Technology hinders creativity. A statement that would surprise, anger, and bewilder most. One would believe it inconceivable that technology inside of the classroom actually hinders the creative learning of students of all levels and ages in our education system. Technology does not teach students how to create rather to apply technology to a program created by another individual, technology does not allow for students to take risks with their knowledge, students are afraid to fail and create technology that is imperfect compared to already existing programs. Lastly technology handcuffs students, not in a sense that they are handcuffed to their devices but in a sense that students are handcuffed to how they believe they should apply their devices to learning.
If shortcut/template websites and platforms are the “new worksheet” as Skallerup Bessette argues, then we might shift to a more critical digital pedagogy by leaving those shortcut/template websites and platforms behind. Templates to create visual presentations along with infographics actually hinder the creativity of students. Students do not create their own work, they take information that they retrieve from another source and plug it into their piece of media. As educators moving forward we should be pushing students to find new methods to create their media. It is important that we force them to be creators not only someone who can apply technology.
Technology limits the ability of a student to take a risk. Students in the modern age are nervous to create their own technology as they believe it to be “wrong”. Wrong in the sense that they see their creation as a failure compared to those of multi-million technology companies. Although their media may not look as appealing as a professionally built piece educators must celebrate the effort and risk that students take when they think outside the box in their creations of media.
Technology in education today places boundaries around students. Educators for many different reasons feel the need to restrict students to google docs and powerpoint. Why is that? If a student wishes to find a new creative method to submit a piece of work that he or she created themselves why should we as educators force them to use only one single program? Educators need to force students to create something that has never been seen before. That is how technology would be a support to learning inside the classroom.