The Educational Dilemma
For many decades, the knowledge people possessed seemed to be endlessly improving as time went on. Whether it be new inventions, ideologies, or important practices, knowledge lived throughout the population and helped to benefit the world. That knowledge, however, is not being shared the right way when it comes to the children of the present and future. The technological flaws in the world have been masked by the pros it brings to the people. Sadly, the undeniable truth is that for students in schools, technology tends to hurt their learning abilities more than help them. There’s a handful of people who think that schools using technology is beneficial for kids as it offers them easier access to work, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. If things continue to remain the way they are in schools, with technology and usage of technology increasing, a world such as the one in 1984 , where people have little thought or education, and are dangerously influenced by the government is a very likely possibility. Children of all ages are having their education and learning abilities ruined by technology and the schools that use it. For these reasons, it’s safe to say that schools should cut down on child exposure to technology in order to help students of all ages have a better education.
Many people believe that technology is often helpful for students' learning abilities, because it gives them a more ‘efficient’ and ‘faster’ way to learn. However, this could not be further from the truth. In actuality, the school’s usage of technology has a negative effect on a student's learning abilities, because with it comes a lack of cooperation with others, which is an essential part of learning efficiently. As far as the majority of schools go, “Most teachers have trouble combining computer-based instruction and cooperative learning” (Bruder). Technology gets in the way of cooperation with others, because students develop a dependency on their technology and lose the physical aspect of learning, like cooperating with their group or students in general. Cooperation is an essential part of learning. This is because students can bounce ideas off each other and reach their goals together. This form of learning helps a student develop a stronger learning ability. Without cooperation, the possibilities of learning for students take a major hit, and they are more likely to struggle without the aid of others. A lack of cooperation is a serious problem to a child’s learning abilities, and technology is to blame for that.
Along with a lack of cooperation, another evident problem is students’ lack of engagement on their screens. This is most apparent with lectures, and their failure to mentally reach kids through technology. Evidently, “New research conducted at the University of Leeds draws on data across a whole institution following the installation of lecture-capture technology and finds that the availability of video footage does cause a drop in attendance” (Mckie). For the most part, a student’s attention span is short. If there is something that they find to be uninteresting, more times than not they will stop paying attention after a little bit of time has passed. That is true with normal learning, and it is even worse with technology-based learning. Studies have shown that kids’ attendance to lectures like these suffer greatly, because they are simply just not engaged much at all. Staring at a screen, and watching something you are not very interested in, will never truly help at all, and more times than not harm a student’s learning. A student needs to be able to concentrate and be more engaged in class, if they wish to succeed in any way. If this form of learning persists, the amount of engagement and performance will have a dramatic decline. These methods are being used by schools worldwide, and if it continues down this path, the future of education is at a serious risk. For this reason, schools should seriously consider cutting down on the amount of exposure to technology students are subjected to.
There has been increasing concern about the intellectual ability of students decreasing overtime through overuse of technology. Sadly, this concern is very much a reality. Their ability has in fact, dramatically decreased over time and will only continue to get worse, unless handled. If we continue down this path, we may one day find ourselves in an awful society, one parallel to 1984’s Oceania, where people’s education is very limited and continuously suffering. One day our society might be one like this, “How do we know that two and two make four? Or that the past is unchangeable?... -what then?” (Orwell 77). A society like that one is one where little to no thought is used at all, and easy concepts to understand such as simple math, are now challenging and being called into question. The intellectual ability of students should be getting better and better and paving the way for a brighter future. However, this has obviously not been the case, and if technology continues to be overused like it is now, society as a whole will suffer greatly. It’s clear to see that a problem like this will only serve to hurt the country. To further support this, studies show that, “An analysis of some 730,000 IQ test results by researchers from the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Norway reveals the Flynn effect hit its peak for people born during the mid-1970s and has significantly declined ever since” (Conaway). The Flynn effect is essentially, the IQ of a person, and how it was once at peak performance, but is sadly now declining. Throughout the world itself, a reverse in trend has become increasingly noticeable in the IQ of students. Technology has unfortunately resulted in an extreme lack of focus from students everywhere, and this has had a detrimental effect on their learning abilities. Along with their learning abilities being harmed, their overall effort has lessened as well, because students have gotten into the mindset that technology is the answer to all their problems and questions, so their effort in assignments and so forth are ruined. The effort of a student is an integral part of their learning, and without it their successes will falter greatly, and technology will be to blame. The IQ of students should be increasing, not decreasing, and technology is to blame. Schools should seriously consider cutting down on tech exposure.
