Hagen 1

Lauren Hagen
Kate Kenderish
English 101
February 17, 2015
Technological Advancements: Causing Worlds to Collide

Computers, smart phones, flat screen TVs. We no longer have to file through books to
find an answer to a question we are a few touch screen buttons away from google and its all
seeing eye. Is having all of this available to us and ready in the palm of our hands beneficial or
harmful? We have access to not only printed text now, but the Internets entire collection of
books, documents, articles and more. Technology is always evolving. Walkmans to iPods,
desktop computers to touch screen laptops, and black and white television compressed into HD
flat screens on the wall. So how can we use these technological advances in a way that empowers
us instead of overwhelm us? Articles such as Dumbest Generation on USA Today fill the air
about how we have become multitasking, information inhaling, television consuming
individuals. But is that necessarily true? How can we step ahead of technology and use it to
change the movement of media? Perhaps in the midst of all the improvements in technology and
the growth in media exposure, we can find a way to shape it for the better and use it to become
more knowledgeable and educated.
In Neil Postmans essay, The Judgment of Thamus, he nurtures the idea that
enhancements in technology are neither bad nor good. He uses the story of King Thamus to
demonstrate the error that a lot of people tend to make about technology that it is doing more
harm than good. He says, Thamus error is in his believing that writing will be a burden to
society and nothing but a burden. Every technology is both a burden and a blessing; not either-or,

Hagen 2
but this-and-that. Postmans statement makes me believe that it is possible shift the
expectations. Rather than looking at technological improvements as strictly a good or bad thing,
it is important to recognize both sides. Technological improvements are happening everywhere,
and a popular area we can see this in is how they are effecting classroom environments and
changing students learning habits.
With old texts available and new technology coming into classrooms, to what extent can
technological advancements be used as a way to empower students in educational environments?
As the number of people owning a tablet increases, debates have been formed over whether
schools should switch from print textbooks to digital textbooks on tablets. The technological
features of a tablet and the skills students learn by using tablets are two main reasons why tablets
would be the better path in teaching methods. A technological feature that stands out the most is
that tablets are capable of storing hundreds of textbooks, homework files, and quizzes all in one
place. This eliminates the need for physical storage of books or other classroom materials, and
reduces the amount of waste. It also makes it easier for the student to access various resources
and books stored away in custom shelves. By having books in easy access, students are able to
learn more material faster. Secondly, using tablets in classrooms instead of textbooks can help
prepare students for a world that is immersed in technology. Having those skills and time to
practice early on will benefit students as they later try to find a career. The highest paying and
fast growing jobs are mostly technology concentrated. In fact, according to the US Bureau of
Labor Statistics, employment in computer and information systems is predicted to increase by
18% within the next five years. Overall, technological improvements, such as tablets over
textbooks, would help students learn faster and learn in a way that will help them in their future.

Hagen 3
In comparison, it is important to look into what degree technological advancements can
hinder students in their educational environments as well. Lots of teachers find that electronic
devices offer too many diversions for classroom use, and request that they be stored away during
class time. Clay Shirky, a social media professor at New York University, writes about why he
banned electronic devices during his lectures in his essay, Why I just Asked My Students to Put
Away Their Laptops. He says:
The level of distraction in my classes seemed to grow, even though it was the same
professor and largely the same set of topics, taught to a group of students selected using
roughly the same criteria every year. The change seemed to correlate more with the rising
ubiquity and utility of the devices themselves, rather than any change in me, the students,
or the rest of the classroom encounter.
As laptops and other devices become increasingly popular in classes, teachers must find a way to
win over the class attention by fascinating them more than the potential distractions on their
screens. As mentioned before, with new information and various forms of media growing by the
second, there comes a need to multitask as a way to keep up with it all. Shirky states that people
often start multi-tasking because they believe it will help them get more done. Those gains never
materialize; instead, efficiency is degraded. Students who try to listen to a lecture, take notes,
and send emails out all at the same time, will have a harder time than those who engage solely on
what is being said in class.
Not only can using devices in lectures be distracting, but it can also be a factor in
weakening memory and recollection skills. Saved files, online sources, and the google search bar
all offer the fast escape from trying to retrieve an internal memory. Information can be found
externally through a few minutes of research. In Postmans essay he quotes Thamus who

