As our reliance on
technology has continued to increase, people have put forth the assertion that
technology has a negative effect on modern society. Mike Smith, an award-winning
editorial cartoonist featured daily in the Las Vegas Sun, applies this notion
to his work. But what Smith and others fail to consider is how much technology
makes life easier for us and that there may be other correlations to student’s
test scores than just our usage of technology.
Yes, the amount of time
we spend using our beloved devices is a lot more than it should be, but that’s not
to say that this only applies to Americans. Our dependence on technology is global
and comparing test scores in China and the U.S. based on our usage of it is
invalid. Even those top test scoring students in Shanghai probably use a decent
amount of technology. But just because Chinese students test better, doesn’t
mean they use technology any less. If anything, the correlation comes mostly
from the rigor and importance stressed on academics and that technology is a
tool when it comes to preparing for tests.
In my experience as a
student, technology has made many aspects of learning better. Having all the
files that I need for my classes in the school-issued laptop makes it much
easier to stay organized. Not only am I no longer needed to lug around all of
my heavy books and binders from class to class, there are so many aspects of
using technology that make learning easier. I am constantly using Quizlet’s
learning tools to help me prepare for tests. The repetition of flash cards and
games drill the information into my brain quickly and I’m not wasting pages of
paper in the process. Technology has pushed us forward more than it has set us
back, we just need to know our limits with how much it should be used.
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