“We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.”
– David Warlick.
As technological advancements surround human life, Warlick’s words hold true. According to a survey, about 81% of college students have admitted that incorporating technology in their learning methods has significantly improved their grades.
Moreover, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world in 2020, it became glaringly obvious how vital technology is to ensure that students can continue their education despite the emergency shut-down of educational institutions.
While most would praise how technology has helped students in their learning journey, some would likely point out how excessive technology has negatively affected student learning.
Like most things in life, this too has its advantages and disadvantages. On that note, let’s dive in to see the overall effects of technology on student learning.
How Does Technology Help Students In Learning?
Students become familiar with technology from a young age. If you look around you, you’ll find them either engaged on their mobile phones with games or streaming the latest series on Netflix.
However, entertainment isn’t the only place where they make the most use of technology. Studies show that students have shown immense progress in learning due to education. Let’s see how this comes about:
Technology increases student motivation
Despite belonging to the same classroom, you’ll notice that some students consistently perform better than others.
Those who do not score well tend to lose their motivation when they believe that their classmates and professors will judge them for their poor performance. This usually leads to further deterioration of learning.
However, with the help of technology, these students can freely take online quizzes on the subjects they need to improve without the fear of judgment.
Widens your scope for resources
Before the widespread use of technology, any time you required assignment help for a particular subject, you would have to go to the library or archive and spend hours trying to find the books you need for research. This isn’t the most efficient method due to the amount of time and energy spent on the task.
Technology helps you to look for valuable resources with just a few taps on your mobile phone. For example, the search engine can help you find published articles by esteemed authors and online versions of rare books crucial for your research.
Provides you free resources to improve your assignments
It’s pretty standard for students to make errors when they work on assignments in a hurry. Due to the extreme academic stress, it’s always a rush to complete one paper before moving on to the next. Therefore, you’re left with no time to go through your writing and rectify any mistakes.
However, with the help of online resources like the word counter taool, all you have to do is copy your assignment in the required section, and it will let you know the number of words in your paper, making it easier to fix the length.
Can Technology Harm Student Learning?
Shorter concentration periods
With the continuous use of technology, students have grown used to having shorter concentration periods. Some of the most significant companies like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram have understood this well and introduced short video features that are just a few minutes long.
Hence, all of these further enable the students to have shorter attention spans. No professor can wrap up their lectures in less than three minutes like these videos.
As a result, it becomes a challenge for the students to keep their concentration in class. As a result, they end up missing out on crucial parts of the lecture that affect their final grades.
Wrong sources feed you incorrect information
Many students depend on Wikipedia as a source of knowledge. However, anyone on the internet can edit those pages to suit their liking.
Additionally, when you try to search for a query, you might notice that you end up with hundreds of responses that differ from one another. Hence, it becomes challenging to determine which source contains the most legitimate information.
Challenging to keep up with online courses
Online courses were always present, even before the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these courses come with their own set of challenges.
High internet speed is a must – Without good internet speed, you’ll face lags on online lectures, which can be highly frustrating. In the end, you miss out on good chunks of the class.
Difficult to concentrate – Learning from the comforts of your home might not be the best for those who live near roads with screeching car noises every few seconds.
Less enthusiasm – As much as you’d like to keep your spirit for online classes, it can be quite challenging without the usual student-teacher interaction.
With the COVID-10 pandemic making it an essential part of academic life, newer advancements are constantly being developed to make student learning simple and hassle-free.
Author bio:
Anne Gill is one of the best freelance assignment experts at some of the UK’s most reputable online writing services. In addition, she assists students who look for proofreading services online. Karen has a Master’s in Journalism and is working on her Ph.D. from a reputed university.