Unit 2 Portfolio
Research Question: How does the transfer of writing from being handwritten to typed/using a digital pen affect students?
Introduction:
A vast majority of teachers utilize technology to a significant extent in the classroom, and many students believe that classwork would be nearly impossible without the integration of this technology. This trend has become increasingly prevalent in educational institutions across the US. As technology continues to advance, it’s become an integral part of students' daily lives, influencing the way they are taught, take notes, and study. One notable change is the shift of writing tools; how the educational system has stopped relying on handwriting, to more advanced options like digital pens and typing. While these new tools are very beneficial, it’s crucial to analyze the impacts of these technologies, in terms of effectiveness, mental health and efficiency. Although there are benefits, the use of technolgy can be more damaging to students because of lower rates of recollection and retention, and lower physical and mental health.
Pitch:
For my pitch, I interviewed people and asked a series of questions relating to the new shift of digital tools in educational settings. For the purposes of making this information as specific as possible, I interviewed 10 students, both male and female, who were enrolled in college or were in high school. I interviewed friends, upperclassmen and my Teaching Assistant. The questions consisted of:
1) On a scale of one to five, how big of an impact does technology have in your academic career?
2) On a scale of one to five, how productive are you with the use of technology?
3) On a scale of one to five, how productive are you with the use of writing?
4) On a scale of one to five, how do you feel after using technology for long periods of time (ie studying on your laptop)?
5) Which style of writing do you prefer?
After I sent out the survey to my peers, I got interesting results.
To begin with the question that sets this discussion up, I asked how much of an impact technology had on their academic life. The responses were very collective. Students responded with a mix between 4s and 5s, emphasizing that technology is incorporated significantly into their day-to-day academic life.
“I can’t do anything without my laptop on me.”
When asked how productive they feel they are with the use of technology, there was a mix of responses. About half of the respondents gave lower scores for their productivity, there were a few that responded with two. However, one respondent stated 4, saying this:
“Technology has both positive and negative impacts on on my academic career. It helps me use resources that would otherwise be unavailable, find help online for my homework… But especially when I use social media as a break between studying causes my focus to be worse.”
Next, I asked them how productive they felt when they aren’t using technology but writing instead. While there was a mix of high and low scores for the last question, there was a vast majority of 3s and 4s for this one. Collectively, students felt that they were more focused when they are doing schoolwork on hand and that there were very limited distractions.
“I have trouble starting when I’m beginning to write, but once I’ve started, I have a flow that can be very continuous.”
“It requires much more work to handwrite things, but it can be helpful in the sense that there are no distractions. Once I focus, it’s very likely that I will get a lot of stuff done.”
Next, I asked my peers how they felt after using technology for long periods of time. I received several 1s, 2s, and some 3s, which was the highest score. I realized that students who felt more strongly about using technology for their education scored lower than the rest, and I thought this was interesting since, theoretically, they should be “used to it.”
“I feel tired, overwhelmed. Sometimes I’ll have a headache.”
“I think that technology doesn’t allow myself and other people to have a genuine break because even when I’m doing work, when I try to pause and take a break, I’ll use my phone but that disrupts our focus, disrupts our dopamine production…But yeah, it can be really tiring even though I’ll just be sitting down using my laptop.”
Finally, I asked students which writing style they prefer. These were some of the responses I received:
“Writing, because it prevents me from getting distracted even if it’s not convenient. But technology is more portable and convenient.”
“Writing, because I can put my thoughts to paper which helps stick in my mind. Also, I can’t get distracted.”
“Typing, because it’s faster and easier and I don’t have to worry about spelling and grammatical mistakes as often.”
“Typing, because it is what I’m used to and I have more room for error, and it’s more convenient. But both have their strengths and weaknesses.”
Overall, I found the results to be very interesting because there were a lot, potentially half of respondents that expressed negative feelings towards technology that’s incorporated into their academic career. However, all of the respondents use this technology to a very significant amount in their day-to-day life, which makes me wonder why: Is it because they need to, because they want to, or just because it’s more convenient?
How effective is technology when it comes to students' education?
