How Technology Has Effected My Education Experience
My experience as a member of the first generation to grow with the internet.
experienced hybrid learning and a college student who is constantly researching. Being born into the first generation who has not experienced life without the internet and a generation who has had the experience of growing with technology, I feel that my lens of the world has been holistically affected. Thinking of my experiences with technology I think back to "computer" class in the 3rd grade, where my classmates and I shuffled into our school's library to play with Chromebooks and learn how to "safely" use the internet and type on a keyboard.
We now have practically unlimited access to all information. Technology is often criticized for relieving students of the normal stressors of academics. For example the change in the ability to research. I often hear older people complain that when they were my age they had to spend time at the library researching through encyclopedias for information whereas all I need to complete any form of research assignment is my laptop and access to an internet connection. Having the ability to enter into my computer any topic and be met with nearly endless information has allowed for me to gain a mirage of new interests and education on billions of topics, without modern technology I would not have nearly as diverse of an interest and skill set.
Purdue University published an article pointing to the major ways in which education has been revolutionized by technology and looks back on an Italian painting from the 14th century that depicts what
studying in a classroom looks like. The article articulates how many students are distracted in the modern classroom by the ability to access social media sites in class instead of focusing on the lecture, a flaw all students of the modern classroom know very well (of course not in our class though). The author highlights how technology has expanded the access of education. He points to being able to be educated outside of a classroom, being able to access unlimited amounts of information, different styles of learning (videos, podcasts, and sites such as Khan Academy) and even online degree programs.
talked about the ability of students using sites such as google docs to collaborate on projects but also the use of Zoom to allow for education outside of classrooms. I was able to experience both as a high school student who was forced to spend the majority of her day bouncing from Zoom class to Zoom class but also having the opportunity to watch how this affected the younger generation's education through my mother's job as a NYC DOE paraprofessional. Due to the unprecedented times my mother chose to offer her time to students who were struggling more during the pandemic to ensure they do not fall behind. Through this I saw first hand how students were disadvantaged from the lack of in person education but my mother researched and found multiple sites to help aid and attempt to help the students.
I am able to recognize how varying the quality of education was to each individual student depending on their background and accessibility to tools and people that could help them during these times. I personally had full school days online and my teachers taught classes that we were required to remain on camera at full attention, eventually switching to a hybrid learning model where I would attend class for half a week in person and half a week online. My mother’s students had a very different experience where they instead were fully remote and primarily were educated fully online in asynchronous classes, where assignments were posted on “Google Classroom” and were forced to obtain education from a third source. Many students used sites such as “Iready” where students were tested on their levels for math and ELA. This site is used to see how much a student is able to advance on their own.
In college I now utilize technology daily to complete all my assignments, to view my grades, communicate
with professors, and aid in my understanding of topics I struggle with. I particularly like online grading modules because it allows for faster feedback on classes and allows for me to take more responsibility for my grades. It is easy to view assignments and continue to be an organized student. As much as our community complains about BlackBoard, we are able to view assignments in one click and organize all our work for the semester as well as see how each individual grade will affect our GPA. I know that my peers utilize this tool in companion to Google sites such as Google Calender and Google sheets to make an organized list of assignments and due dates.
I am studying Political Science (pre-law) legal studies and philosophy. All of my areas of study are very resource heavy, and it is necessary to do large work loads of reading. I struggle to focus when doing long readings. Through the use of modern technology I have found unique ways to absorb the vital information
for my classes. For example sites such as Oyez offer easy access to Supreme Court briefs in easy to understand terms. Oyez also provides (for more recent cases) audio recordings of oral arguments.
I have also invested much of my time enjoying learning through the use of videos known as “Crash Course” clips. Crash Course videos are free videos created on a mirage of topics. I particularly watch “Crash Course:Government and Politics”.These videos are used to introduce a topic with witty humor, fast facts, and engaging visuals. The Crash Course account has 15.5million subscribers and about 1.5k videos. Many students and teachers thank Crash Course and its creators for helping them to understand various topics, while also making them interesting.
Although I more so agree that the internet and technology has been a major asset to my education and the education of members of my generation, I understand there are major critics. As I previously stated
with my reasoning for loving Crash Course, I have seen first hand the effects of attention deficits caused by online addiction. I have given the internet a gold star for its ability to offer seemingly endless areas of interest, but for the same reason researchers at Columbia University have stated that internet access is to blame for human’s loss of attention. We now have access to emails, texts, online shopping (my personal favorite way to be distracted) and social media. This has made educating in the time of technology a difficult task. Personally, writing this blog post I have checked my phone more times than I can count and have lost my concentration to the point of having to take a break about 3 times. Columbia states that “humans are inherently motivated to self-interrupt”.
Another major flaw of the introduction of the internet is the most beloved AI (Artificial Intelligence). I agree with researchers that AI can be used as a tool. AI can quicken research methods and organize ideas into simpler explanations. Researchers warn that AI technologies can harm critical thinking and problem solving capabilities if it is over used. I think the most major point of that is, “if it is overused”. When students become reliant on this technology they will be losing their skills for being able to process information and produce well thought out assignments.
In all, I feel that technology is really important to education and can be a major asset. I feel that throughout my life I have had the positive experience of including technology and the internet as an aid to my learning experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment