Learning Through a Screen: Fiction or Reality?

The rapid evolution of technology has not only changed, but shaped the way humanity lives. Innovations such as the computer and smart phone have made life more convenient through services such as online shopping and food delivery. These devices also promote the ease of communication, with applications such as text messaging and social media assisting with the relay of information. Unfortunately, this major function of computers and smart phones is not only underutilized, but demonized. Students are often accused of spending too much time on their devices, especially during class, and the only solution seems to be to take away their electronic devices and direct their attention back to the dreary, boring classroom. These "forbidden" devices, however, can enhance the learning process and through their increased prevalence and use in academics, schools could see the end of traditional classes in classrooms in favor of "distance learning". Although many believe electronic devices serve little to no purpose in educational settings other than to capture and divide students' attention, the exclusive use of these devices from home and the bypass of classroom learning provides a host of benefits to students.

To start, learning from home is convenient. Students no longer need to commute to and from the school, many of which need to wake up early to catch the bus or use gas and drive. This gives leeway for students to wake up later and enjoy more hours of sleep each night, which is especially important as many suffer from sleep deprivation, leading to poor performance and lowered concentration.

Learning online also eliminates the need to purchase and manage a large quantity of school supplies and materials. Each class demands different supplies, so depending on the class, students need to make sure they have pencils, erasers, color pencils, highlighters, scissors, glue sticks, pens, and more. Another major problem is the sheer amount of material that is received from classes. Project rubrics, assignments, study guides, and notes are often printed on physical paper that need to be kept, and students can't afford to lose them or they risk falling behind. Weather concerns are also an issue, such as heavy rain soaking homework and rendering it illegible, contributing to how fragile these critical papers are. Each and every day, students need to carry both these supplies and materials with them when commuting from class to class. This takes a heavy toll through heavy backpacks, sore shoulders, and poor posture, which as a student, is a great struggle and has negative effects outside of school as well. Traditional schools also carry health concerns, as having so many alumni in a proportionally small building allows sickness and disease to spread quickly, such as the growing concerns over the recent COVID-19 virus. Distance learning only requires computer and can be done from home, which keep alumni safe at home and lowers their stress levels, allowing them to stay focused on learning.

Secondly, students attending class online have a myriad of resources available to to them that only the internet can offer. For example, applications such as Blackboard Collaborate have video conferences with chat rooms where the teacher speaks and the students can listen. This process promotes equal participation among students, as those who were previously too shy to raise their hands in a classroom setting can simply type out their answer in the chat. Students can also quickly search up an unfamiliar term of concept without halting the class to ask a question, allowing for steady progress for the class and prevents it from falling behind the schedule. Other applications such Google Classroom help students stay organized by keeping all of their deadlines for classes in one place as opposed to writing every deadline down in an agenda. In Google Classroom, teachers can choose to set specific time deadlines such as having assignments due at 9 or 10 P.M. as opposed to having students turn them in the next day. This forces students to practice proper time management skills, as waiting until late at night to finish homework and assignments will result in them being late. Finally, the Student Information System is a helpful tool that shows the status of grades to students and parents so they can see what skills need improvement. All of these applications are easily accessible through their website or mobile app, giving ease of access to students and helping them stay organized and engaged.

With all the freedom that technology provides, some are concerned that students won't use them for their intended purposes. One proposed solution is to issue school laptops to alumni to prevent cheating. Many have "lock down browsers" that prevent students from opening different tabs when taking assessments. School issued laptops also solve the issue of devices being expensive, giving equal opportunity for all to participate in distance learning programs. Another method to prevent cheating are plagiarism checkers, which are typically used to scan a document of plagiarism. Through this, students are unable to simply copy and paste material into their assignments, ensuring the integrity of all work that is submitted online.

Technology is an under appreciated tool in the field of academics that has only began to gain traction recently. The convenience it provides and the wealth of resources that are readily available to students make it a viable alternative to traditional teaching. In the near future, it is almost certain that more schools will transition to distance learning, and the general population should be more aware of its benefits, and to not shy away from it. As humanity progresses deeper though the digital age, integrating more technology into daily lives, it needs to be prepared to face major change to its norms.