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The effects of technology in classrooms
The effects of technology in classrooms
Effects of technology in teaching
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In Renee Wilson’s article, “In Defence of the iGeneration” (2013), she explores her belief of the iGeneration being the smartest generation yet. Through the use of many anecdotes, Wilson reflects on her experiences of teaching the iGeneration and their ability to ignore negative criticism and still show their full potential. In her article, Wilson discusses the iGeneration’s reliance on technology and social media; however, she does not engage the disadvantages of technology, in particular laptops in the classroom, which, as I argue here, is in need of more study. In this essay, I argue that the use of laptops by students in a university classroom is distracting not only to the student, but also to surrounding students. Inevitably, multitasking …show more content…
Many people argue that by using laptops during lectures, students are able to actively participate in the class and they have better communication with the professors despite large class sizes (Fried, 2008, p.2). Through classroom resources such as university and course online platforms, students are able to access the information they are learning about in their lectures. However, students themselves also have a very particular view on this topic, as they are very protective over their belongings and do not want to have their laptops banned from the classroom: “more and more faculty are banning laptops from their classrooms because of perceptions that they distract students and detract from learning,” (Fried, 2008, p.1). Prohibiting the use of laptops in university classrooms is becoming a more common solution to multitasking and student distraction. Universities enforce this regulation in order to prevent distraction and multitasking from impacting a students and surrounding student’s academic …show more content…
Multitasking with non-course material results in a student’s attention being diverted from the course material that is being taught. This can result in errors in memory for the student and also a more difficult time learning the information outside of the classroom (Kraushaar & Novak, 2010, p.1). The University of Vermont completed a study in order to determine the impacts of multitasking with a laptop during a university lecture. Through the experiment they were able to determine that “students with a high [and long] frequency of software multitasking during lectures will exhibit lower academic performance than students with a low [and short] frequency of software multitasking” (Kraushaar & Novak, 2010, p.6). This shows that repeated and lengthy multitasking with technology in particular laptops during lecture times can cause extremely negative results in a students academic performances and
Doctor Jean Twenge is an American psychologist who published an article for The Atlantic titled “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?” in September 2017. The purpose of Twenge’s article is to emphasize the growing burden of smartphones in our current society. She argues that teenagers are completely relying on smartphones in order to have a social life which in return is crippling their generation. Twenge effectively uses rhetorical devices in order to draw attention to the impact of smartphones on a specific generation.
The article reads, “Kit noticed, during a recent guest lecture at UC Berkeley, that at least half of her students were typing… In other words: multitasking, available to their friends no matter where they were, and instantly accessing free information.” Throughout the article, they describe Gen Y’s connection with technology and how it differs from any other generation’s connection to the internet and the world around them. By using her own personal experience, she is validating those claims and providing readers with an example of how that connection looks to outsiders in real
Though being exposed to technologies like computers from an early age may have given us the ability to do things more efficiently, technology has also made us less dependent on ourselves. Claudia Wallis, editor for Time, in her article makes known in The Multitasking Generation, “That level of multiprocessing and interpersonal connectivity is now so commonplace that it’s easy to forget how quickly it came about. Fifteen years ago, most home computers weren’t even linked to the Internet” (63). There are many things that students are able to do on their computer that their parents aren't even aware of or that the parents couldn’t do themselves. My parents always tell of how looking through the library’s card catalog and searching for the books they needed only to find out that they have been taken out. Computers have allowed us to do many things faster for example, write much faster than a typewriter or pen and paper and correct typing errors without starting over. The computers and technology we now have makes it easier to almost anything and with technology so easily at your fingertips it o...
