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Blake Johnson
Professor Melton
ENGL 5
May 1, 2016
Research Proposal
Technology is everywhere. We use it to do our jobs, entertain ourselves, travel, and even
to undergo medical procedures. However, recent years have seen the rise of technology in the
realm of education. Opinions on the matter of technology in the classroom range from
overwhelmingly positive, to critical and/or highly skeptical. Said proponents tend to view the
increased tech use in the educational setting as opportunity to expand the means by which
children (and even adults) are educated. For example, a Ron Dietel in the article Goodbye to
the Number 2 Pencil? suggests that computers more easily facilitate the highly-sought-after
performance-based testing, as opposed to the more widely-used standardized, multiple-choice
test used nowadays (Dietel). Opponents, on the other hand, see it as a potential distraction from
serious schoolwork, and just another component that can fail on its user, causing more problems
than existed in the first place. One article, 10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology in
Education, noted some risks associated with classroom technology use. These included
increased risk of cyberbullying, potential access to inappropriate content, and increased
likelihood of cheating (Futureofworking.com).
Through my research, it has become apparent to me that far more people are in support of
the idea of technology use in education than are against it. Quite simply, it was quite difficult to

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find opposition to the idea that technology in the classroom is helpful more so than it is harmful.
Thankfully for me, this finding supported my original (and current) thesis; that is, technology in
education is overall beneficial, and can provide greater accessibility and adaptability to students
in their educational careers.

The idea for this topic came to me as a result of my own experiences in education with
technology over the course of my schooling. Over the years, beginning with my elementary
school classes and their relatively scant use of technology, I have noticed an increased use of it
corresponding to the grade I was in at the time (i.e. more tech in high school than in 5th grade).
At first, the tech was primarily used as a reward for good behavior and work, which definitely
has its place in the early years of education as a motivator. However, in later years, I began to
note the potential uses of technology to make work more efficient. For example, following a
high school keyboarding class, I found myself able to use word processors at a much higher
speed than I was able to before. This enabled me to develop my current writing style that
consists of rapid, on-the-fly revisions that, functioning at the speed of my thoughts, require a fast
typing speed in order to stay on time. Had I not been exposed to that technology use in high
school, its likely that my writing style would be more slow and drawn out than it is now. This,
in addition to several other personal experiences, led me to my thesis that technology can open
several new doors and opportunities for students to develop their own personalized working
style.
I will note, however, that I was quite disappointed in the failure of my research to
produce much opposing evidence or even claims regarding the use of technology in the
classroom. Overwhelmingly, the results all favored increased use, with the only sources showing

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any sort of dissent being free, publicly-available texts (not from a journal database, and thus not
necessarily as trustworthy). This, I fear, will lead to my work seeming a bit biased towards the
pro side of the argument. I do, however, have one source that seemed to blend a milder form
of dissent with a mostly-positive outlook on the issue. In Aziz Haps article, The 5 Keys to
Educational Technology, Hap argues that educational technology would, indeed, be very
beneficial to education on the whole. He balances this, however, by cautioning that this success
would be largely conditional. For example, Hap asserts that successful use of educational
technology must include proper technique and implementation of devices by educators, and must
actually have a means of enhancing current education through technology rather than simply
throwing it into the mix without an idea of how it will improve the situation (Hap). Though
Haps article is not from a journal database, it appears to be well-founded and written, lending a
definite degree of credibility. This source, effectively included in my final material, could
provide some much-needed counterweight to my overwhelmingly pro-tech sources and thesis.
At the very least, the qualifiers that Hap lists can serve to caution that risks can be present in
techs classroom use.
Further research on my topic would certainly consist of a deep scouring for any academic
sources of dissent and opposition to the notion that increased educational tech use is beneficial.
Including more sources of this nature would give my research some much-needed balance and
humility that would lend well to my own credibility as a researcher, and diminish notions of bias
to a degree. Though, at the same time, I believe that my sources will make for a strong argument
for my thesis, and that I will not have significant trouble forming an effective case for my
argument.

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Works Cited
Dietel, Ron. Goodbye to the Number 2 Pencil? Kappa Delta Pi Record 4 April 2016: 23-28.
Web.
10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology in Education. Futureofworking.com n.p. 28
May 2015. Web. 14 April 2016.
Hap, Aziz. The 5 Keys to Educational Technology. Thejournal.com n.p. 16 September 2010.
Web. 14 April 2016.