Karrah Augle Instructor: Elliot English 111 Learning to be Lazy What is the point of learning?

Is it to be able to pass classes, or gain knowledge for real life application? Looking around my classroom I see the majority of students using laptops and other technology. Although this could be used as a very helpful learning tool, it could also create issues in the learning environment. You may look around and think these students are concentrated and diligently researching for their next assignment. However, on many occasions I have looked up and seen the student in front of me playing a game, or chatting through a social media website. They were focusing all of their attention on the screen in front of them rather than the instructor is not what a college student should be accomplishing during their limited class time. In high school, students have the same teacher five days a week. This gives students the opportunity to ask questions and have a teacher to guide them to an answer. College, however, is much different. Students may go a week without seeing their instructor. This is why class time is essential. It shouldnt be spent texting, or playing games. Its the students responsibility to gather and sort through information. However, class time provides the students with the opportunity to analyze their work. Ive found my peers feedback is extremely helpful. Technology provides a distraction if not used properly. I believe it takes a special kind of person to successfully attend college classes. The use of technology is perfectly acceptable. However, it must be used for the right purposes. Students must be disciplined to be given the privilege of technology. A students success in a class relies

Karrah Augle Instructor: Elliot English 111 Learning to be Lazy

on their motivation and discipline to complete their work and actually be able to interpret the material. Theres an abundance of resources available for students to take advantage of. Information does not just lie behind a screen. Encyclopedias, textbooks, and other useful literature used to be necessity for research. Multiple resources were relied upon to gather all of their information and statistics. Now, students gather all of their information using one search engine. Many students dont utilize the several resources that could potentially provide them with very useful, valid information. Most students choose the easy was out and let Google do the thinking for them. Nicholas Carr addresses the disadvantages of technology in his article Is Google Making Us Stupid? Carr addresses his audience by asking the question, Does technology advance our abilities, or does it flatten our intelligence to be artificial intelligence?(370) I pondered his question and was able to form my own question. What would people do if all technology suddenly disappeared? We would all have to go back to documenting information on paper, rather than a keyboard. Teachers would have to refer to textbooks and other literature rather than the internet. These textbooks contain information that is valid and not often found on the internet. Is this really a bad thing? The reliance on technology grew to a point where society wouldnt know how to function without it. Many people feel that computers, phones, and other electronics are essential for daily living.

Karrah Augle Instructor: Elliot English 111 Learning to be Lazy

Jack Mezirow better explains his theory behind adult learning in his article Transformative Learning Theory. Mezirow states, Transformative learning is the process of effecting change in frame of reference. Adults have acquired a coherent body of experienceassociations, concepts, values, feelings, conditioned response- frames of reference that define their world.(268) How does this affect learning? The frame of reference determines how people interpret information. People must be able to sort through information they find on the internet. There are a variety of social media websites that millions of people are a part of. I find it somewhat humorous that they are referred to as social websites. I took it upon myself to use Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary to look up the word social. It can be defined as pertaining to, or characterized by friendly, companionship, or relationships.(1183) A person who is social enjoys the company of others. By using social websites, people are limiting their social quality. Learning to be social is becoming an issue because of the extreme use of social websites. This poses a danger because not all knowledge is gained in a classroom. People must get out in the real world to learn new things, not hide behind a computer all day. Carr explores the different ways technology affects learning. Technology generall y affects our cognitive processes and our relationship with information.(370) According to Hockenbury & Hockenbury: Discovering Psychology, Cognition is a general term that refers to the mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge.(277) Its very easy to look up information and regurgitate it back. However, to really know something you have to be able to take a piece of information and analyze it to a point that you could understand and explain it in your own words.

Karrah Augle Instructor: Elliot English 111 Learning to be Lazy

The theories for cognitive processing go in depth to create a better understanding on how information is analyzed in the brain. Something that is truly learned must be registered in memory. An individuals attention tends to be very selective. In a classroom setting, technology tends to take over an individuals attention. It is physically impossible to be fully engaged in a discussion while surfing the web. There are three steps to information processing; encoding, storage, and retrieval. Encoding refers to the process of transforming information into a form that can be entered and retained by the memory system.(Hockenbury & Hockenbury 232) This doesnt mean just reading something; its the ability to recollect that information. For a computer, a keyboard, or other input device is used to encode information. In the human brain, information from the senses is received. The second step is storage. Storage is the process of retaining information in memory so that it can be used at a later time.(Hockenbury & Hockenbury 232) A computer stores its information on a hard drive; while the information in the human brain is stored in memory. Finally, the last step is retrieval. Retrieval involves recovering stored information so that we are consciously aware of it.(Hockenbury & Hockenbury 232) Information in a computer is retrieved by loading a program, or a file. For a human, information is retrieved by bringing it into consciousness. Its difficult to argue between the advantages and disadvantages when it comes to technology. Technology is responsible for numerous medical, educational, and cultural advances.

Karrah Augle Instructor: Elliot English 111 Learning to be Lazy

It has provided life changing discoveries. Its hard to imagine where the world would be without technology. Society relies on it every single day. So far Ive emphasized the distraction and laziness that technology provides. However, its apparent that technology has created an array of new discoveries and advancements. Jamais Cascio, an affiliate at the Institute for the Future and the senior fellow at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, challenged Carr and his article. Cascio argues that while the explosion of technology can challenge humans capacity to focus, there are signs that we are developing. He thinks of it as a new way of advanced learning that we simply arent used to. Cascio states, Its visible in the hive mind of the internet, in the powerful tools for stimulation and visualization that are jump-starting new scientific disciplines, and in the development of drugs that some people (myself included) have discovered let the study harder, focus better, and stay awake longer with full clarity. (378) This statement indicates that without technology, people wouldnt have the proper medications that some need to focus better. Technology is responsible for many discoveries that benefit society as a whole. Based on my research, I found it impossible to determine if technology is doing more help than harm. Technology creates a distraction in the classroom, and laziness among students. However, without it the advances in society wouldnt be possible. What I do know is the use of technology is unavoidable.

Karrah Augle Instructor: Elliot English 111 Learning to be Lazy

Works Cited

Carr Nicholas. Is Google Making Us Stupid? The Atlantic Monthly, July/August 2008. Hockenbury & Hockenbury(2014). Discovering Psychology. 6th edition. New York, New York:Worth Publishers

Mezirow, Jack. Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice.(1997) Bass Publishers, Inc.

Morse, John M. Meriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary. (2003) 11th Edition.

Raine, Lee. Does Google Make Us Stupid? The Future of the Internet. PEW Internet Project, June 2010.