Life in the Digital Age: To What Extent has the Digital Age Revolutionized Learning?
Introduction
In late 20th Century, specifically the years depicting 1990 to 2000, the human civilization at large, bid farewell to the industrialization age and welcomed in its place the digital age, characterized by rapid access to information communication technology. Without a doubt, the technological advances set apart by the digital age have, as stated by Davidson (2011), tremendously transformed "how we live, work and learn." This has been made easy by the fact that the cost of purchasing significant digital equipment such as computers, mobile phones and other related gadgets has been declining over the years; meaning that access to digital technology has outgrown the boundaries of economic standards relative to neighborhoods, cities, countries etc. The greatest question most scholars have been grappling with is how this new found technology is impacting the way people live, learn and work. It is this particular state of affairs that forms the basis for this essay. For purposes of coherence, the essay will focus more on the characteristic of learning, but will also incorporate living and work life in instances where they interrelate. To what extent has the digital age revolutionized learning? Has this transformation been negative or positive? What are some of the challenges that have presented themselves?
Impact of the Digital Age on Learning
It is, first and foremost, important to realize that learning is a continuous process; right from childhood all the way to adulthood. It is therefore important that we characterize the extent to which the digital age has transformed learning into the following subdivisions; its impact on learning at ...
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...ion to everything that happens around us.
Works Cited
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Technology is one of the most important things in everyone’s life. Technology improves every day. in regards to today’s youth, they were born with all the new technological inventions as opposed to our parents. In “Quality Time, Redefined” by Alex Williams, published in the New York Times, the author talks about the positive and negative effects on technology. I enjoyed this reading because it related my personal day to day life. Even though some Americans acknowledge that technology is a part of their everyday life, they do not see the negative outcome of technology, they are blinded only by the positive aspects.
The topic of technology and our society has become a very controversial subject today. Many people believe that technology is an essential component of our modern world, helping us to improve communication from farther distances as well as giving us easy access to important information. On the other hand, there is the opinion that too much technology is affecting social interactions and our basic development. “Technology…is a queer thing, it brings you great gifts with one hand, and stabs you in the back with the other.” (Carrie Snow.) The CBC Documentary “Are We Digital Dummies” displayed the pros and cons when it comes to modern technology that we use in the western world everyday.
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
Technology has changed our world dramatically over the last several decades. Several generations before us did not have air conditioning, telephones, television much less internet. However, today we have access to all of this and more. Technological advances have not only made changes in how we communicate, but also in how everyday tasks are done. The New York Times explains how social media affects children’s behavior and academics, and how the concept of dating has been altered while Louis C. K. explains how the 21st century takes little things for granted and YouTube channel charstarlineTV shows how daily activities can no longer be done without the use of cellphones.
For many, the term technology “invites a tools-first emphasis” (Olgren 2000, p. 7) when in fact the real issue is how to choose and use any technology in a way that will enhance learning (Ginsburg 1999; Wagner 2001). The question should not be whether to use technology simply because it is available but rather whether it can be used to create learning opportunities that were impossible or impractical without it; a related question is how new learning technologies can be used appropriately in conjunction with traditional teaching and learning tools (Ginsburg 1999; Phillips and Kelly 2000). New technologies have an im...
Turkle discusses the impact of technology in human life through the young minds of students that she evidently observed. She further argues that the technology that embeds “in a culture that supports democracy, freedom of expression, tolerance, diversity, and complexity of opinion is one of the next decade’s greatest challenges” (Turkle, 2004). This paper will discuss whether the evocative object (i.e. computer) has helped to find the identity of the users or induced the users to lose their identity. Even though there are negative impacts from the advanced technology, Sherry Turkle proves how technology has changed the way of learning and thinking that helps to find the identity of individuals. Human Relationship with the Computer Computer has made the life easier by providing various applications and technologies.
131). By not incorporating or utilising digital technologies within the classroom many educational commentators fear ‘digital natives’ will become increasingly disengaged with a system that is not in tune with the way they learn and develop. In his article “digital natives, digital immigrants’, Marc Prensky illustrates how many students feel unengaged by traditional teaching methodology – one student stated, “every time I go to school I have to power down,”(prensky
Do you ever think about how much technology has changed the way we work, learn, play, and even think? Technology is a major beneficiary to society; especially in the classroom where we get the opportunity to learn and grow. In recent years, schools have begun implementing tablets and other devices in the classroom to better student’s education. The use of technology in the classroom provides more of a personalized learning experience and gives students a widespread availability to engage in learning. Technology is necessary in today’s modern globe, it is basically “the pen and paper of our time and the lens through which we experience much of our world” (Warlick, 2013). Technology is not just considered the “internet”, it is so much greater than that. Overall, it enhances the quality of education and engages students deeper than ever before. With all the significant gains, why would people argue that technology hinders students more than it helps? Critics may try to repute the use of technology in the classroom but I believe what really matters “is the way we use it, the context that we use it in, and the learners who we use it for” (Chong, 2012).
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This article explored the use of technology and the web as a new way of learning in an individual environment. Although learners have different learning styles, the author explains that changing technologies and new approaches to the way individuals are learning are becoming more and more present in people’s daily life. Therefore, eLearning is an opportunity for people who can now learn in their own spaces, at their own pace and use the e-materials they are most interested in. The development of personal learning environments, such as blogs, allow the students to be more responsible, independent and take responsibility of their own learning