Technology's Impact on Students: Educational Research

A belief has emerged recently, that technology has positively impacted the lives of workers, employers, businesses, educators, students, and everyone.

I don't believe that's true.

Technology certainly has made people's lives easier, information more accessible, and accessibility more widespread. But technology is a tool - it can be used to harm or uplift, unite or divide, inform or mislead, clarify or confuse. Using this tool everyday can lead people to depend upon it for everything from quick facts checks to emotional support to "human" interaction.

Teachers relied on technology a great deal even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the quick shift from in-person to virtual learning is still a valid and thriving option for many students today. The same can be said for librarians, who already had begun buying and distributing access to physical and digital books, journals, and newspapers, and only increased after the shutdown.

What's interesting to me, and to many people living four years after the outbreak, is that many of these virtual options and services are still being used today. Working from home, virtual education programs, doctor's appointments, and no-contact pickup services all developed from the pandemic, and continue to thrive. Many of these services are quick: scan a QR code to see the takeout menu, no-contact library book checkouts, or online doctor's appointments.

But virtual education, especially for those who are K-12, means hours of online classes with additional homework, also online. I began to wonder whether or not students preferred in-person learning versus virtual learning, especially since Gen Z is already defined by it's native use and daily reliance on technology.

I turned to two Educational Tech Research sites for answers: Speak Up, a national research organization free to teachers and students, and Common Sense Media, a research-based news outlet dedicated to supporting the development of students everywhere. Recent findings from a presentation given in 2022 from students who were in sixth grade to twelfth indicated that almost all of them preferred learning in-person rather than virtually, as seen below.

Image Source: Speak Up Data Findings. "Are You As Smart As A 6th Grader About Digital Learning?" March 2022

With technology so ingrained in their everyday lives, the importance of social interaction and learning within a physical space makes a huge difference for students in terms of engagement and learning. It's incredibly easy for virtual students to look at five other tabs with the camera off, or feel isolated from other students when the only connection is a screen. In comparison, it is much harder (near impossible) to disengage that fully during in-person learning, and students can collaborate and cooperate more effectively in person.

Additionally, students are virtually engaged already through social media, texts, and watching YouTube videos, addicted to their devices without education playing into their usage time at all. Common Sense Media wanted to gain a sense of how many hours young people spent on their phones, as well as whether or not they recognized it's addictive qualities.

 

Image Source: Common Sense Media. "Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person's Smartphone Use." September 2023

The results above prove that the average amount of time spent online for young adults ranging from eleven to seventeen is four hours. That's half a day of virtual learning already! Not only that, but they pick up their phones anywhere from fifty to one hundred times per day to check their notifications or prevent boredom. What began as a resource tool has become a permanent security blanket, and not just for students, but for educators, and most Americans.

What this research indicates is that students need to learn in-person to develop their social skills, stay engaged, and be given a break from the non-stop flow of information invading their brains at all levels. I believe that this research is significant for educators because it acknowledges the addiction to screens that many students currently have, reinforcing the significance of face-to-face learning.