Nowadays, technology is recognized as the compass the guides humanity toward evolution. In fact, numerous educational institutions have been heavily relying on it to streamline the learning process and offer the best conditions to enrich knowledge, compile information, and master a variety of essential skills. A groundswell of voices, however, emerged in the last few years igniting a substantial interest. While some individuals believe that the introduction of science into the realm of education is useful, others oppose this notion and posit that it poses significant challenges and negatively influence the educational system. This essay will investigate both viewpoints and present my stance about this matter that implementing technological gadgets into education has its own set of perks and downsides.
On the one hand, the integration of this digital transformation into the educational setting has offered individuals a plethora of unparalleled opportunities. First of all, it eliminated the necessity of physically attending sessions. Recently, numerous students worldwide have been present in lectures through online platforms, such as Zoom, Google Meet, Moodle, just to name a few. Simply, online learning, also renowned as virtual learning, rendered humankind an invaluable option to study from long distances. To be clear, such an addition has been of great help from people who dwell in remote areas, have physical disabilities, or suffer from other severe or chronic ailments. Moreover, it simplified conducting researches, administering projects, preparing presentations, and revising for exams. In reality, the current technological advancements has been of paramount importance due to their quintessential role in catering the unique needs of each student. To be lucid, it has been a significant parameter that allows individuals to amass and garner as much information, statistics, and data as possible effortlessly and in short time through online resources, such as digital textbooks, articles, podcasts, conferences, and other web-based materials. In the same token, this has not only aided them to gain time but also boosted their final scores in the exams and made them excel academically.
On the other hand, there is a variety of shortcomings that contributes to a multitude of impediments. To begin with, although technology has enhanced and promoted the way learners and instructors communicate with each other, it has also deteriorated and vandalised other aspects related to the same matter. Simply put, more and more people have become over-reliant on distance learning, which in turn have impacted their communication skills. In other words, renouncing face-to-face interactions has turned to be an obstacle in the long run. This dilemma has a great relationship with one of the most ubiquitous and widespread issues in the 21st century, which is isolation. Therefore, the ability to communicate with people tends to be one of the most fundamental skills in today’s job market. Next, it has pronouncedly influenced autonomy. A multitude of individuals have been utilizing artificial intelligence to generate essays and even disserations, which curbed and impaired their ability to be more responsible and accountable on themselves. This trend, thus, wrecks numerous capacities, namely critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and self-confidence. Ultimately, it catalyzed learners to become indolent. In a similar vein, technology has been viewed as a medium that encourages passiveness in the classrooms. In reality, offering a lecture utilizing a projector has been considered as more monotonous than providing the same lecture in the traditional way. In addition, it has eradicated the need to read books and be diligent to find information, due to the fact that many learners employ digital tools like Chatgpt to obtain the needed knowledge.
Eventually, it is an undeniable fact that technology has affected human beings in several ways. While there is a proportion of individuals who posit that it has been beneficial due to its capacity to streamline several processes, such as attending sessions and gathering information, there is another group of people who dissent from this insight and hypothesize that it has only demolished aspects, like communication, autonomy, critical thinking, problem-solving, etc. In my opinion, both viewpoints are valid and justifiable.