For many
students, parents, and teachers today, the overuse
of technology is a major cause of concern both inside and outside the
classroom (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p.13).
As I write this post on my laptop while streaming Pandora, referencing my
textbook on my iPad, and trying to ignore the constant buzz of my iPhone’s text
and Facebook alerts, I can’t help but think about the technology overload in my
own life. How can anyone get any work done in this environment?
The increasing
use of technology in the classroom opens up a number of distractions for both
students and teachers. Now that many students, even in elementary school, use
iPads or mobile devices in the classroom or for homework, it has become
increasingly difficult to eliminate the distractions that these gadgets bring with them.
It is so tempting to listen to music or to constantly check Facebook. For my generation, the integration of technology into
everyday life and multitasking with technology is normal (Roblyer
& Doering, 2013, p.13). Most
young adults live amongst a constant stream of texts, tweets, and notifications
that seemingly cause little disruption. I can have lunch with a friend while
simultaneously having a text conversation with another friend a state away. But in this situation, am I truly engaged? While
we drive, we listen to music, follow Google maps, and talk to Siri. But are we
really focused on the road? As Roblyer and
Doering point out, “studies have shown that accuracy and safety usually suffer
when people try to attend to more than one task at a time” (p.13). If we are
learning through technology, watching videos, playing games, searching the
internet, and overloading our brains with digital media, how much are we really
learning? What are we missing?
A recent study
from the Pew Research Center points out a number of problems that the overuse
of technology has caused students. In
his response to this study, Matt Ritchel writes that “in
interviews, teachers described what might be called a ‘Wikipedia problem,’ in
which students have grown so accustomed to getting quick answers with a few
keystrokes that they are more likely to give up when an easy answer eludes
them” (Richtel 2012). We live in a technology savvy society
where an answer is just a quick Google search away, and have gotten too
used to technology doing our work for us.
[Click HERE to read Richtel’s article in its entirety]
We are reminded
that “technologically possible does not
equal desirable, feasible, or inevitable” (Roblyer &
Doering, 2013, p.10). Many technologies we could use for teaching may not be the
most beneficial to the overall classroom or to all students. As
technologies advance and integrate into learning, we must be careful what we
allow in our classrooms. “Better
technology demands that we become critical consumers of its power and
capability,” reminding us just how much technology impacts our lives and our
brains (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p.10).
Doering, A.H., & Roblyer, M.D. (2013). Integrating educational
technology into teaching (6th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Education, Inc.
Richtel,
Matt. (2012, November 1). Technology changing how students
learn, teachers say. New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/education/technology-is-
changing-how-students-learn-teacherssay.html?
learn, teachers say. New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/education/technology-is-
changing-how-students-learn-teacherssay.html?
pagewanted=1&_r=0
