What Role Does Technology Play In My Learning?

In today's society, in the year 2012, technology has been sewn into every fabric of our society. Companies rely on technology to advertise their products, consumers rely on technology to learn about the world around them and the circle goes on and on. Everywhere we turn, we can see technology; whether it be looking at our phone, I pod, computer screen, or television. We have the power to text, tweet, instant message, email or blog, all in a device that is smaller than the palms of our hands. Sure, all this accessibility makes our social lives much easier, but how does it affect our education?

Since I was around 12 years old, I have been accustom to using stereos, overhead projectors and computers on a daily basis during the 6 hours I am at school. PowerPoint presentations have been used by both teachers and students and the library usually offers computer time to students conducting research for class projects. Despite this technological presence in my education, I have never been asked to take on a class project in the form of making a blog. At first, I was surprised that technology was about to take a leading role in my education, but as I grew used to the idea, I became eager to see if it would impact my learning in any way.

Personally, I have a love-hate relationship with technology. I often get distracted from my task at hand when Facebook temps me with new photos and status updates or I find a hilarious Youtube video when I search "cats meowing". Because of my short attention span, using a blog to display my learning has helped me become an even better procrastinator than I ever thought possible. However, my project it still finished on time and I have to say it opened new ways of exploring and learning about my topic. Being able to embed videos, photos and links not only furthers my education on my topic, but enables more exploration and explanation than what I would normally see in a classroom setting. 

Another important factor the I much appreciated was the less noticeable environmental footprint I left. Writing essays or making posters wastes quite a bit of paper as I usually need to print and correct multiple drafts. Paper-based projects are also generally marked once and thrown in the trash; but by using a blog, wasting zero paper not only helps the environment but makes my work seem more valuable. This is because it is not thrown out immediately, but rather on the internet where others can appreciate it and not only my teacher.

Overall, I would say that using technology as a way of presenting my topic has not only positively impacted my learning but furthered it because of it's accessibility and easily shared abundance of information. I enjoyed it because it was a new way of completing a project rather than the usual presentation and poster accompaniment.

Calvin and Hobbes Comic - Source: Google Images