Technology is the talk of the town these days. Every one of us is completely awed by its spell, without considering whether it has a positive impact on us or a negative one. Its intrusion cannot be denied in any aspect of life: whether it is personal or professional. Even the educational systems have started to embrace its impact. However, the question whether this embracing is enthusiastic or reluctant remains debatable.
Keeping in view the demands of the current age, there is a dire need of tech-based schools. There is blur line between using technology in learning and using technology for learning. The focus should be on later one. The sole purpose of the technology should be to ease learning as well as teaching. The biggest blessing of technology is that it has widened the access to education. Today, with many online learning platforms, one can learn anything from anywhere. One doesn’t have to run to the library to look for answers to their questions rather everything is just a click away.
Collaboration is another tool that has made learning more fun and engaging. In traditional classroom settings, there was little to no trend of discussions. The teacher was the ultimate source of the knowledge and student the recipient of that knowledge. Since technology provides everyone access to the knowledge, the transfer of information between learner and instructor has become a two-way process. Moreover, this information interchange doesn’t remain confined to a particular classroom but spans across the classrooms all over the world. With the advancement in technology, learning has become interactive too. One can now actually touch and feel the concepts instead of only reading them in the books. Hardware tools like interactive panels, 3D printers, document cameras and many others aid the teachers and student bring lessons to life!
But is technology always a blessing? I think we are way too much immersed and spell-bound by it that we miss what the other side of the picture has to show. With so much involvement in social media, our generation has become plastic dolls- completely void of human emotions and feelings. We are one thing behind the screen and another off-screen. According to a study published in the Computers in Human Behavior, sixth-grade students who did not have exposure to technology for five days were better at reading emotions than those who were glued to their screens all day [1]. The blessings of technology aren’t free of cost. We have put so many things; privacy, anonymity, health, emotions and what not at stake to get these blessings. It wouldn’t be wrong if I say we have become the slaves of technology. It is ironic to see that human, who is the creator of all sort of machines and software is being controlled by it. According to an article in Psychology Today, video games make the child pay attention to different stimuli but it leads to distraction and decreased memory [2]. Also, with so much material available on the internet, students are losing their creativity. If they are given a writing task, the first thing they think about it is Googling it. Excessive use of technology has increased the obesity rate too. According to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, there has been an alarming increase in the number of children suffering from obesity [3].
It’s high time that we should pause and think where technology is taking us and is it really fulfilling the goal it was supposed to? The focus should be on making most of the technology and not let the technology make most of us. We should maintain a proper balance while using the technology Instead, of leaving kids alone with their gadgets, parents, and teachers should keep an eye on them. By keeping an eye, I don’t refer to strict monitoring strategies instead following should be done:
· As a parent or teacher, communicating, in a friendly way, the good and the bad of using technology.
· Keeping oneself up-to-date with the current social media trends.
· Making use of technology in classrooms to enhance teaching and not as an alternative to it.
· Assigning manual activities, for example, reading the material in hard-form or assigning tasks that include fieldwork.
· Parents and teachers should communicate the good and the bad effects of technology in a friendly manner (e.g. keeping themselves up-to-date with current social media trends will make communication easier) because too strict monitoring will only make them aggressive and stubborn.
References:
[1] Kids and Screen Time: What Does the Research Say? (2014, August 28) Retrieved from:
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/08/28/343735856/kids-and-screen-time-what-does-the-research-say
[2] How Technology is Changing the Way Children Think and Focus (2012, December 4) Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/201212/how-technology-is-changing-the-way-children-think-and-focus
[3] Severe childhood obesity on the Rise in U.S., study shows (2014, April 7) Retrieved from: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/in-the-us-childhood-obesity-is-a-heavy-burden/
[4] The Four Negative Sides of Technology (2015, May 2) Retrieved from: http://www.edudemic.com/the-4-negative-side-effects-of-technology/