Writing for an Academic Discussion Has technology in education enhanced the learning experience? - revised -

Do you believe that the integration of technology in education has overall enhanced the learning experience for students? Why? Why not?

 

 

☆Let’s think

1         Have you ever used any of the following in your studies? How much do you think you learned with it?

YouTube video   language-learning app   generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT)

 

2         Have you ever experienced enhancement of your ability by using any of the following technologies?

3         ・learning practical skills like dancing or drawing pictures 

・information search and other skills to widen your views.

・memorization, learning languages, preparing for an examination, and other learning to increase knowledge

・critical thinking, such as coming up with ideas for a writing assignment

 

 

☆Reference

"Universities are embracing AI: will students get smarter or stop thinking?  

Millions of students arriving at campuses are now using artificial intelligence. Worries abound.

 

... To some, AI presents an exciting opportunity to improve education and prepare students for a rapidly changing world. Universities such as Tsinghua and Ohio State are already weaving AI into their teaching — and some studies hint that AI-powered tools can help students to learn. A randomized controlled trial involving physics undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, suggested that those who used a custom-built AI tutor learnt more in less time than did students who were taught by humans alone.

 

But many education specialists are deeply concerned about the explosion of AI on campuses: they fear that AI tools are impeding learning because they’re so new that teachers and students are struggling to use them well. Faculty members also worry that students are using AI to short-cut their way through assignments and tests, and some research hints that offloading mental work in this way can stifle independent, critical thought.”   By Helen Pearson (“Nature” on 21 October, 2025)

 

 

☆Hints for Points

Yes

1.        Educational materials and sites help students understand subjects more effectively than before.

2.        Information search and comparison of multiple materials have become more efficient than before.

 

No

1.        Fewer students have the ability to read complicated materials than before because most students do not read books anymore as they learn from apps and social media.

2.        Many students learn less than before because they copy and paste information.

 

☆Sample Responses

Sample 1  I agree with Fione’s point that technology democratized education by enhancing accessibility to information and other resources and would like to elaborate on it. Information Technology has made information search and comparison of multiple materials efficient than before. It now allows us to get necessary information for studies anytime and anywhere. It is no longer necessary to go to the library or bookstores to find related materials as Google search provides numerous sources, including newspapers and magazines, instantly. Even when a certain book is necessary, ordering from online bookstores allows us to download a copy in a few seconds or have it sent within a day or two. As Taylor says, the distraction of social media can offset the time earned by this efficiency, but it was epoch-making that information technology has made it physically efficient to collect good materials. In the end, learning depends on the individual’s concentration and IT definitely has facilitated our learning. (156 words)

 

Sample 2  With reservation, I’m also concerned about the fragmentation of attention like Taylor. Integration of information technology and education has inundated the workstation with infinite and constant flows of distractors like notices or news feed, which can keep students away from work till they lose track of their researches and thoughts. Insights and inspiration require certain amount of time for the brain to work on the subject undisturbed by the unrelated factors, but work on the screen never allows it. Especially, time for reading on the tablet gets fragmented and this directly affects the quality of reading. It is like a disturbed sleep. Even if the total length of the activity is the same, the highest point of the brain activity cannot often be reached in disturbed reading. Meanwhile, younger generations are tech-savvy and multitaskers, and they might not be so distracted by the incessant assault of notices and alerts as to lose sight of the tasks they are working on. They might even be able to advantage of the state of mind that is constantly open to the online exposure, sorting out and processing information they get simultaneously, and get the task done better reflecting the sense of reality they get from the process. In short, students’ attention span and concentration may have been affected while adaptation may have been occurring among young users. (224 words)

 

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DRAFT