Is Technology Affecting Learning?

Children now don't spend their time playing outside, but are on video games, watching TV and texting their friends. Some say these advances are having an adverse effect on children, their education and ability to communicate.

However, a study has shown that texting and the use of abbreviations it is common-place amongst young people, in schools it is not having an effect on their language studies or ability to write in proper English. However, despite this there are arguments that technology is actually affecting children.

· Attention Span - Arguments that technology is affecting the attention span is evident. Video games and the Internet can go hand in hand with this, they become addicted to playing the games and have little time for anything else.

· Spelling and Grammar -There are some concerns that spelling and grammar are going to be affected by the use of abbreviations in texting and writing in online shortcuts. There is a decline in writing correct English and teachers try their best to teach their students the correct way to spell and write.

· Support for Learning -One benefit to technology is the ways it can aid learning. The Internet is an almost limitless resource and therefore there are games and revision websites available for every level of learning and even specific exams.

· Skills in Communication -There's also a growing concern that technology is affecting children's ability to socialise and communicate with others. Bing glued to video games and mobile phones can limit their confidence when they are placed in social situations they have previously been unfamiliar with. One problem being that students will come to situations in their work environments they find uncomfortable and unsure of how to deal with. All of which could have been resolved when they were a much younger age and placed in those situations then.

With regard to children's language there is no evidence to show that technology is affecting it negatively. It is changing it slightly to work with the changing world we now live in. Over the centuries the English language has been constantly changing, so we should accept the changes and embrace the advantages that technology brings to us.