Last Updated: February 3, 2022, 8:07 am
By: Bailey Chism
In today’s reality, technology has replaced traditional learning styles. In frame: Alex Barbaran, a senior psychology major from Milpitas, California. Photo by Misha Mosiichuk.
It is rare to see a student taking notes with a pen and paper instead of their computer.
When was the last time you remember using a pen and paper to take notes in class? For me, it dates back to sometime in high school. Having a computer makes school much simpler; we don’t have to worry about lugging around multiple notebooks for each class.
It’s gotten to the point that we don’t even consider using a pen and paper to write something down, not when we have our phones or computers with us. We have become far too reliant on our technology.
I use my computer for everything; taking notes, reading textbooks, writing papers and I never stop to think about the consequences that could occur. What if my computer crashes before class? What if I lose everything on it?
These things could easily happen, and it would stop us in our tracks. We wouldn’t be able to do anything because most of us don’t even carry a notebook anymore.
Searching through books to find answers isn’t something we think about anymore, not when we can type a few words into a search bar and be greeted with a list of a million different websites with the research we need. We never stop to think about the accuracy of the answers, though; we find one that seems right and go with it.
The use of technology has stopped us from actually learning and taking in information. We don’t feel the need to actually learn anymore. Technology has prevented us from developing the learning skills we developed in our younger years. Instead, it has spoon-fed us answers and information that we don’t remember afterward.
In one of my classes this semester, my professor gives our exams on paper in class. When she told us this, everyone was shocked, but that’s how it was before I came to college. We took tests with paper and pencil every time. I haven’t taken an exam on paper for years, so hearing that our exams would be that way for this class seemed odd.
The pandemic hasn’t helped with online classes and Zoom meetings taking up our schedule. Part of our schooling is entirely based on technology, and there’s nothing we can do about it. We deal with computer crashes and lost assignments without considering the other option: to use paper.
We are losing touch with our true learning style. Using our computers for textbooks and assignments means we aren’t learning as well as we used to, but it’s also given us resources that we can’t find in books. If we, as students, can find the happy medium between technology and paper, I think we could become better learners than we are now. We don’t need to rely solely on one thing. We can expand our resources and find so much more information.