With the creation of new digital tools for students, classrooms have taken a large shift from taking notes on paper to typing on a Google Doc, writing with a digital pen, and more. But how efficient has that been for students’ learning? According to a scientific study titled “Advantage of handwriting Over Typing on Learning Words: Evidence From an N400 Event-Related Potential index,” conducted by Aya s. Ihara, et al., three different groups of students from the same university were asked to learn the Arabic alphabet. One group was asked to learn it on paper, one group with a digital pen, and the last group was meant to learn by typing. After some time, the students were asked to recall and write what they learned. The experimenters found that there was a significant difference between the group who was handwriting and everyone else. They were able to learn more of the Arabic alphabet, and researchers explained that one reason for this could have been because of factors like muscle memory and positivity: students in this group measured higher rates of morale and overall positive moods (Ihara, 7).
Furthermore, this experiment challenges the notion that technology is as convenient as some interviewers may imply. It suggests that students may require additional time to grasp the concepts they are being taught, as typing is deemed less efficient for studying when compared to handwriting. This is due to concepts like muscle memory, which refers to the brain's ability to store motor skill information, allowing an individual to perform a movement better and with less effort over time. This means that with repetitive movement, the brain retains the information and adapts to it, resulting in neural adaptation, improved strength, and power. When students, instead, are using digital technology, they are missing the development of a motor skill, which will inherently cause them to recollect less information (Ihara, 14).
What is the impact of technology on students’ health?
Going back to our interviews, we noted that students felt negatively towards using technology for long periods of time. They stated that they felt tired, overwhelmed and often experiencing physical symptoms like headaches and discomfort in eyes. According to research, this is because of the blue light that radiates off of the everyday devices that we use. While the exposure to blue light from screens is relatively minor compared to sources like sunlight, prolonged exposure and close interaction with devices – as students often experience during schoolwork – can have damaging effects on their physical and mental well-being.
To begin, technology can significantly impact sleep patterns and overall quality of rest. Often, students are up late at night studying, catching up on schoolwork, or completing an assignment due at 11:59, either because of poor time management or because they don’t have enough time throughout the day. As a result, they are exposed to the blue light emitted from their devices late at night, potentially right before they sleep. This can be very disruptive for the body’s body's natural sleep-wake cycle, because our biggest, and more influenctial source of blue light is the sun, which inherently controls our sleep schedule. When individuals attain this source at an inappropriate time (using their devices late at night), their sleep schedules may notice a disruption. The blue light emitted by screens can suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep, making it harder to fall asleep. Additionally, if we apply the fact that students will most definitely use their phones for entertainment during breaks or after they complete an assignment, this causes them to engage with stimulating content or communication that can increase cognitive arousal, making it difficult for the mind to relax and unwind before bedtime (Doctor Mike, 1:58). Finally, constant notifications and alerts from devices can also interrupt sleep by causing disturbances during the night. It is important to establish healthy bedtime routines and limit screen time before sleep to promote better sleep hygiene and overall well-being. Otherwise, poor sleep quality and schedule can directly result in lower academic performance.
Students frequently complan about discomforts in their eyes that they might experience after looking at their devices for so long, and they believe this is because of blue light exposure. However, in the YouTube video titled “Here's What Blue Light Actually Does To Your Body,” by Doctor Mike, he explains that the discomfort we experience isn’t directly a result of the devices we use, but “a result of actively using our vision for the long period of time. When students do anything that involves using their vision without giving breaks, they put themselves at risk for physical symptoms like headaches and eye strains. Additionally, when students are focused, naturally their eyes will blink less frequently, which can lead to eye irritation and dryness,” (Doctor Mike, 3:36) It’s important to take appropriate breaks as well, because it can be additionally damaging if students are using other sources of blue light – such as their phones – on their breaks, because it won’t really give their eyes their necessary rest. However, the absence of a direct causal relationship does not negate the correlation between these two factors. Students are inclined to spend extended periods seated with their devices working, as it offers a level of convenience not found in other methods such as handwriting or listening. As a result, individuals who utilise technology will be more likely to have requent headaches and eye strains.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, technology has significantly influenced and advanced various aspects of our modern world, making daily tasks more convenient and accessible. However, when it comes to education, technology may not necessarily enhance students' learning abilities. This has been evidenced through experiments indicating reduced information retention when utilizing digital tools, along with lower rates of retention and the onset of symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, and eye strain. Additionally, technology use has been linked to poor sleep quality and disruptions. Despite these drawbacks, and despite the negative feelings they may feel about using these devices, students can only continue using this technology due to its widespread availability, portability, and convenience.