Unless you live under a rock, it’s quite difficult to not be aware of the major problem in the world today. For about a year the world has had to deal with a global pandemic, based off of the Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. Due to the virus’ restrictions and stresses it has placed across the world, the world has had to adjust to keep up. This included cancellations and rescheduling of certain events and establishments, as well as a new remote form of learning for students to follow until further notice. This as a result, has hurt students everywhere. This global pandemic has had a negative effect on students’ learning abilities, due to the increased use of technology by schools and the isolation that comes with it. Charlene Aviles, in her new film, talks about the struggle’s students face in this new world under these new unfortunate circumstances. “The film addresses how the seemingly "intangible and unreal" learning environment may increase feelings of isolation and hinder one's motivation to learn” (Aviles). Clearly, this is a major concern. Overuse of technology was already a big problem for students while they were in school, but now the amount has increased and students are at home for a large portion of it. This will only serve to hurt students' focus, as well as their overall efforts in school even more. When a student is at home, the potential for consistent effort and focus in a class lessens greatly. A learning environment such as that also hurts the student, because there's little to no cooperation at all now, due to the difficulty imposed by technology. Obviously this pandemic will eventually pass, but the detrimental effects from it will leave a stain on learning and education for a long time. Technology may also be used even more in the future from events like this and how schools were able to bounce back thanks to tech. Technology may be useful for getting things done quicker, but there is a difference between quality and quantity in work, and in life. Eventually, schools and people will notice the downward trend, and see the undeniable truth that technology is not helping, but hurting. Students’ learning abilities are in serious jeopardy if things continue towards this trend. For these reasons, schools should definitely cut down on tech exposure to students, for the great or good of the world itself.
For a large part of the 20th century, the power of education was a strong one, and was continuously thriving. It seemed that people’s mental capacity and knowledge knew no bounds and the future was bright. Technology, unfortunately, had other plans. For the last few decades or so, a negative trend in students’ learning abilities has become harshly apparent. This is in large part because of the amount of exposure to tech that schools enforce on the students. Schools are constantly being forced to use technology to teach a class, and deal with lessons in a faster way. They are constantly forcing young people to stare at a screen for hours on end, because they think it is the most efficient way to learn. This, however, could not be further from the truth. Technology given out by schools is having a detrimental effect on a kid’s ability to learn through technology-based multitasking and the constant distractions. Students often attempt to multitask in life to try and get things done faster and more easily. They do this through technology, whether it be their phones or laptops. While some may think that this method of learning is beneficial and more efficient, unfortunately, “Learning is less flexible and more specialized when a person is multitasking, which makes it more difficult to retrieve the information later down the line” (Stenger). If a student is constantly focusing on multiple things at a time, instead of simply focusing solely on one thing at a time, their successes will falter, and info will be harder to retain and remember. Students should prioritize on effectively learning one thing at a time, but technology gets in the way of that and convinces students that there is an ‘easier’ way to get by. This cannot stand. Students are constantly trying to find the easy way out in school nowadays. A perfect example of this is note-taking in class. Students have lately begun to start taking notes through their laptops, because they believe it is a more effective way to copy down important info, while also staying engaged in the lesson. They are trying to avoid putting in the effort or writing information down, even though it is a more efficient method in retaining information and learning. They believe they are doing the right thing. This, however, could not be farther from the truth. In reality, “New research by scientists at Michigan State University suggests that laptops do not enhance classroom learning...” (May). What this is saying is that people think that the usage of laptops and other forms of technology is a good thing when it comes to forms of learning such as copying notes in class. Sadly, people don’t realize that they are being misled. People are actually better off without technology in the classroom at all. Technology only serves to distract and disrupt a students’ potential for learning, and weaken their efforts altogether. The educational world is better off without technology getting in the way. For that reason, schools should cut down on the amount of technological exposure students are subjected to.
Technology is not the answer. That’s something the educational world needs to be able to come to terms with. Although it offers a lot of different opportunities and possibilities to people all over the world, the backlashes that it has had on students worldwide is too great a problem to ignore. Cooperation, IQ, attendance, mono-tasking; they have all been harshly affected by the cruel power of technology. It seems that if the world continues as it is, there is not much hope at all for a brighter future. There isn’t much hope, but it’s not over just yet. There’s still a chance for this world to rectify its mistakes and change the course it’s headed. We need people to keep getting smarter, so we can create new, important things to help shape the world into a better place. However, in order to do that, schools need to do the right thing. Schools need to cut down on the amount of technological exposure forced upon students. In the end, it’s all for the great or good.
Works Cited
Aviles, Charlene. “Search Results: UWire.” UWire, ULOOP Inc., 10 Oct. 2020, uwire.com/?s=UWIRE+Text.
Bruder, Isabelle. “Can Technology Help?” Electronic Learning, Vol. 12, No. 3, Scholastic, Inc. , Dec. 1992, link-gale-w9ba.orc.scoolaid.net/apps/doc/A12739952/ITOF?u=nysl_li_harb&sid=ITOF&xid=7d47ea67.
Conaway, Will. “Council Post: Technology Is On The Rise, While IQ Is On The Decline.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 29 Apr. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/04/29/technology-is-on-the-rise-while-iq-is-on-the-decline/?sh=7d2bc254b103.
May, Cindi. “Students Are Better Off without a Laptop in the Classroom.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 11 July 2017, www.scientificamerican.com/article/students-are-better-off-without-a-laptop-in-the-classroom/.
Mckie, Anna. “Inside Higher Ed.” Study: Lecture Capture Reduces Attendance, but Students Value It, Times Higher Education , 2020, www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/07/05/study-lecture-capture-reduces-attendance-students-value-it.
Orwell, George. 1984. Vintage Classics, 2021.
Stenger, Marianne. “How Technology-Based Multitasking Impacts Learning.” InformED, 1 Dec. 2013, www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/other/how-technology-based-multitasking-impacts-learning/.