Gilbert 1

Ben Gilbert

Professor Freeland

ENG 1201

21 March 2021

How Does Technology Impact Education?

When COVID-19 caused schools across America to close and students were forced to

complete their lessons online, parents, teachers, and students alike struggled to adapt to the new

structure. What most people thought would be a two-weeks hurdle turned into months. While

there have been online options for schooling for many years, until 2020, distance learning was

definitely not the norm. How would closing schools and shifting away from in-person learning

impact education? Would students be able to adapt and learn online? Would the new demands on

parents to help their children learn be a detriment to their children’s learning? Navigating the

technology brings its own issues, therefore putting even more stress on an already stressed

family dynamic tasked with online school. Schools were quick to meet the needs of the students

as many loaned out equipment to those who did not own a laptop/chromebook, but is putting the

technology in the students’ hands enough to help them succeed?

Online schooling is a very different experience for kindergarteners as opposed to high

schoolers. Besides learning new material without a teacher, students have to first learn how to

use the technology. “Some students are struggling with the online format itself, which requires

logging into multiple platforms and accessing multiple websites to complete coursework and

participate in virtual meetings with their teachers and classmates,” (Charles). If a student has to

spend all of their time trying to navigate the sites and the format, they are not spending the time

learning the curriculum. When children experience such difficulties using the technology, does it
Gilbert 2

make them mentally and emotionally drained, resulting in little to no learning? Is technology,

then, a detriment to learning, at times?

Virtual school requires very different skills from its teachers and administrators. The

COVID situation last year forced teachers and administrators to scramble to create an online

system to educate their students. If the interaction is between only the teacher and the student,

does the grouping of students matter? Some parents have pointed out the distribution of students

ignored the diversity. “One parent, whose son’s last name is Wong, said 15 of the 29

kindergarten children in his son’s York Region online class have the same surname,”

(Alphonso). In the rush, it seems that some natural accommodations or purposeful grouping

tactics were overlooked. Many hope for their child’s classroom population to be more

representative of the entire district, regardless of its being online or in person.

Everyone knows that some children have advantages in education. Many districts

provided internet service and/or laptops for students whose family cannot afford those luxuries.

Would providing these items level the playing field for students? Children from affluent families

would more often have parents who could afford to help the children learning online. Certainly,

children need supervision and direction. “Encouraging kids to complete their homework…is

often tough for families managing full-time work and family obligations on a tight budget,”

(Calcarco). Poorer children who have access to school-owned technology still face a

disadvantage. There is an “unequal burden (that school) closures place on students and their

families. That means…not all parents are equally able to help their kids keep up academically,”

(Calcarco). The technology makes the learning divide even further.

Technology has impacted students, their families, and their teachers in many ways. One

positive contribution that technology lends to education is by giving instant feedback to the
Gilbert 3

learner. Where a teacher has to navigate the responses of 28 children, many online apps and

programs can give instant feedback. Technology can also provide personalized learning that

would be difficult in the traditional setting. “Pocket Prep offer(s) instant feedback on what the

user has learned. As the learner becomes more proficient, he or she can track their progress and

stay motivated,” (Murphy). Educators can utilize similar technologies to motivate some reluctant

learners. Students are drawn to electronics, so technology might be more enticing to them.

One criticism of technology in education is that it isolates students. This need not always

be the case, however. “Technology-focused education doesn’t involve a class of students

learning by themselves, staring at a book. Working groups foster group-activities, discussions,

and debates,” (Lynch). Technology can isolate in many instances, but in the right applications

can stimulate interactions and encourage group discussions. Technology can also make learning

come alive in ways that traditional teaching cannot. “Simulation software helps to bring to the

classroom real activities that would be impossible to see without technology. By using specific

simulation tools, students can see planetary movements, how a tornado develops, or how

dinosaurs lived,” (Lynch). Such simulations can stimulate the imagination and deepen the

learning.

After the countrywide school closures in 2020, online learning was substituted quickly,

mostly by people with little to no training or experience in teaching children remotely. It seems

that such a sudden jolt was rife with shortcomings, and students probably did not learn what they

might have otherwise. It might not be a fair judgment to say that technology impacts student

learning negatively, however. There are some situations that it might not be ideal, but could it be

implemented in ways to accelerate learning? Can technology help remedy some of the bullying

or get those students participating who would otherwise try to stay invisible in the classroom?
Gilbert 4

Works Cited

Alphonso, Caroline. “Diversity of virtual classrooms lost in scramble to organize online

learning.” Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada], 25 Sept. 2020, p. A1, A17. Gale In

Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A636450700/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=913dd297.

Calarco, Jessica. "Online learning will be hard for kids whose schools close – and the digital

divide will make it even harder for some of them." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online

Collection, Gale, 2021. Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/MIUPZM999332869/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=O

VIC&xid=c91a0b16.

Charles, Michelle. “Under Pressure: Kids and Parents Stressed by Distance Learning.”

Stillwater NewsPress (OK), 5 Sept. 2020. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=2W62273560787&site=e

ds-live.

Lynch, Matthew. “7 Ways Technology Is Impacting Modern Education- the Tech Edvocate.”

The Tech Edvocate, 24 July 2018, www.thetechedvocate.org/7-ways-technology-

impacting-modern-education/.

Murphy, Peter. “5 Ways Technology Impacts Learning Today.” ELearning Industry, 11 Dec.

2017, https://elearningindustry.com/5-ways-technology-impacts-learning-today.