Yousif Saleh Essays - Education, Knowledge Sharing,

Yousif Saleh Philyaw AP Lang 3/13/16 Synthesis Essay: Technology Throughout the years of education, Technology has become integrated into the scholastic system. Technology has become a widespread method of schooling as it proves to be beneficial for the advancement of the students' performance. Although technology allows teaching to become more fluid, it can hinder the performance of students. National test scores are declining ever since technology became a daily part of people's boring lives. There are speculations to why students are obtaining drastically inferior results; however, the most obvious reason to this phenomenon is the implementation of technology in society and especially in schools. A school should consider the effects of technology on students' cognitive ability and the probability for students to commit to off-task activities. Students tend to deliberate less with the wide usage of technology. They place an extreme amount of trust on the internet and rarely rely on their own cognitive prowess. This reliance on technology causes students to feel at ease since no actual thinking is involved and the solutions are all located with a click of a button. Without the ability to properly analyze and brainstorm, students will be hopeless when technology is stripped from them. During a timed essay prompt, technology will not be there to aid the students through the assignment. Essays require highly advanced analysis and creatively skills since the student must take position regarding the prompt. To develop an argument, one must completely have faith in themselves and determine faults in both their own argument and the opposing argument. Technology does nothing but diminishes their capabilities to do so. Dyson asserts that technology "stifles a child's imagination rather than stimulate it." (Source C). Instead of technology improving the extent of a child's imagination it ruins and encloses it. This must be recognized by schools because if technology is not used wisely, it can seriously affect students' academic betterment. It is almost as if technology locks people up in a virtual prison. Angel Boligan draws a fascinating cartoon of a child imprisoned in a dark and gloomy room (Source F). The child is experiencing the outside world through a television screen, and this is a perfect example of the entanglement that technology oppresses on students. As the student watches only the television, he completely depends on the TV for information. In a sense, nature represents the blossoms of creativity and technology holds students back from true enlightenment. Although I made it seem like technology is a horrible device to use for education it has some benefits. It allows academics to become more convenient and accessible for both students and teachers. The internet provides students with a wealth of information that could assist students when and if they are perplexed about a certain topic. With a click of a button, students are able to find explanations and solutions to problems they couldn't probe through. I learn efficiently through everyday technology. Delaney affirms that technology "allows educators to interact with students, parents and each other in ways they never have before." (Source B). Innovation generated a large community of educator with a goal of providing knowledge to their fellow students. Students can access all sorts of information to their benefit. Gelernter quotes from President Clinton that technology "could make it possible for every child to reach every book ever written." (Source E). With every book ever written, students can become literary geniuses, but they choose not to. Rotstein argues that "electronic materials will get students more engaged in learning." (Source A). However, I ultimately deviate from his point of view because technology will only lead students to conform to non-scholastic online activities. None of the sources address this issue as a problem to the school system but I dispute that it is most important. If students don't stay on the course given materials, then they won't learn anything at all. There are an abundance of information on the internet, consisting of beneficial and useless information. Since the internet is such a broad medium it is easy for students to drive off-task. The internet mostly consists of garbage that can only restrict the human mind. Gelernter offers another point of view claiming that the internet "is