How is Technology Shaping Future Learning?
As technology continues to expand its uses, it takes a toll on everyday lives, especially students. Learning has slowly started to shift from paper to online in the past years. Students live off Canvas, ChatGPT, Google, and even social media to help them with school. While it may be more efficient and reduces the need for paper worksheets, it might be the main reason why Generation Z (1997-2012) learns differently than those that come before them.
The internet has become one of the most important inventions for this generation because of its efficiency and how reliable it is. People can find their answer to a question in just a few clicks, which is drastically different from the textbooks that people used to learn from. There are also many resources that can aid in learning on the internet such as online courses, tools to assist in math, and even AI.
“Canvas, ChatGPT, and the internet help me learn by giving me resources that I wouldn’t have without technology,” a student attending Spring Valley HS stated. While many teachers are opposed to it, ChatGPT or the use of AI in general, can be very beneficial to learning if used right. AI is able to go more in depth with topics, create study guides, and even create practice problems for you. It is reliable for students in this way to help them succeed in weak points of their studies. The internet benefits student learning by providing help outside the classroom that caters to their needs.
While the internet can be beneficial to learning, it also has its downsides. The constant exposure to technology can lead to an affected attention span. Studies show that Gen Z has a shorter attention span than previous generations because of new technology. Due to this, a lot of people in this generation prefer to break a task into chunks or can’t listen to a lecture for long periods of time.
“Since your generation has grown up with social media and has had chromebooks and learning management systems (Canvas) for learning it’s really hard to get your attention or keep you engaged,” Rebecca Thomas, a teacher at Sierra Vista HS stated. Speaking about social media, social media plays a role in this effect on attention span. Tiktok for example, an extremely popular social media app used mainly by this generation, has content that is in a short video format. These videos can range from 15 seconds to a few minutes but often these videos contain a ton of information that people absorb quickly. With short information-dense forms of media, it makes people adapt to be able to pick up on that information quickly.
In the following years, it is evident to say that technology will still be a big part of learning in schools. In fact, it might play a bigger role in the classroom. Student learning will also shift as technology continues to grow by making it more efficient to provide students with resources. This combined with their shortened attention span due to technology, changes how future generations will learn compared to previous ones.
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