Impact of Technology on Education
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Abstract
In 1971, C. P Snow has remarked, “Technology is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other” (New York Times). Well, when one analyses the tremendous impact of technology on human life, it’s evident that the man has make a balance between optimisation and overindulgence. That is why the introduction of state-of-the art technologies in daily life is a matter to analyse. One such question is the introduction f videogames in middle schools to enhance learning. This essay aims at illuminating the scope of videogames and their effects on educational system along with its drawbacks to arrive at a suitable conclusion.
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Introduction
It was put forth by C. L. R. James, “Technological discoveries are the spermatozoa of social change” (Brainyquote.com). And the utter dependence on technology bears testimony to the fact that the technological advancements so far has transformed the life of man. The impact of technology on our lives is a debatable topic- whether there should be any limit to how much we incorporate gadgets in daily life or we should keep welcoming each invention by optimising it?
Talking of the impact of technology on education, one cannot deny that it has facilitated learning and opened a wide spectrum of opportunities for students to experience education practically and grow. This essay aims at analyzing the impact of educational videogames on learning in middle schools. The point which has been elucidated here is that there should be a balance between the optimisation of technology and its overindulgence. The educational videogames should be introduced in middle schools but with a restricted access of few hours a week so that the learning process is enhanced without any negative side-effects such as addiction to game, affected eye-sight or undesirable changes in behaviour.
Impact of technology on education
There are revolutionary changes in the educational system as well process of learning after the invention of computers, laptops, pendrive, smart board, smartphones and above everything else, Internet. Now, there is an encyclopaedia of credible sources to guide a student to learn a chapter of any subject. Internet opens a world of information, be it related to any level of academic qualification or any subject. Smartphones, computers and laptops enable children to retrieve any information in just a few clicks. For better understanding, they can go watch the demonstration through videos on sites like YouTube. There is a better impact of watching videos on learning
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than usual trend of reading a book. Videogames if introduced in curriculum in middle schools would not only thrill students but also improve their perception of a concept. Practical demonstration through videogames would give a clearer picture of a concept to the young students. Different scholars have different opinions on the effect of videogames in learning. According to Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen in Making Sweet Music: The Educational Use of Computer Games, such educational videogames lacks integration of the learning experience with playing experience, which leads to the learning becoming subordinated the stronger play experience (page 2). So, the child would concentrate solely on playing the game to get to higher levels in gaming but the real objective of learning gets avoided in the process. But, such level of addiction to game would hopefully not happen if the gaming hours are restricted. An hour to two of educational videogames per week should not hamper the cause.
Benefits of educational videogames
There can be certain advantages on incorporating videogames in schools. No doubt that if a videogame when presents a chapter in an interesting, animated way, it becomes easier and more interesting for students to learn it. Also, certain games demand swiftness of decision making along with pressing of keypad manually to play the game. This does improve the reaction time. According to Mark Griffiths of Nottingham University, videogames can assist children in setting goals, ensuring goal rehearsal, providing feedback, reinforcement, and maintaining records of behavioural change (Page 47). He also indicated that such games may help children overcome technophobia and hence, in over time, it may also help eliminate gender imbalance (Page 48). But all these claims need many more researches with quantified results. The most obvious benefit is the interest these games can induce in children.
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The dark side of technology
It is not as easy as it seems to incorporate videogames in middle schools and expect the students to draw maximum benefits from it. The students of middle school are not only immature enough to understand the serious drawbacks of dependence on machines in the long run, but also tend to seek fun in most of the activities they do. As a result, the motive of efficient learning might get skipped in the charm of videogames. If there are a few points to support the incorporation of games in educational curriculum in schools, there are plenty of reasons which can refute the same idea. As Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen puts forth, such educational videogames fails to integrate the learning with the computer game and hence, the focus of the students shifts from learning to merely gaming (Page 4). Hence, one cannot confirm that educational videogames help students focus on learning only.
There are several psychological effects on those with addiction to computer games, be it in the name of educational work or violent games. The regular video gamers have less mercy and respect for life, dignity and round. They can easily think of killing a being on screen; they can indulge in severe rash rally. Those kids who are used to educational games have short-temper and they are susceptible to stress a lot (Saisan et. al, 2011) Coming back to physical injury, there is chance that the longer exposure to videogame screens can hamper the eyesight as well.
In Neil Portman’s Amusing ourselves to death, it has been shown how man would get lost in a sea of irrelevance in the name of information. Here, it has been tried to show how overindulgence and optimization are getting misunderstood and hence, misrepresent students would end up being game-addicts rather than learners. There are popular games like Tekken and CounterStrike can easily inspire a child to become desperate to win or violent enough to stop
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valuing life. In Nielsen’s Making Sweet Music: The Educational Use of Computer Games, it has been asserted that in the game called Math Missions Grades 3-5: The Amazing Arcade Adventure by Scholastic, the player earns money for every correct and used it for buying arcades. So, the focus shifts to earning more money. It would not make them better in behavior but gradually, the fake world of gaming or computers would take over their reality. Is not that what is happening on Facebook- fake identities and profile (Polly Klaas Foundation, 2006). Moreover, the middle school students are already busy gaming after their classes are over. So, why to introduce them to flashing lights of screen at school too for hours? There has to be a balance. Else, the swiftness earned in game might go useless in front of the aggressive or violent behaviour earned by students in order to win the game.
Conclusion
In simple words, the technology of educational videogames must be introduced to middle schools but with a restricted time of access. No student should be allowed to use it for more than 2 to 3 hours a week. Also, such sessions must be invigilated by good teachers. It is hoped that the videogames render the students with high-quality elucidation of concepts through animation. It is also expected that the games teach students to be swift, witty and decisive. But there should be a great emphasis of careful selection of contents for videogames along with restricted time to access the videogames. It has been discussed for years how technology can becomes our masters rather than slave if we let the dependence on it foster beyond normal levels. So, while deciding the schedule of educational videogames, the point of making balance between optimisation of technology and its overindulgence must be weighed logically.
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References
BrainyQuotes.com. “Technological Quotes”. Retrieved from Web on 7 May 2013 http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/technological.html
Griffiths, M. (2002). The Educational Benefits of Videogames. Retrieved from Web on 7 May 2013 http://sheu.org.uk/sites/sheu.org.uk/files/imagepicker/1/eh203mg.pdf
Nielsen, S. E. Making Sweet Music: The Educational Use of Computer Games. Retrieved from Web on 7 May 2013 www.egenfeldt.eu/papers/sweet_music.pdf
Postman, Neil. (1985). Amusing Ourselves To Death. Penguin Books, New York.
Saisan, J, Smith, M, Robinson L & Segal, J. (2011). Internet Addiction, Signs, Symptoms, Treatments and Self Help. Retrieved from Web on 7 May 2013 http://www.netaddiction.com/articles/symptoms/pdf
TheQuotesGarden.com. “Quotes on Technology”. Retrieved from Web on 7 May 2013
http://www.quotegarden.com/technology.html
