Technological advancement has been instrumental during the information age. Its impact on the education sector extends to content delivery, pedagogical approaches, and knowledge shared. Technology also affects career choices and development as almost every field in real life incorporates machines and associated software. In this article, we analyze the nature of the relationship between technology and student learning, particularly the impact on course delivery, content, and learner behavior.
How Does Technology Affect Student Learning? Disadvantages
1. Increased distraction
One of the most prominent negative technology impacts on student learning is increased distractions. Learners using technology in the classroom for reasons other than learning are less likely to grasp the course content. Notably, social media and gaming technologies play a critical disruptive role in schools.
Some learners may spend disproportionately more time on social platforms and gaming sites, reducing their study time and concentration, especially during class time. Distractions may also result from correctly used technology with disruptive features. For instance, a class teacher’s projection may distract students from other course materials, redirecting their focus from other items. Hence, technology can lead to unwanted disturbances even when used appropriately.
2. Technology requires management and training
Technology affects learning in a negative way when the users lack sufficient training. As a result, schools are forced to invest in user development and capacity building to increase efficiency and capitalize on technological advancement. Institutions must also incorporate advanced managerial strategies and tools to transform the learning environment and integrate technology into their operations.
The school’s management must have sufficient technical know-how to operate or effectively guide the processes. Senior leadership determines a school’s strategic direction. Hence, leaders must knowingly and willingly promote technology for it to be effective.
3. Increased setup and maintenance cost
Technology may also affect schools negatively due to unforeseen cost implications. For instance, the evolution of natural language processing AI, such as Chatgpt, has forced learning institutions to invest in AI detectors and advanced different modes of exam administration. Natural language processing AI provides students with writing assistance, diluting the significance of writing in the education sector.
As a result, universities and colleges globally are grappling with increased exam cheating and AI-written assignments. Unlike traditional assignment help services, AI eliminates the learner’s involvement in homework completion. AI writing technology has no room for revisions and context alignment. Hence, students are barely engaged in the research and paper writing processes, making education ineffective.
4. Reduced social interactions
While technology has remarkably revolutionized communication in the education sector, its usage by students in the classroom is a developing disaster. Learners may prefer engaging their peers online to face-to-face, especially in group discussions and information sharing. Using technology in and out of the classroom alienates humans from their colleagues, creating a barrier to social skills development.
As a result, schools create living robots that cannot interpret social cues. Graduates lack cultural competency and cannot develop social relationships. Despite increased knowledge about diversity, and social, political, and economic issues, the current generation of learners has no respect for human differences, feelings, and situations. They are used to hiding under aliases on social media and limited interactions on controlled discussion forums.
5. Increased technology-related risks
The use of technology in school also translates to unforeseen non-traditional risks, especially related to cybercrime and physical injuries. Learners become vulnerable to cyberbullying and other social exposures on social media. They are also more likely to develop internalizing habits due to the lack of physical social interactions. As a result, learners who use technology are at risk of mental health problems such as depression and ADHD. Some may also develop trauma-related conditions, such as PTSD, resulting from cyberbullying.
How Does Technology Enhance Student Learning? Benefits of Technology
1. Increased collaboration
Collaboration is a critical determinant of success in education. Technology integration in the learning environment enhances communication between the learners, primarily through group discussions. It also improves information sharing between educators and students. Learners also enjoy connections with experts, especially professional essay services over the Internet. For instance, you can get paper writing help from CustomWritings, a professional service that will write an essay for you.
The Internet has been instrumental in the company’s ability to connect students with the best-matching writer for their desired service. A team of expert writers will complete personalized and original papers from scratch with information gathered from multiple databases for maximum quality. This level of efficiency and student engagement is only possible due to technological advancement in the education sector.
2. Better comprehension
Technology also enhances content presentation mechanisms and pedagogical approaches. For instance, information technology packages such as MS PowerPoint and Prezi affect learning positively by necessitating improved course delivery and assignment administration. Educators prepare and use presentations to teach, while students use them for assignments. Regardless of the application mechanism, these platforms have a generally positive influence on the learning environment. Besides, learners can use technology to exercise their creative skills when delivering their assignments.
3. Improved accuracy of information and statistics
Besides the instructional technology used in the classroom, information technology is also credited for data collection, analysis, and result presentation techniques. This software enables researchers, learners, and educators to present statistics more accurately and make reasonable conclusions about their findings. Technology allows educators to accommodate different learning styles using accurate scaffolds and other strategies to improve knowledge uptake.
4. Increased motivation
Besides, technology boosts student learning motivation, primarily when educators use attractive materials and intuitive graphical user interfaces to present course materials. Learners are more likely to develop additional interest in the course content when technology is used in the presentation, assessment, and grading. Since learning occurs in and out of the classroom, incorporating technology in the curriculum increases a child’s curiosity, promoting research skills and building the quest for knowledge during and after lessons.
5. Boosts creativity and innovativeness
Students use technology to showcase their talent and creativity, especially in the creative sector and design. With the help of new technology such as machine learning, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, information technology students develop state-of-the-art products for use in and outside the education system. Technological advancement begins in the school environment as learners develop more interest in technology and start experimenting with development and research. Creative students formulate ideas for the corporate sectors, leading to new and exceptional products for use in everyday life.
Final Thoughts
While traditional learning revolved around reading and writing, modern schools have taken education to greater heights with the help of technology. Some institutions have moved beyond the presentation of course materials to research in technology, requiring students to prepare academic concept papers on technological advancement. As a result, technology is now embedded into the education system as a tool and a subject of study. However, this development creates unforeseen risks for learners and educators, including cybersecurity, threats, and cyberbullying.
