How Much Technology is too Much?

 

    Technology surrounds us every day. The smartwatch on our wrists, the phone in our hands, the laptop we complete homework on, the washing machine and dryer used to do laundry, and even the coffee machine used every morning to give us caffeine boosts are all considered technology. According to, “How many devices will you use in your life,” by WebFix, the average American lives to be 79 years old and will have 43.9 phones, 15.8-26.3 laptops, 7.7-17.2 TVs, and 13.2 coffee makers. As you can tell technology is taking the world by storm.

    Relating this to my Technology for STEM class, it makes me wonder is there too much technology in the classroom? Or maybe a better question is, is there such a thing as too much technology in the classroom? In my opinion, there are benefits and downfalls to technology in the classroom, but is there  a fine line of too much technology?

    Starting positively, there are billions of resourses available for students at the click of a button. These resources allow students to view videos to understand topics, read articles about different concepts or other technologies to better their understanding, use online calculators to check their answers, and easily communicate with their professors. On the other hand, students are spending too much time staring at a computer screen. Personally, I spend about six or seven hours a day on my laptop completing homework. This does not include my other activities on the computer such as watching Netflix or reading a book. The recommended amount of screen time is two hours total (shout out to Shelby’s blog post). Students are spending three to four times the recommended amount of screen time. This has negative effects on students physically and mentally.

    Similar to students, teachers have access to thousands of resources. These resources can help teachers create lesson plans, worksheets, exams, and share their creations with other teachers. This semester alone we have learned about video-making software, online homework systems, learning management systems, and even apps that can solve equations. However, all the different resources can be problematic when deciding which website is better than a different one or is a certain learning management system better than another. Credibility of student also becomes problematic. How can a teacher decide if a student completed their homework or cheated off of Chegg or even one another?

    Overall, I believe technology is more good than bad right now. However, I believe there is still a point where there is such a thing as too much technology in the classroom, we simply have not reached that point yet. 

 https://www.webfx.com/blog/general/how-many-devices-will-you-use-in-your-life/