Today, as students’ workload intensifies and becomes more rigorous, it is often difficult for them to catch up with missed assignments and/or to learn the material at their own pace and time. As technology continues to influence today’s education system and continues to drive our learning environment to encompass a world full of creativity, innovation, and digital wisdom, there is a controversial and yet brilliant suggestion in developing a more cutting-edge and groundbreaking opportunity for students: placing cameras in classrooms.
Having recordings in classrooms will offer students new approaches to learning at their own pace. An absence on the day of important lectures can critically damage students’ understanding and pace. Catching up by watching a video of the lecture is a quick and efficient way to solve the problem. However, the video should not be limited to helping students catch up with assignments. The average amount of sleep a teenager gets is about seven hours per day. Because students are struggling to balance academics and extracurricular activities, finding equal time for both events may be difficult for many. Therefore, video or audio recordings of lectures can help students choose the time best for learning and watching class lectures.
It is necessary to officialize the copyrights of videos or audios of lectures belong to teachers or the school, so that illegal distribution of videos can be regulated. Many of students, especially in high school or college, record their own video of a lecture or take pictures of school material. However, this can possibly lead to cheating or illegal distribution of class material, and it is almost impossible to regulate these personal videos or pictures. By implementing cameras in classroom, students will not need to take personal recordings, and teachers or schools will get copyrights of the videos.
Recording and reviewing their lectures can help teachers improve their way of teaching. After watching their own videos, teachers can see what can be changed or improved to help their students learn better. Cameras in classroom will encourage teachers to record, review, and improve their lectures will change how students access learning materials.
There are risks to implementing cameras in classrooms; however, mankind had to overcome risks of new technology many times in history. Use of electricity was not only more dangerous than hydropower but also more effective and influential. Airplane accidents are much more brutal than car crashes, but airplanes are more efficient, not to mention safety measures have improved and evolved since the beginnings. As man’s history emphasizes the benefits of new technologies outweighing the risks, the risks that accompany cameras in classrooms should not discourage us from studying ways to make our education system more suitable for every individual students, so that we could harness their great potential.
I worry that a school district as cutting edge and distinguished as the San Marino Unified School District, would disappoint as being a celebrated and renowned school district. The reason San Marino continues to remain the No. 1 school district in California is directly attributed to the administrators, teachers, and community who all strive to provide the an optimal learning environment for the students. As technology becomes a leading force in society and is accredited to enhancing educational resources for students, San Marino needs to be a forerunner and set an example for other schools to implement technology, such as cameras in classrooms, in order to enrich educational opportunities for students. I believe that placing cameras in classrooms will revolutionize education as we see it today and help push students to think and work with modern advances.
Tagged: educational system, technology in schools 