EdTech Misuse
Technology has become an integral part of education, offering many benefits for students and teachers alike. Technology can enhance learning outcomes, foster collaboration, increase engagement, and prepare students for future careers. However, technology can also have negative impacts if it is misused or overused in the classroom. In this blog post, we will explore some of the common ways that technology misuse/overuse can harm learning and teaching, and suggest some strategies to change patterns of use to promote good pedagogical practice.
What is Technology Misuse?
Technology misuse for our reference speaks to any intentional or unintentional use of technology that interferes with learning, teaching, or development of students. Misuse happens most often in small, implicit, incremental ways in the classroom.
Over the last three years, I’ve had the privilege of visiting and working in numerous classrooms. I’ve had a strange sense of dissonance at a recurring experience. I walk into a classroom, it’s quiet, very quiet. It’s a room full of twenty to thirty children (sometimes as young as six years old) and no chatter, no hum of discussion, just silence. Learning is supposedly happening according to the grown ups in the room. Students seem to be working through something on their screen. I walk by quietly watching. The adults seem glad, almost relieved to have some silence. But it’s strangely quiet.
Each child is glued to a screen about 5 inches from their face with headphones on. I wonder how long they’ve been like this and how much longer it will be. Class after class this scene repeats itself. Don’t get me wrong I’m a tech junky. I’ve been one since I tried to make an electric rollerblade in the fifth grade in Ms. Richardson’s class. But with all my experience and knowledge of good teaching practice and of what’s best for these children’s brains, something wasn’t sitting right. This seemed to hit more like “1984” technology rather than the feel good “Back to the Future” technology.
The misuse I’m concerned about isn’t necessarily about students cheating through online sources, or using devices non-academically. What concerns me is that the modality of learning is being shifted by technology overuse and misuse. Children are being deprived of developmentally essential experiences in the real world. This is a snowball that has been rolling down the mountainside and we are beginning to see what avalanches may result.
How Does Technology Misuse Affect Learning and Teaching?
So let’s get factual here. Technology misuse can have serious consequences for both students and teachers.
Studies have shown that multitasking with devices during class reduces students' ability to focus, process information, take notes, and recall what they learned (e.g., Glass and Kang 2019; Kuznekoff and Titsworth 2013; Rosen et al 2011). This leads to inability to have a depth of understanding of concepts. Of course not being used to going deep and focusing on something can impact many facets of learning.
Technology misuse can also distract other students and disrupt the flow of instruction. For example, a study by Bjornsen and Archer (2015) found that students who used their phones during class were more likely to be off-task themselves and cause off-task behaviour in their peers. There’s nothing new about off-task behaviour in the classroom, its par for the course and often is what makes the space feel like a real community. What is different this time though, is the addictive and constant nature of the distraction. This can create a negative classroom climate and affect teacher-student relationships.
Forget the students, adults today can’t sit in a 30 minute meeting without having to pull out a device and answer emails while “listening” to you. And the idea that people can perfectly multitask is a misnomer. No one can multitask without losing efficiency. No one. It’s a mathematical thing. If you’re fully focused on a conversation with all your senses you are much more able to give your full faculties to the ideas and nuances, and be of greater use than if you gave 50%. No matter how amazing you are at multitasking you would do even better if you gave 100% to that one task. Having technology misused this way, creates a lack of stamina in students for focus. They become addicted to unnecessary multitasking at best, or at worst, addicted to being distracted. Ever found yourself watching a show or a movie and, for no reason, you reach for your phone. Yes, that! That is not good and we’re adults who likely grew up with minimal access to mobile internet technology. How much more does this affect students whose brains are literally being mapped through their experiences today.
Beyond the cognitive developmental impacts, there are also impacts on the learning community socially. Technology misuse can diminish students' interest in learning, participation in class activities, feedback from teachers, and sense of belonging in the classroom community (e.g., Lee et al 2017; Rosen et al 2011; Kuznekoff and Titsworth 2013). It can cause students to feel overwhelmed by information overload, pressured by peer influence, or fearful by cyber bullying (e.g., Ribble and Bailey 2004; Tindell and Bohlander 2011; McCoy 2016). It can erode trust, respect, and communication between students and teachers, as well as among students themselves (e.g., Bok Center Harvard University).
How Can We Change Patterns of Use to Promote Good Teaching Practice?
Technology misuse is not inevitable nor irreversible. There are many ways that teachers and Edtech developers can prevent or reduce technology misuse in their classrooms by adopting some of the following strategies:
Establish clear expectations: Teachers should communicate clearly with their students about what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate use of technology in the classroom. They should also explain the rationale behind these expectations and how they relate to learning objectives and students’ own development as healthy human beings. Teachers should enforce these expectations consistently and fairly, using positive reinforcement.
In conjunction with teacher action, EdTech developers need to consider how their solution impacts student well being; developmentally, socially, and cognitively. Designing solutions to maximize student health and development should be the driving force behind all ventures.
Model good digital citizenship: Teachers should also model good digital citizenship by using technology responsibly and ethically themselves. They should demonstrate how to use technology for academic purposes by intentionally choosing when and how we integrate tech into our lessons. Teachers should design engaging lessons that incorporate technology as a tool for learning, not as a distraction from it. They should also offer opportunities for students to interact with each other face-to-face, and provide feedback that is timely, specific, and constructive. They should also teach students how to critically evaluate online sources critically, cite them properly, and respect intellectual property rights. Becoming more aware, as educators, of the traps and attractions to overuse or misuse of technology in the classroom to make things “easier” is a crucial first step.
Edtech solutions ought to support teachers in this effort. Solutions that help teachers model good lesson design practices and encourage face-to-face interaction and collaboration are an essential first step.
Monitor student device usage: Teachers should also monitor student device usage during class time, using various methods such as observation, surveys, or software tools. They should check whether students are using devices for genuine learning purposes or not, and intervene if necessary. Systems of education should also collect data on device usage patterns and analyze them for trends or issues.
Conclusion
Technology is a powerful tool for education, but it can also be a source of problems if it is misused in the classroom. Teachers and Edtech developers alike need to be aware of the potential negative impacts of technology misuse on learning and teaching, and take proactive steps to prevent or reduce them.
References:
Glass AL & Kang M (2019). Dividing attention in the classroom reduces exam performance.Educational Psychology 39(3):395–408.
https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/technology-and-student-distraction