Is Technology Causing Students To Loose As Much As They Gain?

The question if technology does as much harm as it does good is one that many don't stop to ponder about. As a college student technology impacts my life daily and at a level so high I have forgotten the days where I wasn't using it. Each morning and afternoon I find myself on the computer linked to my college webpage where I can do my homework for my courses, I spend hours completing homework, composing research and even typing papers. Without the aid of a computer, and the internet I can't see how the schools would be able to progress in a way where their availability meets their students needs. What I am referring to is the ability for a student to contact the professor without having to be at school physically or set an appointment, students can now enroll in semester classes via the internet along with applying for financial aid and scholarships. But the aid of technology goes far beyond using a computer for typing an essay; in my welding course we use technology to form amazing structures from scraps of metal, using a machine that converts electricity to fuse metals together. But welding may not be something that is relevant to my audience, what about saving a life? Hundreds of college students at Arizona Western College study nursing and learn to apply technology to monitor the health of a patient. All of these things are cases where technology can be helpful, through the many forms technology has. The modern world has created this tool for human aid, but even a tool meant for good can be created into a weapon that causes damage if not used correctly.

Google Images (Technology in Hospitals)

Like almost anything in life humanity has a tendency to exploit the negative side of that idea. The same has been done to the way technology is used. Many believe they can do many things at once and still have the same strong focus on each subject as if it was the only one being done, these distractions are created by the internet, television, even music playing on an iPod. College students rarely sit down and give their homework 100% of their attention because they are involved in other things such as looking at a video on YouTube or texting their friends. These distractions are ways technology can become harmful, the college students are not giving 100% of their intellect to what is needed. I for one contribute to that group of college students; at my house we didn't have cable, none the less internet so everyday I spent my free time in the computer lab at my college doing my online homework. Since I wanted to go home I would focus on the homework to finish as fast as I could. Four days ago I called a cable company to install cable, internet and WiFi at my house, my first thought was being able to do my college work at the comfort of my home but now I find myself taking hours to complete what used to require only 45 minutes. It is presumable that technology is hurting us as it aiding us, but is technology truly the ones harming us? Or is our inability to sustain and control temptation the real answer to our distractions?

YouTube (Video of Teen Distractions)

YouTube (Video of Technology in Daily Life)

This is a video pertaining to my previous blog title About Me; it contains information about how technology has been seen through my personal life growing up and its basically to help visualize the presence of technology in my life growing up and what I've experienced.

About Me

My name is Felipe, a student at Arizona Western College and an employee at a Japanese restaurant. My everyday life may be organized around three main focuses: school, homework, and my job- but it is never the exact same routine due to the fact that I continuously keep my mind active. As a college student my goals are not to only pass my classes but to be able to graduate and have the skills I require to not drive on a road filled with continuous stress and financial pot holes. Amazingly though in my college experience it has been a lot different than my mother's 6 years ago in the way that technology is can be found everywhere. Changes like taking a Placement test on a computer screen compared to the paper version offered not so long ago, registering online and being able to avoid waiting for hours under several buildings, even contacting professors and counselors is easily accessible through via internet and now many courses are incorporating that homework must be turned in online where it is both posted and graded. But not only are educational facilities incorporating technology, my work environment/ hiring process is vastly changing daily; most business will tell you to visit their webpage to apply for their employments. My generation may not feel it because we grew up with these changes, but I can only imagine the struggle being faced by new comers to college and work fields.

Google Images (Incorperating Tech in Schools)

Google Images (Incorperating Tech in Schools)

Growing up I experienced technology mainly through cell phone use, computer use, video gaming and with new enhanced televisions. I use my cell phone constantly, there hasn't been a day since I got my hands on a cell phone where I haven't used it. I find myself using for Facebook, text messages and things like YouTube and iPhone apps, rarely do I ever talk on the phone using my voiced. Computers though have aided me through many tasks, from completing research for my college courses to simply contacting a family member all the way in Idaho. Video gaming, we all know is for personal interest and entertainment. But televisions, they have impacted the world since the day they were invented in 1927. From being updated on news, watching movies or shows with the family, even having it play a music channel, I have exhausted the use of my t.v along with all previous technological gadgets.
I am a student at AWC, an employee at a Japanese restaurant, a son a brother an uncle and someone who is like everyone else in this small planet. And technology is part of my everyday life.