Negative Effects of Technology on Education

The internet is the real collaborative force within education, as the mere involvement of any form
of technology does not guarantee substantial effects on education quality. Technology is
producing a decline in critical thinking and analysis. "Reading for pleasure, which has declined
among young people in recent decades, enhances thinking and engages the imagination in a
way that visual media such as video games and television do not."
When discussing the effects of technology and education, the first assumption must be that this
phenomenon really implies the association of the internet with education.

Technology Overload
Like in all things, there is a golden rule that governs technology's impact on education
-"moderation in everything." Technology can easily be overused within the classroom, and this
can cause negative effects on the entire learning experience. Some of these effects are already
seen from student texting and internet usage (school-related and trivial) during class. There are
also increased incidences of plagiarism for assignments and an overall lack of respect for
correct language usage within essays. This indicates the effect that technology may have had
on the current generation's thinking abilities and the overall power of the internet.

Changing Learning Priorities

The main effect from technology may be that the children of the future are not concerned with
details. However, it is hard to say if this is a good thing or a bad thing in the future especially with
the universal availability of the internet. The students of the future prioritize where the
information can be found (i.e. via Google) rather than what the information actually is. The
constant stimulation that comes from the internet has also taken away the ability of students to
generally focus in the classroom. A New York Times article showed how constant stimulation by
email, text messages, and online video games created a profound obstacle to the focus and
productivity of both young people and adults, all of which can also be used for E-learning
purposes. This stimulation causes a short attention span, and even without the internet as a
distraction, many young people struggle as is to manage time wisely and resist impulsive
behavior.
This brings us to the next question - is the next generation "doomed" or "lucky" because of their
privileges to information. There is a general decline in higher-order thinking skills, and an overall
re-wiring of teenage brains. This reveals a deeper intellectual laziness that the Web has also
made possible with the rise of more video-based information resources as opposed to textual
resources. In addition to the effect on student learning, E-learning will also affect the education

economy heavily. In 2011 in New York City, 6100 Teaching Positions are set to be eliminated
amid increased tech spending, which is effectively eight percent of all teachers in the city. The
correlation is fairly simple. More online schooling will lead to less classroom teaching, and this
will result in a lower teacher employment rate that will focus on online classrooms than in the
traditional classroom environment.

Potential Employment Effects

By a conservative estimate, let us that assume that fifty percent of School Districts employ Elearning and technology spending like New York City. Let us also assume that eight percent (like
New York City) of teachers within those school districts will not be needed within the education
system. By these assumptions, at least four percent of all teachers within the US workforce
would be laid off. The realization is that this is just the beginning, especially due to the
improvements in the New York City high school graduation rates from fifty-nine percent in 2009
to sixty-one in 2010 and so-on.
Some negative effects of technology in today's classroom are that it can take away valuable
learning time, it can be overused, and it can also turn educational experiences into games for
students.

Overuse
In some classrooms technology is overused. This can lead to a variety of problems.
Many students learn best by physically and mentally interacting with what they are
studying. If most of the teaching is done using a computer, these students' needs
are not being met. Technology should be used to supplement the classroom
curriculum, but should not be used as the sole source of learning.

Game Mentality
One problem that many classroom teachers face is that students often use
computers primarily for games. Because of this, many students associate
computers and technology with game playing. Though some teachers can use this
to their advantage, if this issue is not addressed, some students may get distracted
and off task quickly.

A limited use of gadgets can be quite useful for children as it will allow them to be up to date
with the current technology. However, the overuse of these advancements can really
hamper or even damage their development in the personal growth, communication and
educational department.

Though we cant deny the endowments that the current era of advancement has provides us
with, but like any other thing, we cannot deny the fact that there is always two sides to
everything: Good and Bad.

1. Elevated Exasperation
These days, children indulge themselves in internet, games or texting. These activities have
affected their psyche negatively, consequently leading to increased frustration. Now they get
frustrated whenever they are asked to do anything while playing games or using internet.
For instance, when their parents ask them to take the trash out, they get furious instantly.
This behavior has shattered many parent-children relationships.

2. Deteriorated Patience
Patience is a very precious virtue and its scarcity could deteriorate a persons Will.
Determination is a necessity that comes with patience and without it no individual can
survive the hardships of life. According to studies, tolerance in children is vanishing quite
increasingly due to the improper use of technology. For example, children get frustrated
quickly when they surf internet and the page they want to view takes time to load.

3. Declining Writing Skills

Due to the excessive usage of online chatting and shortcuts, the writing skills of todays
young generation have declined quite tremendously. These days, children are relying more
and more on digital communication that they have totally forgot about improving their writing
skills. They dont know the spelling of different words, how to use grammar properly or how
to do cursive writing.

4. Lack of Physical Interactivity

No one can deny the fact that the advancement of technology has produced a completely
unique method of interaction and communication. Now, more and more people are
interacting with others through different platforms like apps, role-playing online games,
social networks, etc. This advancement has hampered the physical interaction skills of

many children. Due to that they dont know how to interact with others when they meet them
in-person or what gesture they should carry.
STUDENT DISTRACTION
The technology-enabled classroom offers access to information, but it also offers many more
distractions. Games on devices, text messaging, email and websites all compete for students'
attention, taking that attention away from the subject on which they are supposed to be
focusing. The technology can also lead to dangerous situations as students can be exposed to
inappropriate online materials or predators in online places such as chat rooms.
Cell phones are a major distraction within the classroom and this is known to be a
true fact. While there are major distractions, cell phones are the number one
distraction because of how hard they are to regulate. For more, see Cell phones.

Technology has already integrated its negative effects into classroom and convinced
students that technology is taking no toll on their education.