Technology in the classroom is the best learning tool. With classroom technology educators can get more students engaged, improve collaboration, and most importantly make learning effective.

Even though some parents and schools argue that corporal punishment has a negative effect on the learning environment, some believe there are advantages such as deterrence, immediacy, alignment with parents' discipline measures and lost cost. Advocates of corporal punishment insist that the methods must be safe, promote the welfare of students and meet guidelines established by the school's disciplinary policies and procedures. As such, I believe that corporal punishment should be re-implemented into the schools of Trinidad and Tobago.

I believe it would:

1) Deters Misconduct- Proponents of corporal punishment at school agree that a spanking or paddling administered by qualified teachers, administrators or coaches deters misconduct. According to Brian Wilson, author of “Counterpoint: The Benefits of Corporal Punishment," even the threat of physical punishment such as a displayed wooden paddle in a principal's office discourages disobedient or unruly conduct. Intimidation has a powerful effect on student behaviour. Corporal punishment supporters believe that spanking or paddling offers a strong incentive for motivating students to stay in line.

2) Swift Administration- Corporal punishment is a swift and timely process. It doesn't involve lengthy after-school detentions or time-consuming, in-school suspensions. Principals and teachers can administer the punishment within a matter of seconds not including discussions before and after the punishment to remind students of policies concerning their misconduct. As a result, students don't have to spend days or hours stressing about the punishment. In 1977, the Supreme Court ruled in the Ingraham vs. Wright case that corporal punishment in schools is not cruel or unusual, according to CNN. In 2008, more than 30 years after that first ruling, the Supreme Court upheld its 1977 decision and refused to review a case where an 18-year-old claimed she was injured as a result of corporal punishment administered by her high school principal.

3) Aligns with Parents' Punishment at Home- Some parents who administer corporal punishment at home appreciate principals, teachers and school boards who do the same at school. They feel that this aligns with their own methods for encouraging and enforcing obedience. Dr. John Hancock, assistant superintendent of Temple schools in Texas, states that some parents believe corporal punishment at school reinforces the positive behavior they strive to achieve at home, according to CNN. Without corporal punishment at school, some parents feel there's a disconnect between what they're enforcing at home and what teachers are enforcing at school. They believe a unified discipline plan that allows for corporal punishment at school ultimately improves behaviour, according to Hancock.

4) Low Cost- There's little or no cost associated with corporal punishment. Administrators don't have to hire staff to monitor suspensions or detentions. Spanking or paddling is typically administered in the principal's office during school hours. Teachers don't have to spend additional work hours adding to the payroll to read and grade punishment-oriented assignments. The cost of a wooden paddle is negligible and the administrative paperwork other than documentation of why, when, where and by whom the punishment was administered is minimal.

References

Counterpoint: Points of View -- The Benefits of Corporal Punishment; Brian Wilson; 2014

CNN: To Paddle or Not to Paddle Students

News Weekly: Opinion -- The Pros and Cons of Types of Punishment

Law Library - American Law and Legal Information: Corporal Punishment in Public Schools Laws: Information on the Law About Corporal Punishment in Public Schools

Gundersen National Child Protection Training Agency: Discipline at School Education Week -- School Law: The Supreme Court and Corporal Punishment

The Washington Post: The Rules of Corporal Punishment

Technology in education plays an important role in improving the educational skills and knowledge of the people. This is very important especially those who need improve their knowledge in order for them to achieve a successful life in the future. Technology in education is manifested through the use of computers. This is also a great help for teachers since they can already enhance their teaching skills and strategies every time they are facing their class. Hence, technology is very essential for both the students and the teachers since it:

1) Promotes Independent Learning for the Students: Students can already learn from their own even without the assistance of their parents and teachers. They are just going to surf the internet in order to look for the lessons they need to study. Quick accessibility and well-equipped with the skills and knowledge in operating a computer would be very helpful for the students.

2) Easier Access To Information: The need for heavy books to be brought back and forth from school and home is no longer needed with technology. The books can stay in the classroom because the information that they need is easily accessed on a computer.

3) Promotes Exciting Way to Educate Students: Since there are lots of images, videos and other graphics and text that may be found in your computer, more students would feel the excitement in studying through the use of the gadget. This is very important in order to arouse their interest in studying.

Opponents of WiFi in schools would have you believe that there is nothing lost by banning WiFi in schools and that the alternative to enable internet access in schools is wired internet connections. While this may sound like a reasonable compromise, it is a major step backwards for our education system.

I believe by restricting WiFi access in schools, it would reduce and eliminate access for our children to the largest educational resource ever created – the internet. It imposes limits on the types of tools our teachers can use and negatively impacts the education of our children.

We need to take a balanced and rational approach based on weighing the benefits against possible risks. Anti-WiFi advocates believe banning WiFi has no pedagogical consequences for our children. Hence, if free WiFi access is band in schools students in our society would be limited to the technological world in this contemporary calibre, thus, the aim of schools is to ensure that our children are educated to the best of our ability.

I support blog and Wikis in the Classroom, since Blogs consist of “posts” followed by “comments.” Multiple posts often appear together, with the newest posts appearing at the top. For courses, blog posts can be structured using current lecture topics to extend classroom discussion. Students can make comments about posts or other comments, making the information more interactive. In addition to promoting discussion, blogs can also contain pictures and other multimedia, such as music or video. Blogs can appeal to students who learn by using an integrated, multi-media approach.

Brescia and Miller (2015) studied the advantages of instructional blogging. The pros from Brescia and Miller (2015) of blogging are: students feel more involved and in charge of their learning experiences; students have viable chances to participate in learning; and students have a chance to actively participate in learning outside of the classroom.

On the other hand, Wikis are websites that allow any user to modify a page. With wikis students can edit any information on the wiki, not just information they have posted. The Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT) recently published an article on wikis and course management: http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no2/frydenberg0608.htm. Researchers polled 145 students who used a wiki throughout a semester-long class. The study found that the wiki helped students work and learn more efficiently, and students felt it was easier to prepare for exams.