantly education needs to be

twinned with motivation.

Although some might say that virtual learning provides an

55 easier way of teaching young people what they need to know to

scrape the grades they need on their exams, the true heart and

soul of the teaching profession will stay alive, at least for now, at

least in this country.

(adapted from http://blog.britishcouncil.org/2013/06/03/teaching‐and‐technology/)

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