Can Technology Replace Teachers

 

 

©  2012  SAIS  

www.sais.org  

 

 

the  conversation  

continues  inside  of  

SAISconnect  

http://saisconnect.sais.org

 

 

Can  Technology  Replace  Teachers?  

By:  Holly  Chesser  

Published:  September  2012

 

 

In  the  last  decade,  technology  has  placed  many  careers  on  the  chopping  block:  

travel  agent,  photo  processor,  even  to  some  extent  postal  clerk.    Fortunately,  

teachers,  confident  in  their  job  security,  have  never  had  to  worry.    Sure,  the  

chalkboard  and  overhead  have  been  hauled  off  to  the  scrap  heap,  made  obsolete  

by  21

st

 century  technological  innovations,  but  what  could  possibly  ever  replace  a  

teacher?      

Well,  what  if  the  answer  were  “a  computer”?    Certainly,  state  

legislatures,  struggling  to  balance  budgets,  have  found  virtual  

education’s  dramatic  reduction  in  per  pupil  expenditure  for  

public  schools  economically  compelling:  $6,400  for  a  fully-­‐online  

model  versus  $10,000  for  the  traditional  brick  and  mortar  

experience.  However,  the  surge  in  digital  education  has  also  

been  fueled  by  a  desire  to  keep  pace  with  the  rapid  

technological  advancements  across  all  cultural  spectrums  and  to  

offer  students  the  opportunity  to  learn  in  an  environment  that  

for  many  is  comfortably  familiar.    The  statistics  reflect  the  increasing  prevalence  of  

online  learning:  today,  30  states  boast  full-­‐time  online  schools,  and  4  states  even  

require  students  to  take  at  least  one  online  course  before  graduation.    

So  what  will  this  drive  to  reinvent  school  mean  for  the  independent  school  

community?  Is  this  a  danger  or  an  opportunity?    

Naturally,  it  depends  on  whom  you  are  speaking  to.    Advocates  argue  that  online  

learning  simply  presents  another  occasion  for  choice,  the  sine  qua  non  of  

independent  education.  Moreover,  taking  online  classes  helps  develop  proficiency  

maneuvering  through  the  technological  terrain  where  ideas  and  information  are  

exchanged.    However,  critics  contend  that  online  learning  equates  education  to  a  

largely  utilitarian  pursuit,  reducing  students  to  walking  flash  drives.  They  wonder  

how  a  computer  can  ever  teach  tolerance  or  empathy,  how  it  can  inspire  or  

encourage,  how  it  can  understand  an  individual  student’s  needs  or  challenge  a  child  

to  take  risks.    

http://tinyurl.com/9a2x3gt

 

 

 

 

 

©  2012  SAIS  

www.sais.org  

 

 

the  conversation  

continues  inside  of  

SAISconnect  

http://saisconnect.sais.org

 

 

Both  sides  pose  legitimate  arguments,  but  more  importantly  this  on-­‐going  debate  

offers  a  powerful  opportunity  to  examine  the  changing  role  of  the  teacher.  

Traditionally  storehouses  of  knowledge,  teachers  were  the  primary  means  of  

content  delivery  to  students.    But  knowledge  today  is  a  commodity,  cheap  and  

readily  available.    Now,  the  focus  is  on  what  students  can  do  with  knowledge:  make  

distinctions  between  competing  sources  of  information,  predict  the  consequences  

of  decisions,  develop  creative  solutions  to  unique  problems.    If  a  teacher  resists  

adapting  to  the  changing  educational  environment  and  instead  holds  firm  to  the  

role  of  sage  on  the  stage,  he  or  she  may  risk  being  replaced  by  a  computer.    On  the  

contrary,  teachers,  who  embrace  being  freed  to  facilitate  the  process  rather  than  

deliver  the  content,  can  focus  on  what  motivates  students  to  learn  in  the  first  place.  

They  can  create  environments  that  encourage  collaboration,  offer  individual  choice,  

provoke  struggling  with  important,  relevant  ideas,  and  build  competence.    Most  

importantly,  the  teacher  can  offer  what  a  computer  cannot:  a  relationship.    

Consider  how  students  respond  when  peers,  family,  or  faculty  come  to  watch  them  

compete  in  a  game  or  perform  in  a  play.    Would  it  be  the  same  if  their  supporters  

simply  watched  online?    Of  course  not.    Students  want  to  feel  their  presence,  to  be  

assured  that  they  are  known,  understood,  and  valued.  

Technology  provides  students  opportunities  to  engage  efficiently  and  effectively  

with  ideas  and  individuals,  but  it  cannot  replace  teachers.  It  can,  however,  liberate  

those  teachers  to  assume  a  potent  new  role  in  the  facilitation  of  that  learning  

process.