TUTORIAL TASK 3: LANGUAGE EXERCISE

Please complete this task in advance of your tutorial and carry your answers to the
tutorial.
NB: These language questions are typical test and exam type questions hence it is
important that you attempt all the questions.
Read the article below and answer the questions that follow.

Four Ways Technology Has Negatively Changed Education

Abstract
Our experience with technology is a bitter-sweet one. We relish its presence in our lives, but
we dread the effect it may have on our manners, attitudes and social interactions. We open
the gates of our schools to all types of technological tools, yet we fear it may badly impact
our students’ performance. This article investigates the ways through which classroom
technology such as iPad, Internet connection, laptops and social media, impacts negatively
on education. Relevant research has proven that technology could change education
negatively through four paths: deteriorating students’ competences of reading and writing,
dehumanizing educational environments, distorting social interactions between teachers and
students and isolating individuals when using technology.

1. Introduction
In the field of education, technology is “the use of machines and educational equipment of
different sorts (e.g. language laboratories, tape recorders, video, etc.) to assist teachers and
learners,” (Richards and Schmidt, 2010, p. 190). Technology has never been distant from
man. Ever since he existed on earth, his life has been rife with technological devices.
Technology has been his harbinger to harness nature and defy its unconquerable forces.
However, over the last 50 years or so, the presence of technology in our lives has been
markedly accentuated. Technology has, in recent years, had its indelible effect on
everything we do. Everywhere we are: at work, at home or at school, technology is there, at
the very tips of our fingers, reshaping our existence and infiltrating in the nooks and
crannies of our existence. Theodosakis (in Bahloul. 2012, x) writes: “Every minute, over 48
hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. And every day, over three billion videos are viewed
on that one channel alone.” Bahloul (2012, Introduction, p. 3) further stipulates:
Over three billion videos are viewed every day; users upload the equivalent of 240.000 full-
length films every week; as for users’ demographic, it is broad and includes young and
older generations. Not only do people watch videos, they get also involved, and over 100
million people take a social action on YouTube (likes, shares, comments, etc.) every week.

Hull (2003, p. 233) also refers to the new technologies as new types of “literacies.” They
have already become part of our lives. They are no longer “just add-ons, nice to have but
dispensable; they are at the very center of those forms and practices of communication and
representation that are crucial in our new times.” In the field of education, Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) have already invaded the scene. Digital devices such as
computers, tablets, iPads, word processors, e-mails and the Internet have entered the
classroom and altered the face of teaching and learning. In fact, the trend towards
technology-enhanced learning has flourished so rapidly that students, who are tech-savvy
already, have grown enthused and imbued with subjects where technology is merged with
ordinary teaching tools. As a matter of fact, classroom teachers are now spurred from all
sides to use technology as frequently as they can, and students are daily exposed to loads of
information reaching them via a variety of technological devices. Added to that, a stockpile
of research has been produced, eulogizing the unequivocally-positive effect of inserting
technologies in the normal course of instruction on students’ performance (McFarlane,
1997; Christensen, 1999; Epper, A. Bates and T. Bates, 2001; Laurillard, 2002; Roblyer, 2003;
Lowerison et al, 2006 amongst others).

The present article is of great significance as it purports to shed light on that negative side of
classroom technology that much research has so far been ignoring. The decrease in
students’ performance, particularly in reading and writing, the dehumanization of the
educational environment, the distortion of social relations as well as the isolation that
individuals experience when using technology are among the most pervasive and recurrent
effects technology has brought to the classroom scene and that will be highlighted in the
following sections of the present article.
2. Literature Review
Various surveys have been conducted evoking the advantages of using technology in the
classroom. Worldwide, the run for integrating technology in education has been a common
practice. The effectiveness of educational systems is now gauged against the amount of
technology that is being used. Referring to a study conducted by the Cambridge
International Global Education Census that encompassed 10,209 teachers and 9,397
students from all over the world, Ascione (2018, paragraph 5) noted that
Nearly half (48 percent) of surveyed students use a desktop computer at school, 42
percent use a smartphone, 33 percent use interactive whiteboards, and 20 percent use
tablets. Students in China use tablets the most, with one in two students using the devices.

In the United States, in 2015, around 88 percent of 8th-graders and 83 percent of 4th-
graders say they use computers at home. Similarly, 80 percent of 8th-graders report using a
computer for schoolwork, according to data released by the National Center for Education
Statistics ([Link] In China, and according to the
website [Link], 60.000 schools are now using a technological device to mark
students’ tests, hence replace human markers. However, albeit its being utterly useful,
technology still has drastic effects that are worth unveiling. Consequently, the debate over
its impact has lately grown louder, and the number of studies which aim to highlight this
impact has escalated in a remarkable way (George and Odgers, 2015; Lee, 2009; LeBlanc,
Katzmarzyk and Barreira, 2015; Paul and Brier, 2001; Putnam, 2000; Turkle, 2011 amongst
others). In fact, in a report released in 2017, the United Nations International Children's
Emergency Fund (UNICEF) declares: “Digital technology and interactivity also pose
significant risks to children’s safety, privacy and well-being, magnifying threats and harms
that many children already face offline and making already-vulnerable children even more
vulnerable,” (p. 8)

In 2017, Denoël et al conducted a study aiming to examine the effect of introducing children
to information and communication technologies (ICT) both at home and during school time.
The survey involved a population of 39, 15-year-old students: 27 participants from European
countries and 12 participants from non-European countries. Data collated from the survey
revealed that students of a high-socioeconomic-status generally start using classroom
technologies such as laptops, tablets and e-books at an earlier age than students coming
from low-income households; which has its repercussion on the equity between students.
The study also showed that much exposure to technology has a negative impact on
students’ school performance.