Hagen 4
ponders, Those who acquire [writing] will cease to exercise their memory and become
forgetful; they will rely on writing to bring things to their remembrance by external signs instead
of by their own internal resources. Thamus fear of losing an important skill through the new
technology of writing can also be applied to studying the risks of using electronic devices in
class. Instead of trying to remember something from the textbook or a previous lecture, a student
could easily search online without using any brain power.
Postman puts things into perspective by analyzing what happens when the older methods
(such as textbooks) collide with new technologies (for instance tablets and laptops). He explains,
on the one hand, there is the world of printed word with its emphasis on logic, sequence,
history, exposition, objectivity, detachment, and discipline. On the other, there is the world of
television with its emphasis on imagery, narrative, presentness, simultaneity, intimacy, immediate
gratification, and quick emotional response. Printed text and media vary in what they emphasize
on, yet if they were to be combined we would have the best of both worlds. Perhaps uniting
written texts logic and medias creativity in learning environments would enhance the overall
experience in classrooms. Postman actually calls this blend a media war. He argues, Children
come to school having been deeply conditioned by the biases of television. There, they encounter
the world of the printed word. A sort of psychic battle takes place, and there are many
casualties. Maybe Postman is right in the fact that it is hard to bring the two worlds together, but
it is not necessarily impossible. In reality, obtaining the skills and learning how to apply both
situations will help strengthen students abilities to grow cognitively.
Postmans idea of the media war crisis can be solved through Clay Shirkys concepts in
his article Gin, Television, and Social Surplus. Shirky illustrates that as a whole, we are
misusing our free time by watching too much television and creating a surplus that could be used

Hagen 5
in better areas. He savors the idea that we could turn television surplus into cognitive surplus by
turning small amounts of time watching television, into participating in other online activities
such as Wikipedia. He reasons, And its only now, as were waking up from that collective
bender, that were starting to see the cognitive surplus as an asset rather than a crisis. Were
seeing things being designed to take advantage of that surplus, to deploy it in ways more
engaging than just having a TV in everybodys basement. Instead of worrying about the surplus
being made, we can take action into what kind of surplus is being formulated (turn bad into
good). This ties back to Postmans idea that technological advancements do not have to be seen
as either good or bad. It all depends on how we manage it and use it. Postman states that new
technologies alter the structure of our interests: the things we think about. They alter the
character of our symbols: the things we think with. Even if technology may alter what we think
about or how we think, it can be used to our advantage if we take it by the reigns and take
control.
By acknowledging both the good and bad sides of technological advancements, we can
find ways to use them as tools instead of seeing them as threats. As for an educational
standpoint, by knowing what our strengths and weaknesses are in using new technology in
learning environments, we can construct certain methods to make the changes beneficial rather
than harmful. Through Postmans beliefs on analyzing the situations new technologies and
Shirkys strategies on how to deal with these new situations, we can find ways to shape
technological advancements into instruments for becoming more knowledgeable and
accomplished.

Hagen 6
Works Cited
Postman, Neil. "1: The Judgment of Thamus." Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology.
New York: Knopf, 1992. Print.
Shirky, Clay. "Gin, Television, and Social Surplus." Worldchanging. 7 May 2008. Web. 8 Feb. 2015.
Shirky, Clay. "Why I Just Asked My Students To Put Their Laptops Away." Medium. 8 Sept. 2014.
Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
Thompson, Erin. "'Dumbest Generation'? Professor Blames Technology." USA Today. 3 June 2009.
Web. 10 Feb. 2015.