Long Tran

Adam Padgett
ENG 102-027
22 September, 2016
Technology: Can it Accelerate Learning and Enhance Creativity?

I am interested in writing about the impact of technology on education and books. I

believe that technology is changing the path of American education quicker than we think.
Currently, some schools employ the use of iPIpads to enhance learning experiences. Ive grown
up going to an elementary/middle school with computer labs and days where we would learn
how to type and how to use computer programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel. I also
remember reading a book every week in elementary school and would be rewarded with a free
Pizza Hut or Papa Johns pizza for completing a certain amount of books for that month. This
would give incentive for children to read and gain knowledge without it being forced as an
assignment. I believe that technology is changing the way children are being taught in an
educational setting. Electronic books can now be bought instead of an actual paperback or hard
cover book and can be stored in an electronic library that can be accessed with ease. Classes can
be taken online in order to fit a busy persons schedule so a working person can earn a degree at
the same time. I believe that technology is here to help make everyday life easier than before.
Can technology replace books, however? Is it worth it to change the way schools have been
teaching for years? Only time can tell how this will pan out because I remember always being
told that if I were to write something down with pen and paper, I would be able to remember it
better. I believe that technology will be able to help us all learn better if it is implemented in a
way where it can keep human creativity intact.

One of my articles written by Horrigan discusses the American view on Libraries. For the
most part, American citizens believe that libraries play a crucial part in the education of their
communities. The real crossroads in the article is the debate over whether or not technology
should replace the current books that they have in the libraries. The article gets its information by
polling American citizens and show evidence of their polling by compiling the data into charts.
An issue brought up in this article is the question of whether or not to move out some print
books and stacks out of public locations to free up more space for things such as tech centers,
reading rooms, meeting rooms and cultural events (Horrigan 2). I believe that if technology
replaces actual books, there is a probability that some information can become corrupt or go
missing. On the other hand, I also believe that technology can make learning more efficient, as
material can all be stored in one place as opposed to having multiple books. I feel that the author
of this article is credible because the article is based on the American citizens opinion and he did
just that by creating a chart featuring the polls. The author is not biased because he used data that
was pulled straight from the American citizens. It did not look like the author left out information
due to bias because the charts were proportionate and not very misleading.
In the next article written by Henriksen, Mishra, and Fisser, they talk about the fusion of
technology and creativity in the current education system. In the abstract, they note the
importance and value of creativity for success in todays society. They mention that creativity is
a very valued way of thinking that is crucial in innovation and progression. They discuss the
impact of technology on creativity and innovation. The authors use examples such as Google,
Facebook, and YouTube as evidence of these digital changes. They relate technology to the
creativity of humans and how it also works the other way around. They cite evidence of the
importance of creativity and linked it to other important areas of life that include: life success,

leadership in the workplace, psychological functioning, and intellectual/emotional growth

(Henriksen, Mishra, Fisser 27). They describe the challenges that teachers face when trying to
implement the use of technology and creativity in the classroom. They believe that technology
and creativity are hard on their own to implement in the classroom, but fusing them together
would be another challenge by itself. Children can get easily distracted if a teacher were to
implement the use of ipads in the classroom due to their short attention spans. The children
would start using the ipads for games and entertainment instead of listening and paying attention
to the instructor. Even with college classes that allow the use of laptops during lectures, students
can be seen browsing the web, checking Facebook, messaging their friends, or even doing
homework for another class. This takes away from the learning environment of the classroom.
Due to how easy it is to get distracted with electronic devices, the instructors lecture just
becomes background noise. I believe that these authors are credible because they draw
information and cite multiple sources. I also believe that they show no bias because there is no
two sided debate in this article. This article just informs the reader of the complexity of
implementing creativity and technology into the education environment.
Lastly, I used an article written by Ciftci that is a review on research of intercultural
learning through computer-based technology. Ciftci emphasizes the importance of intercultural
relations in everyday life because of the changing world. This can be seen with schools
implementing foreign language classes such as Spanish and French so students can develop these
intercultural skills. The article goes over different methods of technological methods used to
create a learning environment such as Microblogging, blogs, podcasting, video recordings, email exchanges, video conferencing, online message boards, and text-based chats. The article
also includes a chart with the frequency of such learning environments. The study also showed

that the United States is the most popular country for intercultural studies involving digital
technology. The studies show that most the participants that used technology to learn
intercultural skills had enjoyed using technology to communicate with native speakers of
languages. I believe that using technology would help individuals learn languages at a quicker
pace with computer programs such as Rosetta Stone designed to teach at the users own pace.
The author shows no bias because the data from the studies come straight from the participants in
the study. There is credibility because Ciftca was researching on behalf of the Middle East
Technical University.
These articles are all connected because they all discuss role technology plays in
education. Each article varies in its own way, but all goes back to the same topic: technology.
Can technology be an effective learning tool in the classroom? Can it enhance human creativity?
Can it help students learn about other cultures with ease? I believe that if educators are able to
find a way to balance technology and human creativity, the learning environment will be able to
flourish and make great advances.
Long,
It seems like youve got a really interesting idea here. my suggestion is to, by the next
paper, choose a specific thread in the discussion. I was really pulled into the bit about
intercultural education. So maybe that could be a direction you could go in. But try to not think
about the issue as a binary one: technology in education is good or it is bad. If you dont want to
discuss the intercultural point, you could talk about the issue of laptops in the college classroom.
In other words, just dont spread yourself too thin. Your final research paper should be super
focused. Remember that people have written entire books on these issues, and you have about six
or seven pages to address it. Looking good so far.

Works Cited
ifti, Emrullah Yasin. "A Review Of Research On Intercultural Learning Through ComputerBased Digital Technologies." Journal Of Educational Technology & Society 19.2 (2016):
313-327. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
Horrigan, John B. "Libraries at the Crossroads." Pew Research Center Internet Science Tech
RSS. N.p., 15 Sept. 2015. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
Henriksen, Danah, Punya Mishra, and Petra Fisser. "Infusing Creativity And Technology In 21St
Century Education: A Systemic View For Change." Journal Of Educational Technology
& Society 19.3 (2016): 27-37. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.