A “tethered generation” is the description that is undeniably associated with Millennials because of their technological dependence. It is difficult to define an entire group of people without considering the factors that contribute to our behaviors and lifestyle as a generation. In Kathryn Tyler’s similarly titled article “The Tethered Generation”, she explains that technology supports the existence of millennials, “To prepare for millennials, it’s important to understand how cell phones and computers have changed their brain development, the enormous role their parents play in their lives well into adulthood, and what policies and training programs” (Tyler, “The Tethered Generation”). Millennials’ minds and habits formed around technology. They learned to problem solve by consulting the Internet to find answers to questions at a rapid pace or easily can contact a friend or family member on their smartphones for advice.
Technology has always been at the forefront of the world’s mind, for as long as anyone can remember. The idea of “advancing” has been a consistent goal among developers. However, recently the invention of smartphones broke out into the world of technology, causing millions of people to become encapsulated in a world of knowledge at their fingertips. Jean Twenge elaborates on the impacts of the smartphone on the younger generation in her article “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?” Twenge’s article is just a sliver of the analysis that she presents in her book “IGen.” Twenge, a professor of psychology at San
Ultimately, I am in agreement with what Albert Einstein supposedly predicted “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” Some historians dispute that the most brilliant brain of the 20th century ever really said that, but nonetheless, it appears that the prophecy is coming true. All we have to do is look around us, whether we are dining in a restaurant or sitting in a college classroom, we will see people glued to their smart phones or doing internet searches on their laptops. There does not really seem to be any meaningful social interaction amongst individuals. Along the same lines as Greenfield’s research paper is an article printed in Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection that presents views on both sides of the technology and education argument. Although this article presents opposing views on the topic, the critics suggest that the drawbacks of technology are the tools can be difficult to use and prohibitively expensive and it reduces or removes the human interaction that many believe is crucial to education (“Technology and Education.” par. 3). Basically, technology severs social
With all of the technological advances there are more things smartphones, computers, etc. can do. More things to distract us from what we need to do. In the article “Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction” Matt Richtel builds his argument by using the anecdotes of a few specific high school students and teachers. Richtel also understands his audience because he develops the article in a way where readers are introduced to the topic of digital media’s effect on students with sufficient and reliable information.
The development of technology in this country has been significant to the daily lives of Americans today. In the twenty-first century, one of the greatest accomplishments of technology is the use of laptops. People, such as students, are facing the fact that laptops have made their lives easier. Some colleges and universities have allowed that each student bring their personal laptops with internet connectivity to class while others believe they easily weaken the learning abilities of students instead of promoting and increasing learning in the classroom. Although personal laptops in the classroom have numerous advantages, there have also been frequent complaints from professors because laptops hinder with learning, and as a result should be banned from bringing them into the classroom since laptops can easily distract students, not every student can afford purchasing a laptop, and would prevent students from cheating or plagiarizing.
Our world is changing gradually bringing these changes into people’s daily life styles; consequently, a person’s potential to embrace these challenges and revolutionize with them has become an important factor to analyze people’s way to prepare themselves for the future. According to Gilbert Valdez, educational technology, especially computers and computer-related peripherals, have grown tremendously and have permeated all areas of our lives. It is incomprehensible that anyone today would argue that banks, hospitals, or any industry should use less technology. Most young people cannot understand arguments that schools should limit technology use. For them, use of the Internet, for example, plays a major role in their relationships with their friends, their families, and their schools. Teens and their parents generally think that use of the Internet enhances the social life and academic work of teenagers. Nonetheless, not all people has the possibility of changing towards a technological society due to the lack of personal progress through technology, and the misunderstanding of this tool is leading future professionals to become technologically dependant; in other words to rely only on technology without considering the possible consequences that it might have on future professionals development and their educational background. The overuse of educational technology has been growing over the recent years due to the emergent technological developments around the world; however, it can be solved by searching for a new balance between the uses of technology within education.
