TPCK
I found this article interesting in its not simply arguing for or against the use of technology, but how the article objectively showed the necessity of technological knowledge by both the teachers and the students in a classroom. The theory of TPCK is a good one; it shows that technology is in the world, whether liked or not, and human beings must not be completely foreign to its uses. The idea that teachers should use technology, but not completely rely on it, hits my view on the argument completely. Teachers exist in the classroom to, well, teach. If teachers do nothing but facilitate a room full of computers and iPads, why go to college and waste their time at all? I think that technology must be used in a TPCK format, where technology is integrated into the instruction as a supplemental form or aid, but not as the primary source of education. There are other factors in schools--beyond textbook learning--that require more than a tablet or laptop. Skills in social and cultural facets that require human interaction, and not virtual human interaction. Students need development in these areas as well, and merely using technology as a primary source of education will not suffice. If schools produce students with no social and cultural cues, then our society will begin to break down and crumble beneath us. The TPCK form of education works as well as any that I have witnessed in my education. It incorporates technology into the classroom, but does not remove the teaching/learning aspect from the respective people in the room.

I found myself intrigued by the question posed by Mr. Apple in his article. I think his point is quite prevalent and rather rare in the grand outlook concerning technology in a modern society. People should raise the question "why?" when aggressively encouraged to commit to a new and foreign avenue of life. While some may say that Mr. Apple only offers the negative aspects of a technologically fueled society, I would argue that the majority of arguments surrounding technology paint its use as an enlightened future with no drawbacks or limitations. I believe that Mr. Apple merely peels at the veneer of technology and offers a contrasting opinion to the overall argument. I think that differences of opinion are a healthy and necessary process to achieving a more beneficial outcome to any issue, and Mr. Apple seeks to apply this practice in his article. 

With regards to the experiment involving paper vs. tablet surveys, I'm not surprised in the slightest at the results the members received. There are times when I thoroughly prefer an iPad to a sheet of paper and vice versa. Technology is a tool and like any other tool it should be used to benefit the person who uses it. If a person finds more substance from using a pencil and paper, rather than a tablet, that person should be allowed the method that most comforts them and produces the best results. 

When I read the article on the advancements of robotic items, I was a little surprised. There are many television shows and movies that depict a world filled with automatic appliances and furniture, but to have these entities in a realm of reality takes a person aback to say the least. I'm not very old, and I remember a time without cellphones, laptops, Facebook, and large, cumbersome television sets. The advancement of technology has exponentially increased within the last few decades, and "Summon the comfy chairs!" only sheds more light on the ever-growing advancements in the technological field. 

I got the same impression from the article covering some of the latest inventions from 2015. I'm not completely appalled by the technology it shows, but by the frequency of its delivery. It used to take months, years, or even decades before a new form of technology became readily available to the grand public, but now the time-frames are completely condensed. Apple, Google, and Samsung release new cellphones at least twice a year, and the capabilities of the phones is mind-blowing. Again, I'm not very old, and I remember dial-up internet in my lifetime. Now a 3G network seems to take forever. 

The PBS study mostly confirmed for me what I already expected to be true. I'm not surprised to see that the majority of teachers find the use of technology to aid and simplify their teaching process. After all, that's the purpose of technology: to help make a person's life easier.