Critical Reflection 1: Driving Question 1

“What is the impact of technology on education and on us?"

Description;

Technology has become increasingly more relied on within communities across the globe. Different variations of technologies have been brought into education systems from primary schools through to tertiary education environments like Tafes and Universities. It began with the introduction of digital devices being utilised for research, writing, brainstorming, assessments and group projects and collaboration. My own experience of the digital takeover shifts back to primary school through the introduction of “BYOD” (Bring Your Own Device). Once devices were welcomed into the classroom the irreparable damages to learning had begun. Technology became a significant part of everyday learning and became heavily relied on for numerous types of activities from writing and storytelling to maths games and science activity websites. While this provided great expansion of learning opportunities, the reliance quickly outweighed the convenience.

Feelings;

At the time, the initial introduction of devices in school seemed beneficial. Tasks and assignments were made quicker, easier and more efficient. However, reflecting upon my learning path from then until now I discovered the damage relying on technology had on my fundamentals of learning. Substantial writing tasks were completed by typing on devices with spellcheckers and grammar assistance, instead of being hand-written. This meant I had fewer opportunities to develop the appropriate muscles in my hand, develop adequate hand-writing endurance, and gain the ability to independently recognise errors in my own writing. This heavily impacted my HSC as I wasn’t used to writing for extended periods of time, so I struggled to write my three-hour long English paper without making careless spelling errors that technology wasn’t going to automatically fix for me.

Evaluation;

There are significant benefits to technology amongst the education system and other everyday communities as well. In an occupation setting, technology makes research quicker and more convenient, makes data analysis more organised and easier to access, and allows for rural and remote citizens to access online sources. In an education setting, technology allows online platforms like ‘Google Classroom’ to make learning, teaching, and assessing more accessible for students and teachers, it allows for more extensive resources and easier access to materials, and it allows collaboration between students that’s accessible outside of school hours. The negative outcomes were the lack of dexterity development, cognitive decline in comprehension due to constantly searching things rather than independent problem solving, decrease in the need to spell-check and proof-read writing pieces and the mislead in lack of development in students noticed by teachers. Another massive on-going issue with devices is the need for internet connection and the divide it causes for children with different socio-economic statuses.

Analysis;

Technology was inevitably going to become a part of education technology develops and becomes more relevant and relied on within our outer society. Removing technology now would be impractical and unrealistic, so instead the current approach is to decrease over-use in areas of learning it isn’t required and increase more physical and tactile activities that reduce the unnecessary use of technology. “Emerging trends and advanced technologies for computational intelligence” Discusses that technology can be beneficial for students as it increases their digital competence, demonstrating why total elimination of technology would not be beneficial. (Chen et al., 2016). “International Journal of Educational Research” Discusses the importance of a healthy balance when utilising technology as a learning tool. They discuss the decline in cognitive development and the socialisation issues within the ‘socio-economic digital divide’. (Ventouris et al., 2021)

Conclusion;

Technology has both positive benefits and negative outcomes. I’ve learnt that it isn’t necessarily the use of technology, but the amount of use and the way it’s used that determines these outcomes. A strong balance is the key to ensuring students are benefiting from the valuable educational opportunities but aren’t subsequently suffering the consequences from the limit to their foundational development.

Action Plan;

As a future teacher, I will aim to create a purposeful balance between traditional tactile learning and digital learning. I will enforce daily activities that include physical books, efficient handwriting, and the use of paper copy resources rather than online based. Technology will be incorporated where appropriate like research tasks, however, even when technology is more convenient, I will consider whether it is truly the most effective tool for the students’ learning.

References

Chen, L., Kapoor, S., & Bhatia, R. (2016). Emerging Trends and Advanced Technologies for Computational Intelligence. Springer.

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Basic Books.

Ventouris, A., Panourgia, C., & Hodge, S. (2021). Teachers’ perceptions of the impact of technology on children and young people’s emotions and behaviours. International Journal of Educational Research, 2(6), 369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2010.05.002

a School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of West London, UKb Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, UK