In “The Laptop Ate My Attention span”, Abbey Ellin describes the advantages and disadvantages of the internet being used in the classroom. Although she does include different types of schools, the author focuses in on business school students. She explains to us that an increasing amount of college campuses are choosing what students can or cannot do with their laptop while in class. Ellin describes what students do use their computer for in school and while some students are starting their own business others are chatting away or just not spending their time wisely. With it being that these are the future leaders of america and the people with access to a higher education, Ellin would expect them to have some sense of manners when it comes to what they are using their computer for during class time. The author gives us an example that a student knows better than to walk out of a
Could there be a solution to the problem of laptops being distracting and inhibiting learning? Maybe having a server in academic buildings that restricts certain sites so you can only go on websites that are necessary for the class. So even if someone still preferred to type their notes there could be less things to distract the students. Professors could also try to utilize students laptops. If they purposely use the laptops to engage students this could help them
A silent menace is creeping into the lives of America’s youth. It can be found on the streets. This addiction-creating snare is passed around at the movie theater when nobody seems to be watching. Paranoid teenagers sneak time in with it in school bathrooms and parking lots. Once-innocent kids are fully ensnared until the early hours of morning. Their red eyes and blank stares note a problem, but only after it is discovered, it is too late. This menace is not reefer or any other drug. It is technology, a new threat. No field advances as rapidly as technology. The newest iPhones and tablets are being introduced into many individuals’ work and personal lives. The most natural progression seems to be the integration of and focus upon technology in public schools. However, a hasty transition into a tech world may be dangerous. Technology use produces a number of negative consequences in the classroom because it enables students to become dependent, prevents effective reinforcement of topics taught in class, and places both societal and classroom minorities at an extreme disadvantage.
Technology affects everyone! Whether positive or negative, we are all affected, how it manifests itself into problems for youth will be studied and debated for years. Balancing technology throughout the educational process and keeping with current trends and uses of technology will affect everyone. Technology has transformed our youth’s daily and social lives. How do we measure the effects of technology on our ability to socialize or have a successful social life? Socializing is not just talking face to face, it’s our ability to interact, learn, and create original thought. Technology hindering today’s youth and their ability to socialize is affecting their capacity to read, write, and communicate. Today’s youth depends on careful considerations for the implementation of technologies. Our youth do not have the capability to convey their emotions through the use of technology, understand sadness, happiness or joy through simple text or emails. Communicating through the use of text, chat, and social network sites is lost using abbreviations and slang, inhibiting the use of the Standard English language. Using computers and hand held devices for relationships, reading, writing, and entertainment, turning them into introverted and socially inept individuals. Current trends resonating from our educational institutions to our workplace can be examples of how technology has altered the way younger people communicate. This tragedy transcends from youth to adulthood affecting the workplace. Social networking sites have begun to take hours away from employers. How do students understand ethical and moral dilemmas unless they are allowed to make mistakes and work through a particular problem? Creative and original thought needs...
Technology has allowed students, teachers, and parents to access unlimited resources instantly. The ease of access to school services and materials helps students in many ways. Redd makes a good point stating that “Many of these mobile devices are characterized as miniature classroom computers that allow students to partake in the ‘anytime, anywhere’ learning movement” (30). Students today use all types of electronic devices to do the unimaginable. The internet is a portal for students to connect to everything around the world giving them instantaneous access to resources. Imagine going throughout a day without the aid of technology, it detracts the learning process and limits accessibility. Students find it easier to access coursework, “Some said they were reluctant to use mobile phone functions such as SMS texting and information downloads for course-related activities” (Moule 61). Technology is always being implicated through day to day life situations. Student’s instantaneous access to unlimited resources...
... computers are a great invention if used with discretion. I use a computer almost every single day to aid me with homework, chat with friends, or even entertain myself by watching a movie or playing a game. I find computers to be a stress-reliever, a ‘gateway to another world’ where one can be whoever they want if they find that they’ve had a bad day at school or work. While I support this positive attitude towards computers everyday, I find, in myself even, that I’ve become slightly addicted, causing me to not get as much sleep as needed or allowing me to do my homework without distraction. Overall, however, I’ve found computers have made me more knowledgeable, even if not pertaining specifically to school and that they’ve prepared me for a future where computer use will be inevitable.