Christy 1 Aaron Christy English 111 Critical Reflection Essay Nancy Elliot Technology Critically Synthesized To synthesize a chemical

compound in chemistry, one must chemically combine two or more simpler substances to produce one more complex substance. Synthesizing works of literature that evaluate and present an opinion on a topic is very similar to synthesizing compounds. The synthesis essay assignment is one that requires a learner to choose a topic that is considered a problem related to adult/transformative learning. The concept of synthesizing in this essay is used to obtain multiple perspectives and support from credible sources. Once these perspectives are obtained it is important for the author to show how his/her ideas relate to the other authors. These multiple ideas and perspectives are used to problematize the conversation that surrounds the issue chosen in the topic. Incorporating these concepts and transitioning from one author to the next smoothly will create an effective synthesis of the topic. The problem I chose specifically was the use of ICTs (information and communication technologies) in adult learning and education. This topic is relative to my everyday life because ICTs are used in my everyday life for a large portion of activities. Cell phones, tablets, computers, and the Internet are ICTs that I use every day. I chose this issue because it its a relevant problem in todays education system. The issue of whether or not to incorporate technology in the classroom seems to always be up for debate. The future for the use of ICTs in

Christy 2 the classroom is unknown and the effects of technology use in the classroom have not been studied over a long period of time. Beginning this synthesis essay was a difficult task. I had no idea of what I was going to form my synthesis around until my teacher brought a magazine article to my attention that compared and contrasted reading from a technology medium to reading a paper copy. I chose this topic and began my research on the effects of technology in education. I had not decided whether or not I was going to support or condemn the use of technology in education and I wanted to see what my research results would yield. As I began my research for sources I focused on finding sources that were unbiased yet informational. These qualities are largely dependent upon the author. For an author to write a scholarly piece he or she must usually be well respected in their field, and have a very high level of education in their field. These qualifications assure the integrity of the information as well as the accuracy. I had found five or six sources (most I believed to be scholarly) that suited my topic and problem I wanted to address. These sources were diversified in their approach and opinion of the topic. However, after a talk with my teacher and an evaluation form a staff member at Mid-Michigan Community College, it was determined that a massive readjustment to my topic and the writing style on this essay was in order. I was told I needed to specify and simplify my problem on the topic. Instead of evaluating the use of technology in education I needed to evaluate the use of specific technologies and develop complexity around this issue. After discarding a few sources that would be useless to my new approach redrafting of the essay was in order. When using the sources in my essay I wanted to bring complexity to the problem surrounding education. I needed scholarly sources that could also provide support for their opinions and ideas on the topic; this would add backbone and concrete proof to support my

Christy 3 position on the topic. An article in Scientific American written by editor Ferris Jabr titled Weighing Paper against Pixel, also strongly supported my view on the topic of ICTs in education. Jabr found research that proved learners do not mentally engage the same when reading from a technology medium. Through this research, it was confirmed that knowledge retention is significantly different when read on a paper copy versus a technology screen. I used this source to begin my essay to show strong evidence of why ICT use in education should be limited. I followed this article with another article written by Nicholas Carr, titled Is Google Making Us Stupid? By displaying test results and observations from psychologists, this article showed the psychoanalytic and neurobiological effects of ICT use in education. Carr explains how the use of ICTs has totally changed the way we think about education, specifically critical thinking and investigative learning. This source showed that technology has actually changed our approach to learning and education and explains how we have suffered because of this. Carrs position and ideas were helpful because they showed how technologies such as ICTs affect the strategy and techniques of education. The next piece that was synthesized into the discussion was Melody Thompsons Journal entry on Adult Education in a Technological Society. Thompson focuses this piece more upon the behavioral and social changes that ICTs have brought about in education. In her writing, she stresses that society believes it must incorporate the use of ICTs in education and that if they are not use that society will be left behind. Thompson believes that because of this standard we will be negatively affected by technology. By showing the negative impact of the behavioral and social influence of ICTs, Thompsons article was useful to my essay in the fact that it stressed the importance of individuality in education.

Christy 4 Finally, another Carr article was used to string along Thompsons ideas of social and behavioral change. Carrs article The Great Forgetting, benefits my position in a way that relates strongly to everyday life as well as education. His article explains how technology has changed the shape of our everyday lives by taking away tasks that were once routine and simple and making them a task done by technology. In education, students no longer have to think critically or search for a document or even read the document because ICTs will do all of that for them. I was able to better build complexity to the issue when Carr brought up people developing a bias to their technology. He showed that people will actually trust that their technology is right even when it is clearly wrong and will believe their technology over any other evidence. This shows a severe negative affect of ICTs because the integrity of technology is questioned. How can ICTs be used in education if people will trust the technology when the information presented could be wrong or biased? Writing this essay for an academic audience to inform and persuade them on my opinion of the topic while maintaining synthesis format was difficult. An audience of college professors and evaluators want to see a synthesis of many authors opinions and ideas while incorporated with your own presents a daunting task that must constantly be remolded to fit the format so one does not lose focus on the synthesis objective. Through the informational support of my sources, and a strong synthesis from source to source, I believe I was able to show a strong perspective and opinion on the use of ICTs in education. I believe this assignment expanded my tools as a writer and thinker. It made me not only think about my sources and topic and unison, but how those sources can be applied to achieve my goal while maintaining an academic synthesis essay. My writing skills have increased by gaining the ability to not just talk about an authors information, but to relate that information to my opinions, to make the conversation on the topic

Christy 5 my own, and to change the readers opinion. This assignment changed the way I think about academic sources, I can now read an authors piece with a transformative frame of reference.