M1 Blog Posting: The Technology Takeover

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 (6^th 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?

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