“We’re going to slowly, slowly find out balance, but it’s going to take time”. This quote is in reference to the advancement of technology in all parts of the globes from the Frontline Digital Nation Documentary. Throughout the documentary, there is continual ambivalence about whether technology is helpful or hurtful, and there is no set conclusion in either direction. I happen to agree with the above quote, feeling that it is too soon for concrete evidence on the long-term effects of technology on humans. Yet I have hope that a balance will be found.
There were many things I found interesting about this documentary that coincided with the NMC Horizon Report. One of the topics the Digital Nation went into extensively was learning via technology in the public classroom. In all cases, it appears to be beneficial to students but it also seems to help if the students have some groundwork in healthy technology uses. The primary schools in South Korea seem to really take this seriously by teaching the children songs and having notices pinned up around the hallways toting proper ways to use the Internet. It only seems natural that if youth is going to use the Internet and technology anyway that they learn it first in school and learn it combined with what not to do. An interesting aspect of what the NMC report calls “hybrid learning”, using technology along with traditional aspects, is that students in rural schools benefit just as much by having more quality sources at their disposal.
Something I found surprising and incredibly ironic about the Digital Nation Documentary was the effect of multi-tasking on students. High level multi-taskers were selected based on how many things they were doing/using at once and tested at a center to see how much they can actually do. These students all believed that they truly were learning as much as the students who didn’t multitask and at the same time as doing something else. The study showed differently. The students tested did much worse than their peers who did multi-task. This is definitely a con for technology users. However, this seems to be the case only when humans are taking their own initiative to multi-task. It appears that when technology was introduced purposefully in the classroom students were able to concentrate which leads me to believe that technology should be taught and introduced to ALL STUDENTS since they appear to use it anyway.
The NMC Horizon report talks about the idea of technology in the classroom with the discussion of “BYOD” or bring your own device. The idea is that people are used to their own devices and don’t have to take time to learn how an employer’s or school’s function. The benefit is also one of being able to do your work on the go, updating it as things come to mind. Apparently, according to the report, it’s also beneficial for people to have their own personalized, pre-loaded content on their device – choosing their own tools for learning and preparing things for work or school.
While both the documentary and the report were really fascinating, I’m eager to learn about more conclusive evidence in the benefits and cons of technology in the classroom and wish there could be quicker reports that don’t get outdated as soon as we get new technology.
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