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Balance needed in use of technology
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A STUDENT’S backpack is no longer loaded with textbooks; it’s filled with a mobile phone, a laptop, MP3 player and other wearable technology gadgets.
Today’s age group from 8 to 18 is called Generation M. What is M for? Without a clear answer, mobile, media or multi-tasking are good choices.
Digital gadgets can be great studying tools, but simultaneously they can be a distraction. When students are meant to be taking notes on their laptop, they might be using their digital device to download videos, browse social networking sites, listen to music, or check out the entertainment news.
The perennial question continues: Do the benefits of digital gadgets outweigh the downsides?
Pros
Digital natives surf the Internet with great speed. Their mobile devices give them freedom to work, learn and study whenever and wherever they want. From specific information related to the Great Depression to performing a virtual surgery, apps allow students to gain knowledge and experience, even if it is in a virtual space.
From a health point of view, the athlete can select gadgets such as Nike+ or a Jawbone Up bracelet that tracks how you eat, sleep and move. The virtual assistant collects the athlete’s data and interact with her “community.” Her social media support group is always there.
Typing and editing are easier, the research process is just a click away, and communication is instant, 24/7. Parents and teachers see the benefits and look at the other side of the equation, too.
Cons
These same digital devices have reduced our face-to-face time, limiting us to 140 characters or cryptic acronyms. Students are fully engaged with their digital communities even while these trends appear to be making “the art of conversation” the next endangered species.
Cognitive science research suggests that when “students multi-task while doing schoolwork, their learning is far spottier and shallower than if the work had their full attention,” according to Larry Rossen, a professor at California State University. The learner understands and remembers less.
Learning is accelerated but at what cost?
It’s our duty as parents and educators to pass on values and morals as well as teach and model balance. And reduce our hand movement on the visual screens to preserve our human touch.
(Michael Lambert is a Concordia Middle School teacher.)
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