Another study was conducted by Carter, Greenberg and Walker (2017) in a West Point
college, in New York, U.S.A. The study aimed to find out whether technology, precisely
Internet-connected computers, should be integrated in the normal course of instruction for
the Principles of Economics classes. Participants in the study were sophomore students, and
the sample was randomly selected from classes of around 15 students each. Experiments
took place during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years. Participants were divided in three
groups: the first group followed courses with no connection to any technological devices;
the second group was allowed the free use of tablets and laptops; the third group used
technology under particular restrictions. Analysis of data collated from the three groups
revealed that students in classrooms where no Internet-connected devices were used
scored much higher in their tests (72.9 %) than those in classes where laptops and tablets
where allowed.

Another study was carried out by Purcell, Buchanan and Friedrich in 2013. The study’s
objective was to investigate teachers’ views regarding the impact of incorporating digital
tools in teaching writing on middle and high school students’ writing skills. The study
involved a sample of 2,462 teachers from the U.S. A. and Puerto Rico. The aim of the study
was to provide data about the students’ performance in writing following the use of digital
tools when teaching writing. The gathered data revealed alarming facts about students’
writing skill. In fact, 68% of surveyed teachers admit that digital tools make students take
shortcuts, instead of investing any effort in writing, 67 % report students have difficulty
reading and comprehending complicated texts, and 46 % say digital tools make students
write fast and carelessly. The study also points out that students tend to use more and more
abbreviations in their writings, following the way they write when communicating
electronically.
A similar study was conducted by Dansieh in 2011. Its aim was to identify the potential
impact of text messaging on students’ written communication skills. The study encompassed
a population of 1,300 participants who had to respond to two survey questionnaires: one
for students and another one for lecturers. Gathered data were tabulated and analyzed via
the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The study found that text
messaging drastically affects students’ writing, including spelling, sentence construction and
syntactic structures. It further revealed that short forms and abbreviations used in
electronic messaging are now commonly deployed in students’ classroom writing to the
extent that much of what they write is blurred and problematic. Examples of these
abbreviations include, but are not restricted to: ‘u’ for you, ‘b/4’ for before’,‘2moro’ for
tomorrow, ‘2day’ for today’, ‘Eng’ for English, ‘pls’ or ‘plz’ for please, and so forth.

In 2009, another study was conducted by The Josephson Institute of Ethics (JIE), a nonprofit
Canadian organization seeking to improve the ethical quality of social life. The study
involved 23,000 high school students who were interviewed about certain ethical issues,
namely honesty and integrity. 51 % of respondent acknowledged having cheated during the
exams, without feeling any qualms about doing it. The study also called attention to the fact
that it is technology that made it easier for students to cheat, hence causing real harm to
the “six universal ethical values (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring,
and citizenship) called the Six Pillars of Character,” (JIE, 2009, paragraph 5). Supporting
findings reached by the JIE, Wallace (2009, paragraph. 13) writes: “Last year, in Orange
County, California, hundreds of students' scores on Advanced Placement tests were wiped
away after some students texted during the exam.”

This section of the article has allowed the review of a number of studies which dipped into
the changes that the use of technology may bring to the educational field, especially to the
attitudes of students toward learning. The studies provided a reverse-of-the medal image to
the rosy view that is widely held about the use of technology, and revealed findings that are
of paramount significance as regarding students’ achievements in subjects such as math,
reading and writing. The studies also pointed to the peevish impact that the integration of
technology in the classroom might have on the values society strives to preserve and
permeate. In the following section of the present article, more details will be provided
related to the negative effects technology may have on the educational environment.

QUESTIONS

1. What is the purpose of the article? (2)

2. 2.1 How does the author attempt to convince the reader that technology has
negatively changed education? (1)

2.2 Draw on one example that she uses from the text to support her point. (2)

3. Find a word in the text that is synonymous with

3.1 Skills
3.2 Numerous (2)

4. Summarize the study conducted by Carter, Greenberg & Walker (2017) (5)

5. Is the author in favour of technology? Explain your answer. (3)

6. Using your own words explain what the author means by the underlined words?

“We open the gates of our schools to all types of technological tools, yet we fear that
it may badly affect our students’ performance” (4)

7. Do you agree with the author when she says that technology “…had its indelible
effect of everything we do”? Explain your answer. (4)

8. Provide the referent for the underlined words: “Technology has been his harbinger
to harness nature and defy its unconquerable forces” (2)

Total: 25 marks