Is Technology Making Students Lazy?

by Halle Gronlund    

     With the use of online homework, zoom, online instruction, and social media, the world of education has turned to the use of technology during this unprecedented time. At the start of the pandemic, we had no other option than to turn to technology to help us continue learning and teaching. We would have struggled without our current advancements. Now with students waking up 2 minutes before class, lying in bed during class, and cheating through online homework, it begs the question: “Are students lazier because of this technology?” As we navigate our way back to a “normal” post-pandemic world in the next few months, we will see the effects of the pandemic in our education.

     Technology has not always been a controversial topic in education. We talk to our parents and there was no such thing as cheating or online homework when they went to school. They didn’t have the websites to look up a problem when they got stuck or text a friend to send them the answers. They did the work on their own, for the most part at least. With the developments of technology even before COVID-19, students get stuck on a problem for 30 seconds and the first thought in their head is to look it up on the internet. And that is being generous on some occasions, some students don’t even try for themselves and look up the answer the minute they get the assignment. We wonder why homework grades are soaring and test grades are plummeting. With COVID-19, I feel as if this is only worsening. Time management was given to students to figure out on their own. They received a list of assignments for the day and they weren’t given a certain time to do it. This led to procrastinating until the last moment and only having time to look up the answers to turn the assignment in on time. I can only imagine the student would see how easy this is and never want to do another assignment on their own, even after this pandemic is over.

     Zoom is great. Great in a pandemic when you have no other option than to record lectures for students to watch at a given time or whenever the student found time. Great for meetings with people across the country. Even great to catch up with family that lives states away. It’s not great for when students are too lazy to get out of bed in the morning and jump onto class 2 minutes before it starts. It’s not the teacher’s fault, but the responsibility lies within the student. Students have found a way to make life “easier” in a pandemic. I mean I would love to lay in bed, watch class, take notes, and understand what is going on, but that’s just not how it works most of the time. No teacher is watching you making sure you are paying attention, so many students do not pay attention. There are so many distractions to take your focus off class that aren’t present when you attend class in a classroom. Don’t get me wrong, some students need zoom as their only way to learn in this pandemic, but some students are abusing the system because they are too lazy to walk or drive to class.

     To wrap things up, I think technology is super useful when it is used right. But I also believe students are not using the technology in the way it is supposed to be used. Students are only using it to make their lives the easiest they can. Without the educational technology created, the pandemic would have been even more of a mess. But as students, educators, and parents, we need to reflect on how we are using the technology given to us.