Throughout history technology has changed society. The past few decades various devices like, cell phones, iPads, wireless headphones, computers, and the most appreciated, internet have completely changed the way people communicate in society, and the way people learn, starting from the first grade to college/university. Use of technology in schools is highly important to not only students but the school’s success, especially in the terms of post-secondary institutions. When discussing technology in education, the use of technologies like audio-visual aids, machines, TV, overhead projector, computers for education, etc are what come up. Technology is the continuous development which is almost found in every part of our culture, affecting how we live, play, work and learn. With technological advancement, the invention of mobile and wireless devices, has become really useful for educational institutions when trying to get a hold of advancements in the teaching and learning process. Technology is proven useful in aspects of life and learning such as health, infrastructure, etc. But with benefits comes faults, even with the best of intentions, in one way or another, will have negative repercussions. Although there are various benefits to Technology in learning and life, there is also proven downsides. While the imputing of technology into education can bring hopes to help in the development of children, causing them to be more useful and productive in society and in the future, but certain factors do not allow for it.
With the creation of gadgets like phones, computers and tablets, students are able to get instant access to information whenever and wherever they go, which makes it very easy to study, as well as gather information for assignments. With the help of not only fast but various forms of access to the internet, students have the ability to complete projects and assignments from school, at home or anywhere in a fast and much more efficient way. This is one of the great positive effects of technology in student learning environments. Among several other benefits, students can simplsy turn to online resources when stuck on difficult tasks and are in need of an answer, in order to rid themselves of having to deal with the stress of long hours of tedious and time-consuming research. It also provides students with the option to contact their educators when in need of assistance. (Al-Hariri, 2016, August 22).
Although the access to endless oceans of information from the internet can be useful and serve as a great learning tool, it can also bring on a negative side effect in a student’s creativity. Due to the easy nature in access to information students have been proven to become more and more lazy leading them to do things such as copy and paste information in order to take the easy way out of things. Thus, leading to lots of students as well as graduates having excellent work and assignments, but lacking little to no knowledge in their chosen field of study. These students are left unable to solve technical problems even though they showed great work and hold degrees. Plagiarism and cheating has also increased while a student’s ability to analyze and think critically have declined. This puts the young and current generations thinking abilities in jeopardy. Instead of taking time during homework to really process and understand what they are reading and doing homework, modern kids will take the easier path and simply use technology to get the quickest answer. Thus, proven to reduce the attention span of learning, and increase anxiety when actually faced with hands on research. (Spears, S. A. 2012).
Teachers use various forms of technology in educating such as computer sources that students have access to and online tools like games and videos to help aid in their lessons. They use computers to keep track of grades, type out instruction for their students, engage students in the classroom, and stay in contact with parents and co-workers. In the current event of advancement in the classroom, the arrival of smart boards has improved the quality of teaching lessons in schools. These boards help teachers present limitless information to facilitate students understanding the topic as well as present their own research they prepared beforehand without the hassle of re-writing it. They also offer teachers access to Microsoft, PowerPoint, Prezi and other amazing software for teaching. With the help of student’s common access to smartphone apps, students can also improve their grades with learning and quiz apps provided by their teachers in order to gain participation. This allows for student and teacher learning even outside of facilities making sure students continue learning new things even outside the school environment. Technology for teachers means being able to keep track of a student’s learning accessibility, and allowing for students to follow up with anything they may miss inside the classroom. (Ghavifekr, S. & Rosdy, W.A.W. (2015)).
It cannot be denied that technology can provide a huge distraction to students as well as educators. In fact, in today’s class it is not uncommon to see a teacher steal a quick glance at his or her social media and personal messages while in class. Distraction from social media and devices can not only set a classroom back by a few minutes, but it can set anyone back by quite a bit mentally, causing the learning process and ability to comprehend material more difficult. If this happens regularly, it can cause quite some damage over time. It is no secret that students are commonly distracted by their devices. Be it while learning in class or while studying at home, students often get hugely involved in their messages, social media, and apps when they had originally picked up the device to research their homework. This is posing quite a problem and the only solution really is that students use their devices only when asked, to ensure that everyone concentrates on learning while in class on studying, without letting other things distract them. Rather than studying, students spend most of the time on social media sites and television shows. Social media has become an addiction for most students and even teachers to the point where they prefer staying on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, or Twitter while in class instead of focusing on what’s being taught.
A human beings brain is the most useful asset. It works in ways that ensure the more you use it and feed it information, the more you improve in knowledge and the tasks in which you are using it for. In other words, technology helps to develop the minds of students through access to a limitless information throughout the internet. By using the Internet or software tools, students can create online groups, Web pages, and virtual communities that connect them in real time with students and teachers anywhere. Students are able to receive feedback from their teachers and share questions and concerns about their lessons. Simply by listening and reading about other opinions, thoughts and feedback through online resources, they are able to redirect and improve their thinking, allowing for a higher grasp on various levels of comprehension and a deeper understanding for what it is they are trying to learn. Technology is interactive, and students learn by doing, researching, and receiving feedback. Being able to learn and engage in tasks using interactive tools helps students become passionate about what they are learning. (North Carolina State, B. 2019).
Information may be limitless on the Internet, but there is no guarantee that what students may find is accurate or in fact what they need. Issues can arise in a student’s research because not all information presented on the internet is valid. Anyone can post information on the Internet, and it can result as extremely difficult to determine what is fact and what is simply someone’s interpretation of something. This issue can cause difficulty in student’s research for assignment and information required for understanding what it is they are learning. This can lead to a downfall in studying, understanding and overall comprehension in the learning process, making it difficult on a student’s ability to succeed. In most schools, technical difficulties can also become a major problem and great cause of frustration in learning for students and teachers causing interruptions in the teaching and learning process. If there is technical issues and lack of assistance and repair on it, teachers are not able to use the computer causing for temporary delay in lessons, and the overall loss of trust in the system if it continues to persist. Thus, leading to teachers and students being discouraged from using computers because of fear of computer or device failure since they are not given any assistance on the issue. Technical problems can be a major barrier for teachers.
Parental figures, as well as people in higher levels of education, should take necessary precautions to ensure that students are using technology the right way. Although there are downsides to learning with technology there are ways to avoid them in order to ensure that learning is a great and beneficial experience. In time, the negative effects will be minimized if not completely eliminated, giving room for students to benefit fully from technology. One of the most common notions of the future, especially one that the workforce is leaning towards, is technologically-driven. This is an important note because, the workforce is already becoming more inclusive of remote career opportunities, especially ones including a high level of comprehension in using technology. More and more individuals are being given the chance to work remotely, using their technological devices and the internet connection wherever they are, to power their everyday tasks. When students embrace the reality that they will need to be able to function at work using apps, devices etc to perform their tasks, they will become familiar with the ways in which technology is most helpful, and this better prepares them for the future, especially in the careers they are hoping to pursue such as healthcare, design and many more. The opportunities students will receive simply by applying technology in current learning process can help prepare for future tasks and this makes for a promising future for the remote workforce.