Introduction:
A vast majority of teachers utilize technology to a significant extent in the classroom, and many students believe that classwork would be nearly impossible without the integration of this technology. This trend has become increasingly prevalent in educational institutions across the US. As technology continues to advance, it’s become an integral part of students' daily lives, influencing the way they are taught, take notes, and study. One notable change is the shift of writing tools; how the educational system has stopped relying on handwriting, to more advanced options like digital pens and typing. While these new tools are very beneficial, it’s crucial to analyze the impacts of these technologies, in terms of effectiveness, mental health and efficiency. Although there are benefits, the use of technolgy can be more damaging to students because of lower rates of recollection and retention, and lower physical and mental health.
Pitch:
For my pitch, I interviewed people and asked a series of questions relating to the new shift of digital tools in educational settings. For the purposes of making this information as specific as possible, I interviewed 10 students, both male and female, who were enrolled in college or were in high school. I interviewed friends, upperclassmen and my Teaching Assistant. The questions consisted of:
1) On a scale of one to five, how big of an impact does technology have in your academic career?
2) On a scale of one to five, how productive are you with the use of technology?
3) On a scale of one to five, how productive are you with the use of writing?
4) On a scale of one to five, how do you feel after using technology for long periods of time (ie studying on your laptop)?
5) Which style of writing do you prefer?
After I sent out the survey to my peers, I got interesting results.
To begin with the question that sets this discussion up, I asked how much of an impact technology had on their academic life. The responses were very collective. Students responded with a mix between 4s and 5s, emphasizing that technology is incorporated significantly into their day-to-day academic life.
“I can’t do anything without my laptop on me.”
When asked how productive they feel they are with the use of technology, there was a mix of responses. About half of the respondents gave lower scores for their productivity, there were a few that responded with two. However, one respondent stated 4, saying this:
“Technology has both positive and negative impacts on on my academic career. It helps me use resources that would otherwise be unavailable, find help online for my homework… But especially when I use social media as a break between studying causes my focus to be worse.”
Next, I asked them how productive they felt when they aren’t using technology but writing instead. While there was a mix of high and low scores for the last question, there was a vast majority of 3s and 4s for this one. Collectively, students felt that they were more focused when they are doing schoolwork on hand and that there were very limited distractions.
“I have trouble starting when I’m beginning to write, but once I’ve started, I have a flow that can be very continuous.”
“It requires much more work to handwrite things, but it can be helpful in the sense that there are no distractions. Once I focus, it’s very likely that I will get a lot of stuff done.”
Next, I asked my peers how they felt after using technology for long periods of time. I received several 1s, 2s, and some 3s, which was the highest score. I realized that students who felt more strongly about using technology for their education scored lower than the rest, and I thought this was interesting since, theoretically, they should be “used to it.”
“I feel tired, overwhelmed. Sometimes I’ll have a headache.”
“I think that technology doesn’t allow myself and other people to have a genuine break because even when I’m doing work, when I try to pause and take a break, I’ll use my phone but that disrupts our focus, disrupts our dopamine production…But yeah, it can be really tiring even though I’ll just be sitting down using my laptop.”
Finally, I asked students which writing style they prefer. These were some of the responses I received:
“Writing, because it prevents me from getting distracted even if it’s not convenient. But technology is more portable and convenient.”
“Writing, because I can put my thoughts to paper which helps stick in my mind. Also, I can’t get distracted.”
“Typing, because it’s faster and easier and I don’t have to worry about spelling and grammatical mistakes as often.”
“Typing, because it is what I’m used to and I have more room for error, and it’s more convenient. But both have their strengths and weaknesses.”
Overall, I found the results to be very interesting because there were a lot, potentially half of respondents that expressed negative feelings towards technology that’s incorporated into their academic career. However, all of the respondents use this technology to a very significant amount in their day-to-day life, which makes me wonder why: Is it because they need to, because they want to, or just because it’s more convenient?
How effective is technology when it comes to students' education?
With the creation of new digital tools for students, classrooms have taken a large shift from taking notes on paper to typing on a Google Doc, writing with a digital pen, and more. But how efficient has that been for students’ learning? According to a scientific study titled “Advantage of handwriting Over Typing on Learning Words: Evidence From an N400 Event-Related Potential index,” conducted by Aya s. Ihara, et al., three different groups of students from the same university were asked to learn the Arabic alphabet. One group was asked to learn it on paper, one group with a digital pen, and the last group was meant to learn by typing. After some time, the students were asked to recall and write what they learned. The experimenters found that there was a significant difference between the group who was handwriting and everyone else. They were able to learn more of the Arabic alphabet, and researchers explained that one reason for this could have been because of factors like muscle memory and positivity: students in this group measured higher rates of morale and overall positive moods (Ihara, 7).
