Action Research Report: Technology

The Scourge of Society

Rationale / Issue
In SBS ICT, we are all too aware of the impact students addiction for technology has on their studies. It is only too
obvious walking through the halls seeing multitudes of students with their faces glued to mobile phone screens
instead of interacting with others like in the pre-mobile phone student era.

Investigative Process - How does technology impact todays student generation?

A significant factor seems to be sleep deprivation which lowers
students academic achievements. This is a more serious
problem in richer countries where the sheer enjoyment of using
mobile phones and computers in bedrooms causes students to go
to bed later and later and later. Not surprisingly, when they go to
school, students cannot focus on their studies or even stay
awake.
Sleep deprivation is such a serious disruption that teachers find
themselves having to lower their standards to accommodate
entire classes of sleep-starved learners. It means even students
who get enough
sleep suffer from this sleep-related dumbing-down of lessons. In
America, shockingly as many as 70% of 10-year-olds and 80% of 14year-olds suffer from sleep deprivation.
Sleep deprivation is going to leave students more emotionally volatile,
more disruptive, and less able to learn and retain information. With
countries producing ever more generations of students lacking the
necessary knowledge required for their future careers, it is obvious that
the development of mankind will become stunted.

Analysis A serious barrier to learning

Mobile phones and computers in bedrooms are blamed for disrupting sleep. Young people are not only kept awake
by messaging their friends or by using the internet, but it is also the light from smartphone and laptop screens held
close to the face late at night that is physically disruptive to sleep. Basically, the light tells your brain, Hey! Wait
a minute, it's not time to go to bed", so you tend to stay awake.
Naturally, when students go to school, they are unable to concentrate, remember, or attend mentally, and therefore
they are unable to achieve at their optimal levels as their minds and bodies are in need of something more basic.
It is clearly obvious that students who have more sleep and better nutrition will achieve higher marks in maths,
science, and literacy. Getting a good night's sleep isn't going to transform an underperforming country into an
education superpower, but lack of sleep does represent the difference between being high-performing and average.
However, sleep deprivation does not always guarantee academic under-achievement. Finland and Asia are good
examples where many sleep-starved students actually perform quite well possibly because their bodies are so used to
sleep deprivation.

Conclusion: Sleep = Brain Food

What can we do about this problem?
Ban students from using technology and force them to be in bed
by a certain hour? This is a possible answer, but that is like
banning a teenager from listening to music. In reality, it is just
not possible to enforce such bans. Prohibition in America during
the 20s taught us that, so what is the answer? Is there another
approach?
The first question has to be just how much sleep do children
actually need? Most people would agree that 8 hours is sufficient. What can we do to ensure young people get 8
hours of sleep? In Thailand, we often see very young children playing until 10 or 11 oclock at night. This is clearly
the fault of irresponsible parents who know no different. Their parents allowed them to stay up, so why should they
not allow their own kids to do the same?
Perhaps we need to follow Japans example where sleep exhaustion has become part of the culture. To combat it,
Japanese students find opportunities during the day to sleep (on the train, in the canteen, etc.)
Perhaps the answer is for parents to confiscate devices when they notice their son or daughter going through a phase
of tiredness. It would work, but it is a little like locking the gate after the horse has already bolted.
Perhaps a better idea would be to have a 1 hour no technology time before going to sleep, thus allowing our brains
to relax and feeling more awake in the morning.
Whatever the solution, it is clear that sleep is a fundamental need for all children. Without sleep, the brain struggles
to absorb and retain ideas. Trying to study without sleep is tough. It is like running your brain on empty. If children
start getting enough sleep on a regular basis, the loss to learning can be reversed. We, as educators and parents, need
to be more aware of issue.
Mr. Colin Bradbury
Head of ICT