KassidyOwen

English110
J.VanderMey
13April2015
AMSMultiSourceSynthesisEssay:
TheWayTechnologyHasImpactedandInfluencedtheWorld

Ifearthedaythattechnologywillsurpassourhumaninteraction.Theworldwillhavea
generationofsocialidiots.AlbertEinstein

We'resurroundedbygadgetsthatdemandourattention,constantlycallingusandmaking
ithardtoproperlyfocusonthingsbesidesourphones.AsPhilRobertsonfromDuckDynasty
says,itshardforhumanbeingstofunctionwithoutsomethingattachedtotheirearanditsjust
aconstantthing.Cellphonesarethemostdistractingcontraptionsonthefaceoftheearth,and
havebecomeevenmoreofadistractiontoeverydaylife.Itisoftenoverlookedasmuchofa
distractiontolearningwhichismakessenseinsomeways.Anexampleinoneofthearticleson
TheImpactOfSocialNetworking:AStudyOftheInfluenceOfSmartphonesOnCollege
Students,theauthorsAbirS.AlHarrasiandAliH.AlBadi,didastudyonsmartphonesthat
happentobetheinfluenceonjustcollegestudents.Andreadingtheintroductionofthatarticle,it
wasaffectingtheirlearningsuchasdecreasingofgradesbecausetheirphonescouldbethe
reasonforthedistractionwhenitisnotcorrectlyused,leadingtoamajorityoftimewasted.If
technologyweretaughthowtobeusedcorrectly,studentswouldbehappierlearning,teachers

couldlearnthattechnologyisokforlearning.Andeventhoughtheinternetandtechnologyhas
becomealmostlikeadrug,wherethemajorityofthisgenerationcannotgothroughaday
withoutitanditisstartingtobelookedatmoreofanegativeratherthanapositive.Inthearticle
TheInfluenceofviolentmediaonchildrenandadolescents:apublichealthapproach,there
weresomenegativesthatweretrue.Thepublichealthperspectiveonmediaviolencemightbe
definedasconsideringtheeffectsofviolentimagery.AlsoThebehaviorofparentsin
monitoringtheuseoftelevisionsandcomputersandknowinglyorunknowinglyallowingaccess
toviolentimageryshouldbeconsidered.Butittheredoesnotseemtobeamonitoronkids
thesedays,whichisaproblem.
Technology,socialmediaandtheinternet,canbepositivebutareoftenoverlookedasa
negativeratherthanapositive.Whilereadingthesearticles,OneofthearticlesTheImpactOf
SocialNetworking:AStudyOftheInfluenceOfSmartphonesOnCollegeStudents,thetitle
makesitclearenoughthatitisallbasedoncollegestudents.TheauthorsAbirS.AlHarrasiand
AliH.AlBadisaidastheydidastudyoncollegestudentsandtheimpactcellphoneshaveon
them.Theyalsomentionedhowprofessorsfeelaboutcellphones,theydonotlikestudents
havingcellphonesintheclassroomsandstarttooverlookitasanegativeinsteadofpositive.
Thisarticlementionsaboutamajorityofastudent'stimeisusedonsocialmediawebsitesand
cellphoneswhileintheclassroomandthatisbeingoverlookedasadistractiontotheirlearning.
Intodaysworld,phonesareanaddictiontousandschoolsandteacherstrytobantechnology
andlimitthatinschools,totrysolvingproblems,thinkingitwillcuresomeofthedistraction.
Alsowhentryingtotakeitawaybyblockinternetuseinschools,studentsstillfindways,so
takingitawaywillnotwork.Technologyhasdefinitelyadvancedlearning,andschoolswantto

banandlimititsimplybecauseitisviewedasanegativeratherthanapositive.Technologyhas
definitelybecomeastrangeaddictiontolifeandlearningandthatswhatalotofschoolsthink.
Alsobecausewhatamajorityofstudentsuseonadailybasisistheirphonesandthatswherea
lotofnegativesandtheoverlookingcomefrom.

Buttheresanothersidebeyondthenegativesaboutcellphones,theinternet,and
technology.Thesearticleskeepsayingthatitsbadhowmuchtimecollegestudents,teens,and
childrenspendbeingontheinternetandthatitstoomuchofadistractionforlearningand
socializing.Yesitisbad,andyesweallneedtotaketimeawayfromtechnologysometimesbut
theydonotseethepositiveeffectsofit.Technologymakeslearningfun,easiertodoprojects,
helpstobemorecreative,andtryingbantechnologyandlimitit,willnotchangeorhelp
anything.Technologyhasdefinitelyadvancedlearningandschoolswanttobanandlimitit.
Technologyhasdefinitelybecomeastrangeaddictionandthatswherealotofnegativescome
from.Sincesomeeducatorsseetechnologyasanegativetolearning,studentsarenotableto
thinkcreativelyandgrowintheirlearning.Technologywillneverstopgrowingsoitneedstobe
accepted.

Sothesolutioniswecannotjustbantechnologyandtakeitaway,andwecannotblame
hollywoodforwhathappenswiththemediabecausewedonotknowwhoorwhattoblamefor
whythemediaisthewayitistoday.Butschoolsisagreatplacetostartteachingmedialiteracy.
AformerShepherdHighSchoolEnglish11thand12thgradeteacherMr.JayGrossteacheson
whatmostteachersandpeopletendtooverlook.Usingtechnologyinaverypositivemanner,he

doesnotshutitoutoftheclassroom.Hispassionisteachingeducationaltechnology,andhe
embracescellphones,laptopsetc.Heteacheshisclasseswithlaptops,cellphones,etc,showing
themwaysthatwillmakeschoolworkalittlebiteasierandithasmadehisstudentsimagine
moreandtobeevenmorecreative.Hehastaughtthatwhenusingtechnology,itispossibleto
managefreetimeanddoingschoolworkandotherbusinessstuff.Anothersolutionistostart
teachingstudentsandteachershowtouseitcorrectlywithoutitbeingatotalproblemor
distraction.Withinteachingaboutit,bothteachersandstudentscouldlearnhowtomanagetheir
timebetweenusingitforfreetimeandschoolwork(researchprojects).Whenitistaught
correctly,itisntsuchathreatoraproblem.Alsoanothersolutionwouldbetomonitorthetime
childrenwatchtv,beingonthecomputeretc,becausethereneedstobeatimetogetawayfrom
itanddomorethingsthantojustletachildsitaroundalldaydoingnothing.
Technologyhasdefinitelychangedhowwealllearnandhowwesocialize.Conversations
thesedaysarenowthroughskype,facebook,twitter,textmessaging,etc.Ihopeschoolswillstart
toembracetechnologyasitisandjustteachitinapositivemannertotheclassroomsandmake
learningeffectiveinagoodway.Knowingthattechnologyisonlyherefortemporary,itcannot
makeyousatisfied,itwillalwayshavescrewupsandsuch,wecannotlettechnologybetheonly
thinginourlivesthatmakeushappy.Godiswhatmakesmehappyandhasdefinitelyhelped
boostmeoutofmycomfortzoneandhelpedmebyputtingmyfaithinhim.Icantalktopeople
facetofacealotbetterthanpreviousyears.Ijusthopethiswontbeoverlookedlikeithasbeen
overtheyears,andthatitisseenbeyondthenegatives.

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