If you are old enough, you might be able to remember the very first computers. They were huge machines that were as large as a vending machine. The media they used was usually tape or paper cards, with holes punched in them. Computers today are quite different; computers can fit in the palm of your hand and they may not even use any type of media. All of the information can come wireless through the air, you never even see it.

Technology has also had huge effects on the way people do things. Technology has made it easier for people to communicate by bridging long distances. Technology has been used to make things more convenient for all of us. One way that technology has been used to make our lives easier is through education. There are people who believe that technology has played a key role in helping people get better educations; yet there are also just as many people who believe that people use technology as a crutch and technology as a whole has made the human race less resourceful than before.

Has Technology Benefited Education?

Technology has made getting an education easier for some people through the introduction of online learning. Online learning has introduced an entire new world of benefits to students; technology has made learning more flexible. Here is a good example.

Jennifer currently works in a local hospital as a registered nurse. This is a full-time job that requires at least 40 hours a week. Jennifer wants to further her education, so she chose an online RN to BSN. This course serves two purposes for Jennifer. She can further her education and at the same time, she can still put in 40 hours a week at her full-time job. The online class gives her the freedom to learn when she wants to. She doesn’t have to rearrange her schedule according to the schools. She can keep her current schedule and continue to further her education. This is just one example of how online learning has brought students a great deal of benefits.Students also have found technological learning more engaging; students are typically more eager to learn using their computers than they are with thetraditional book, pen and paper.

Has Technology Affected Our Intelligence?

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are just as many people who believe that technology has made it more difficult for people to learn on their own. These people believe that technology is being used as a crutch for lazy people.

People rely on computers every day. By relying on computers, people are no longer relying on anything that they have stored in memory. This means that they are not retaining any of this information as knowledge. In the past, people were considered “intelligent” when they could recall things from memory. Things are completely the opposite today. Now questions are answered with a few keystrokes on a computer or a few touches of the screen on a smartphone.

Being able to solve a problem on your own is extremely important. Computers and technology, in general, have taken this away from a lot of people. They no longer know how to solve basic problems. Their dependency on computers has had a negative effect on the way they think and some believe that computers have caused people to not even think at all.

Is it technology or is it just human laziness? Everyone has a certain amount of laziness in them. Could it be that computers have just brought all this laziness to the surface? Most people now will turn to a computer for the answer to a problem, as opposed to coming up with one on their own.

Is Technology a Benefit or a Hindrance?

There are plenty of valid points on both sides. The people who think technology is a crutch have obviously never used the benefits that a distance learning MBA has to offer, for instance. The people who think that technology has helped may only be using technology for convenience. It seems that each valid point from each party balances everything out. Perhaps technology has given us an equal amount of benefits, as it has disadvantages.

Author Bio:

Jan Micheals is a contributing author who currently works full-time as both a freelancer and trend forecaster. She is currently earning her master’s degree online.