Technology is helpful for humans- the brain is being given assistance to do it’s job better and more effectively. Many people in the world today believe technology to be helpful for humans and I agree with them.
To start off I would like to tell you what technology is according to Marc Prensky in “Is Technology Rewiring Your Brain?” To summarize he says that, technology isn’t about all the gadgets around us and it’s not about how we do things differently- “Technology, rather is an extension of our brains.”
Whether or not you like it you will use technology at some point in your life. Our world is evolving towards technology. Technology surrounds us everyday- whether you have to use it or you choose to use it. Its started to become a better way to learn in school- for example, when the Board of Directors changed our learning here to the 1 to 1 program. We are taking technology and are slowly replacing our current curriculum, trying to make learning more accessible for the students.
During a Pew Internet study done in the Us, a discovery was made that, “Eighty-eight per cent of 18- to 29-year-olds use the internet”
Our current generation, constantly relies on technology, instead of going to the library we can just pull out our phones and search them. We have a whole different style of learning- technology. If we aren’t using technology in the 21st century we are setting ourselves up for failure.
In the article, “Is Technology Rewiring Your Brain?” the fact is stated that, “Spurred by the technological web of mobile phones, computers, the internet and video games, we are in the midst of what he calls “a brain gap”, in which the younger generation doesn’t just look and sound different, their brains are rapidly evolving to such an extent, they are actually functioning differently, too.”
As people are constantly being introduced to new skills and ideas based off of technology, there is the problem of old skills slowly diminishing due to over use of technology. Also in that same article it says that, “for every hour we spend on computers, we cut traditional face-to-face time by nearly 30 minutes. ‘With the weakening of the brain’s neural circuitry controlling human contact, our social interactions may become awkward, and we tend to misinterpret, and even miss subtle, non-verbal messages,'”
In the past we’ve used external objects such as: pen/paper, calculator and various programs/textbooks to assist with learning. As time has gone on, technology has replaced those simple items and combined the programs/textbooks to create a system of more effective learning. Sometimes I feel bad for this older generation because this luxury wasn’t available to them.
While technology is replacing all these old skills, it is replacing some of the expertise that we require in life. In the article, “Is technology rewiring your brain?” along with reflecting more on ourselves because of technology Small says that, “What’s more, our people skills are suffering.”
In that same article, it continues to go on about how technology is affecting the brain, “technology stimulates brain cells and neurotransmitter release, sparking the evolution of new neural pathways— and weakening the old ones.” The way that we are learning and the way our brains are working is changing because of the environment we are surrounded by. Once learning has changed and we get used to the new, more advanced surroundings it becomes even harder to revert to the old fashioned textbooks. It isn’t a bad thing that we can’t go back either because the article, “Our Brains Extended” shows that “today, reading is no longer the number one skill students need to take from school to succeed. Technology is.” So will you be for or against using technology?
To review, different generations are affected by the different kinds of technology that our world keeps inventing, the brain has to continuously adapt to the new technologies that are being put in front of us and when technology and the the brain come together unimaginable things take place. The way we learn and the way our brains process things is changing right at this very moment because of technology. How will you use technology to help you reach your full potential?