Teachers have changed the way we they teach due to the advancements in the technology around us. Many years ago, when technology wasn’t as advanced as it was today everything was done by hand and yes, it took longer to do things and you could easily make more mistakes however, you were doing it all on your own and you were learning from your mistakes. In todays age, many students use technology all throughout our educational careers and they have become very dependent on it. As technology advances over the years, it should incorporated in our education system but still use some of the basic educational tools from years ago so we are still learning and not depending on technology to give us all the answers. We can do this by using technology for checking purposes, like to check a math problem in the calculator or using a grammar check om a paper. However, the basic tools to know how to do the math equation on your own and learning how to spell and write so you don’t need to use grammar check as much is still as important.
The advancements of technology have allowed students to now multitask so that were are able to do many things as one time. However, with every benefit there is a downfall and multitasking is not the best way to get things done. In the article “Neuroscientist say multitasking literally drains the energy reserves of your brain” Olivia Goldhill argues that multitasking is making you tired and draining your brain. She states “When we attempt to multitask…it uses up oxygenated glucose in the brain, running down the same fuel needed to focus on the task” (Goldhill, Neuroscientist say multitasking literally drains the energy reserves of your brain). Multitasking may seem very beneficial because you are getting so much done at one time however in the end you are not performing your best on each activity because you are focused on doing so much and in the end you are going to be tired.
My own person experience with multitasking was while doing homework I tend to watch tv, eat, or do other things. This causes me to be constantly distracted from my other work needed to be done and I am not putting all my attention into my homework so I can easily make mistakes and it may take me longer to finish it. While doing my homework and other things all at once I also find myself taking more naps or feeling more tired as time goes on. Goldhill quotes Daniel Levitin research study in her article when she says “Studies have found that people who take 15-minute breaks every couple of hours end up being more productive” (Neuroscientist say multitasking literally drains the energy reserves of your brain). This shows that for people like me who do their homework and watch tv or talk on the phone at the same time it is better to take breaks. To help solve this problem students can work for an hour and focus only on homework then for 15 minutes get on their phone or watch tv for a little while and in the end they will be more productive.
Another reason why we should not have our education system solely depend on the internet and technology because it is shown that the internet is changing the way we think and process information, and not for the better. In the article “Is google making us stupid? What the internet is doing to our brains” Nicholas Carr argues how the use of the internet has changed the way we think and read due to all of the distractions on the internet. Carr argues that the internet has changed the way we are able to read and comprehend what we are reading because know it seems to be harder to do so. Carr says, “I can feel it, too. Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory” (Is google making us stupid? What the internet is doing to our brains). This change he is talking about it due to the fact that unlike print, when we read on the internet we get distracted easier because there are hyperlinks, ads, pop ups, and more things that distract us from what we are trying to focus on.
I can very much relate to this article because when I find myself doing something on the internet, whether it be researching or just reading an article, it is harder to stay focus like if I was reading something on paper. Especially when I am doing homework, I can start off by reading an article and typing my essay and I will end up watching YouTube videos for hours on end. This is not good for the education system because if we use the internet over paper all of the time, students will not be able to read and comprehend something without having to read it over and over again and still may not understand all the need to know. Instead of completely converting our education system to one that is focused around technology, we can incorporate it into some aspects but still use old tools for other things. Teachers have incorporated technology and the internet so much into the lives of kids growing up now that they don’t know how to do things without the internet. We should use technology in education to help but not so much that if we no longer had it we would still be able to live and work without it. Students should be taught to do a math problem without a calculator because that’s how you learn.
In conclusion, technology provides a lot of advantages when it comes to how we do things on a daily basis and now plays a big role in our education and how we learn. However, with all of those advancements we are becoming to dependent on the technology and what is does for us and we are not learning anything on our own. In the article “The reading brain in the digital age: The science of paper versus screen”, Ferris Jabr say that both the internet and paper reading have their pros and cons and that is why we should utilize both and not completely drop one for another. In the article he says that “E-readers and tablets are becoming more popular as such technologies improve, but research suggest that reading on paper still boast unique advantages” (Jabr, The reading brain in the digital age: The science of paper versus screen). Jabr goes on in his article talking about the life with and without technology and comes to the conclusion that it is better to just use both for certain task and reason and not completely drop paper print and non-technological tools (The reading brain in the digital age: The science of paper versus screen). To solve our technology problem and the overuse of it, teachers and students need to learn when to use it and how much of it to use. Instead of using it to do everything have technology only be used as an addition to the tools we learned to use many years ago.