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| The notebook of the future looks bright, but the future may not be. |
Welcome to the future of Philippine education.
Since the turn of the new millennium, the way the Filipino students have been studying has been revolutionized by technological advancements. Computers have taken over typewriters as the main alternative to handwritten reports and papers. Computers have taken over textbooks, manuals, newspapers, and journals as the main source of academic information. Computers have taken over, well, pretty much every aspect of student life in the Philippines. At least in the urbanized areas …
And now, iPads, iPods, iTouch, and pretty much anything that starts with a small I are joining in helping the students access online files, store documents, and relieve stress after long hours of classes and org meetings.
These are only accessories in dealing with school life, though.
Recently, the De La Salle University unveiled the world’s first fully electronic classroom. In partnership with Samsung Electronics and developed by NBN-ZTE scandal whistleblower Jun Lozada, the program features the use of the latest tablet PC technology from the aforementioned company, which includes electronic textbooks and other similar materials used to teach selected Grade 1 to 12 students for the whole school year. The inclusion of other features, such as electronic notebooks and examination sheets, ensure a personalized approach for the students. The teachers will also avail of the system, using a projector to facilitate discussions to the students.
As expected, the project was received with overwhelming praise. I mean, why wouldn’t it? Any new piece of technology is perceived as a good thing.
How convenient it is that a bagful of books, notebooks, pens, and calculators are now packed into one lightweight, virtual personal learning system. On the academic side, it definitely makes a student’s life much simpler by placing all the tools in one kit, making the task of manually organizing papers, files, and thoughts a thing of the past. Sending and printing reports are also eliminated, giving both teachers and students an easier time. On the non-academic side, this should definitely provide relief for the students’ arms and backs, unloading some of the killer stress and providing a boost of confidence for the students to face the challenges of academic life. Less time for manual labor also means more time for improving their skills, working on their hobbies, and socializing with friends, affording the students an opportunity to become more complete people.
Perhaps the other significant effect of this development is the premise of environmental conservation. Supporters of the electronic classroom claim that this reduces the usage of trees, from which quadrillions of sheets of papers are made of. Such effect should lead to the faster restoration of the forests in the Philippines, which has severely dwindled over the past century; this should lead to other events such as more absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the slight restoration of forest wildlife, and more trees available for other industrial and commercial consumption.
All of these benefits look promising, don’t they?
Do not jump on the bandwagon just yet.
Think about it. As history will tell us, the tendency for human beings is that when they get exposed to new technologies, they tend to rely on it too much. Even today, in the urbanized areas, you can always spot a 17-year-old boy playing games on his PSP, an 18-year-old girl hanging around with her iPod, two 19-year-olds competing together in a shooting game through their laptops, and a 20-year-old browsing through 9Gag and Facebook through her Android phone. So if the performance of the youth today is considered lower than what is expected of such a liberated world, imagine what happens when tablet PCs dominate the world of education, as soon as the next century. Students more or less become lazier, more complacent, and more laidback, probably content with the newfound comforts at school. We should remember that school does not only try to pack heaps of information onto the brains of the youth and prepare students for future careers; since the Greeks, its true main aim is to develop and enhance the abilities and the personalities of the young to discover their true dreams and passions. Again, as we look around us, society has not influenced most of the youth (and the rest of the populace) in such a way that the sweeping changes around them seek to enrich their characters, not replace their existing ones.
Speaking of replacing existing norms, it may be true that only La Salle has such environment available as of the moment, although sooner than later, electronic classrooms will begin to take over at least the top schools in the country. And since the top offices in the government are dominated by alumni of such universities and colleges, they will push for such massive expansion of the program, even though the Philippines is clearly WAY behind the rest of the world in its current state of, well, everything from economy to infrastructure. The government tends to show the world more short-term flashes of glory than long-term struggles to development. In short, just like every upgrade the authorities involve themselves into, millions of wasted pesos, thousands of voices screaming for change and justice, hundreds of complaints of graft and corruption, and two whistleblowers will emerge and shake the nation to a level it has never been shaken before.
And the environmental impact? True, fewer trees will be chopped down, but what about the electricity needed to power such classrooms? As of now, and probably for the foreseeable future, renewable sources of energy like solar panels and windmills are still not the dominant (or at least, as significant relative to the dominant) sources, and with the rapid population growth probably not slowing down in the near future (unless some tragic event takes place), the phenomena of excessive global warming and all the unusual natural events taking place around the world and their subsequent consequences, will still take place. And at least papers are biodegradable.
I am not saying that the idea of a fully automated classroom is a terrible idea and should never happen. As observed through history, man will always find new ways to improve the quality of living and aid in survival. As much as the problems possibly arising from the implementation of such program look overwhelming and exaggerated, we cannot deny the convenience and simplicity that tablet PCs can provide for the ever-growing student population of the future.
It is not the right time, though. The country is not ready. And so are the students.
Substance beats style everytime.