Furthermore, this experiment challenges the notion that technology is as convenient as some interviewers may imply. It suggests that students may require additional time to grasp the concepts they are being taught, as typing is deemed less efficient for studying when compared to handwriting. This is due to concepts like muscle memory, which refers to the brain's ability to store motor skill information, allowing an individual to perform a movement better and with less effort over time. This means that with repetitive movement, the brain retains the information and adapts to it, resulting in neural adaptation, improved strength, and power. When students, instead, are using digital technology, they are missing the development of a motor skill, which will inherently cause them to recollect less information (Ihara, 14).
What is the impact of technology on students’ health?
Going back to our interviews, we noted that students felt negatively towards using technology for long periods of time. They stated that they felt tired, overwhelmed and often experiencing physical symptoms like headaches and discomfort in eyes. According to research, this is because of the blue light that radiates off of the everyday devices that we use. While the exposure to blue light from screens is relatively minor compared to sources like sunlight, prolonged exposure and close interaction with devices – as students often experience during schoolwork – can have damaging effects on their physical and mental well-being.
To begin, technology can significantly impact sleep patterns and overall quality of rest. Often, students are up late at night studying, catching up on schoolwork, or completing an assignment due at 11:59, either because of poor time management or because they don’t have enough time throughout the day. As a result, they are exposed to the blue light emitted from their devices late at night, potentially right before they sleep. This can be very disruptive for the body’s body's natural sleep-wake cycle, because our biggest, and more influenctial source of blue light is the sun, which inherently controls our sleep schedule. When individuals attain this source at an inappropriate time (using their devices late at night), their sleep schedules may notice a disruption. The blue light emitted by screens can suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep, making it harder to fall asleep. Additionally, if we apply the fact that students will most definitely use their phones for entertainment during breaks or after they complete an assignment, this causes them to engage with stimulating content or communication that can increase cognitive arousal, making it difficult for the mind to relax and unwind before bedtime (Doctor Mike, 1:58). Finally, constant notifications and alerts from devices can also interrupt sleep by causing disturbances during the night. It is important to establish healthy bedtime routines and limit screen time before sleep to promote better sleep hygiene and overall well-being. Otherwise, poor sleep quality and schedule can directly result in lower academic performance.
Students frequently complan about discomforts in their eyes that they might experience after looking at their devices for so long, and they believe this is because of blue light exposure. However, in the YouTube video titled “Here's What Blue Light Actually Does To Your Body,” by Doctor Mike, he explains that the discomfort we experience isn’t directly a result of the devices we use, but “a result of actively using our vision for the long period of time. When students do anything that involves using their vision without giving breaks, they put themselves at risk for physical symptoms like headaches and eye strains. Additionally, when students are focused, naturally their eyes will blink less frequently, which can lead to eye irritation and dryness,” (Doctor Mike, 3:36) It’s important to take appropriate breaks as well, because it can be additionally damaging if students are using other sources of blue light – such as their phones – on their breaks, because it won’t really give their eyes their necessary rest. However, the absence of a direct causal relationship does not negate the correlation between these two factors. Students are inclined to spend extended periods seated with their devices working, as it offers a level of convenience not found in other methods such as handwriting or listening. As a result, individuals who utilise technology will be more likely to have requent headaches and eye strains.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, technology has significantly influenced and advanced various aspects of our modern world, making daily tasks more convenient and accessible. However, when it comes to education, technology may not necessarily enhance students' learning abilities. This has been evidenced through experiments indicating reduced information retention when utilizing digital tools, along with lower rates of retention and the onset of symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, and eye strain. Additionally, technology use has been linked to poor sleep quality and disruptions. Despite these drawbacks, and despite the negative feelings they may feel about using these devices, students can only continue using this technology due to its widespread availability, portability, and convenience.
I really liked how you included a video about blue light and it was very insightful to become more aware of how much technology we are constantly surrounded by. I also liked how you supported your thesis/claim throughout the entire Unit 2 Portfolio! -Maddie Washburn
ReplyDeleteGreat post!! I love how you used different pieces of media such as videos and graphs to support your thesis. I personally experience the negative affects such as migraines from technology, so I found this piece really interesting and relatable. I am excited to see what direction you take this in the next unit.
ReplyDelete-Nicole de Leon