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Lacey Skaggs

Mrs. Cramer

College Composition 1

26 January 2017

The Power of Technology in Education

Technology has changed over the last few decades. Throughout the years, cell phones,

iPads, computers, and most importantly, internet, has overruled our society and how teachers

teach in our education system. In today's society, technology is highly used amongst school

districts and have become a major issue involving the educators and the school districts.

Technology has become present in many aspects of our lives and it being involved within schools

is a huge demeanor.

Technology in education has its pro's and con's. Technology advances independent

learning in a classroom. Almost anything can be found on the internet. Although there is a

questionable amount of legitimacy of the things you read online, the internet can be considered

as an educational resource for students. A major disadvantage is the lack of interest in studying.

Since everything is able to be reached through online, students are prone to have poor studying

habits and a poor attitude toward education. With that being said, students that have a poor

attitude toward education tend to forget about the little and important things about studying.

They are more likely to rely on the internet and search engines instead of getting input from their
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teachers or a book, therefore when it comes time to take an exam, students chances of passing

are very slim.

Having technology can be an issue versus it being put to a good use. Sure, it has the pros,

but we cant forget about the bad things it brings. Technology can be used to access other peoples

work. Plagiarism has expanded more and more and most importantly, it gives students easy

access to papers, notes and tests, which makes it difficult for teachers to determine whether or

not the students work is actually theirs. Another issue with technology being allowed in

classrooms is it encourages laziness. Not only does it allow students to have resources right at

their fingertips, it prevents them from actually getting up and going to get a book where as the

book probably has the correct information you are looking for.

Back in the day, it used to be "the dog ate my homework." Not any more. Now it is "I had

it all saved to a document but then my computer crashed and it deleted all of my work." Which in

fact, does happen. But that is not an excuse for students to blow off their work. Cell phones have

been a major factor in the students lack of work and participation. With the temptation of the cell

phones allowed in school and on desks, it distracts students from their work and focuses more on

their social life. School districts block most websites such as Facebook and twitter off of the

computer but students can find a loophole through that. They can enter those websites through

their cellphones and/or find links that have slipped through allowing them to gain access to those

websites.

Although, if used the internet is used correctly, technology can also help students prepare

for their future careers. In today's generation, students are expected to be digitally literate in

order to be successful in the work place where computers are most commonly used. As our

generation becomes more in depth with technology, it is better for students to be fully prepared
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for the work force and being technologically developed. Education in technology helps close

those learning gaps more than ever before.

Perhaps you were told to do a homework assignment and you were given two resources

and one was the internet and one was a textbook. Most people would refrain from using the

textbook because they believe that the internet is a better source of information and it is quicker

to use instead of taking the time and going through the textbook, even though you can not

necessarily believe everything you read on the internet. But students tend to not notice that the

textbook is put to better use because they think that they can get answers right away and be

finished with the assignment and play on their cell phones.

Schools are increasing the use of computers and digital tablets to each student. In 2013,

schools purchased more than 23 million devices for each classroom. (Herold). Having

technology in education can help students become more technologically skilled and that can

further their skills in modern workplaces. The organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development found that countries have 15-year old students use computers in the classroom

scored the worst on international reading and math tests. (Herold)

Students say they are good at multitasking and that it is easy for them to be on their

phone as well as paying attention in class. We've known for some time that multi-tasking is bad

for the quality of cognitive work, and is especially punishing of the kind of cognitive work we

ask of college students (Shirky). People believe that if they start multi-tasking, it will help them

get more done. Multi-tasking progresses the process of procrastination, however, it does not

significantly degrade performance.

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Overall, since technology has been in education, our education system has changed over

the last decade. It has become a valuable tool for teaching and learning throughout classrooms,

but it can also be considered a distraction. Although, there is no right or wrong answer about

whether or not technology should actually be in education, it does have its plusses and minuses.

Teachers need to be prepared to use technology effectively, that way cell phones or computers

can be put to a good use in schools.

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Bibliography

Herold, Benjamin. "Technology in Education: An Overview." Education Week. December 23,

2016. Accessed January 23, 2017.

"Why a leading professor of new media just banned technology use in class." The Washington Post.

Valerie Strauss, n.d. Web. Jan. 2017.

Networks, Secure Edge. "10 Reasons Today's Students NEED Technology in the Classroom."

SecurEdge Networks - Enterprise Wi-Fi Service Providers. Ashley Wainwright, n.d. Web. Jan.

2017.