Effects of Technology
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Friday September 19, 2008
Are we using technology as a lifestyle rather than a tool?
I will be the first to admit that I love technology and the many gadgets which have developed from innovations in technology. My concern is the influence technology is having on individuals. An example is texting. Students are so used to texting that it has affected their writing skills without them even realizing it. I had a student tell me that he failed an English paper because he wrote like he was texting. When he received his grade he could not understand what the problem was. The teacher had to explain to him that using texting abbreviations was incorrect grammar, spelling, and absolutely inacceptable when writing a paper. The student stated that he was shocked at this explanation, and I was shocked that a student would write an English paper and include texting abbreviations in it. I also worry that technology is changing our ability to communicate face-to-face with each other. I often observe students at lunch sitting outside on a bench and there is no conversation taking place between the students because each student is either talking on their cell phone or texting someone. What happened to talking face-to-face with friends? I still like to see the smiles of my family and friends and if the smile is not there I know something is wrong. Non-verbal communication is so important and is becoming extinct with the use of todays technology. It seems to me that we are not using technology as a tool, but rather we live for technology. Can you imagine the reaction if cell phone service and Internet service were interrupted for a long period of time? I think the younger generation would definitely panic. We would probably be surprised how dependant we have all become.
Karen Hughes
Posted at 09:56PM Sep 19, 2008 by Karen Hughes in General | Comments[8]
This is a personal weblog, I do not speak for my employer.
I totally agree with you! I have noticed even when I am typing an email to someone that I may initially type "u" instead of "you" and have to realize that I need to pay attention to what I am typing.
While I am surprised that the student was shocked, I am not surprised that the student did it. That's the problem with the students these days. Why in the world would you think it was okay to turn in an English paper using text lingo. That's just like they don't understand that the language they use at home or outside with friends is not the same language you should use inside the school building and with teachers.
Posted by Staci Lyon on September 20, 2008 at 02:45 PM EDT #
You two are so right about this. I've graded English papers that definitely had their grade diminished by text lingo. Something I hate seeing is text lingo being used in professional emails! It creates an atmosphere that becomes too informal.
The lack of face to face communication is indeed alarming. When I was an undegraduate, instant messaging was huge. While it was convenient for telling people when to meet you in the dorm lobby, it certainly cut down on the richness of communication in person.
Posted by Jennifer Tingen on September 20, 2008 at 10:08 PM EDT #
You comment about one-to-one communication is so right. I have observed teens at the pool all sitting in the sun texting each other. Although the person they are texting is sitting right next to them, they don't talk, they just text. They don't know who to talk to one another. This is becoming a serious problem which I see no end to.
Posted by Jennifer Cable on September 21, 2008 at 09:18 PM EDT #
Actually, I think this points out a shortcoming in young people today. They have to be entertained all the time. They don't seem to be able just to think for a few minutes. Whenever there's a pause they break out the phones.
Rhonda, writing in old codger mode
Posted by Rhonda on September 22, 2008 at 09:30 PM EDT #
I think with the increase of technological tools available to students today, we see the effects of their use (ie. texting, im-ing, googling). They seem to be well-versed in non-personal communication, but lack some of the face-to-face interactions many of us are use to and learned in school. I would also say we need to use this to our advantage. Working from home and things like podcasts, video conferencing and emailing are all factors I appreciate as I have grown older. I believe this challenge is something we have to embrace as we prepare students for the 21st century.
Posted by Emily Jessee on September 27, 2008 at 09:53 AM EDT #
This is a very interesting post and got me to thinking about how technology is being used by our youth. In some ways, technology has enabled students to become more lazy and/or careless. This then places a big burden on the teacher to make sure that students are utilizing technology to effectively enhance their learning and understanding. So how as teachers, can we be sure that students are using technology as effective learning tools when in the classroom?
Posted by Lori on October 01, 2008 at 02:39 PM EDT #
I think this is an interesting topic for me, too. It is amazing how technology gathers young generation`s attention really much. You are right may be it can be a threat against face-to-face interaction, but I agree with Emily about that we can use this in a positive way. As you mentioned, you are correcting lots of spelling, or some writing errors while assessing. I think this is the best way for student to learn language rules. They can see the corrections on their own mistakes, which they think not a mistake, so I think what they learn will be more durable.
Posted by Zeynep on October 05, 2008 at 07:13 PM EDT #
A world without cellular service or internet? That would be a great research study. Our students are way to dependent on that technology. I have read journal entries which the students knew would be graded and it is very hard to know that we are graduating a lot of them in a few short months. These same students have a desire to go to college and it is a harsh reality that they will face as they are very unprepared.
Posted by Veronica Lewis on October 13, 2008 at 08:44 PM EDT #