Jazmyn McCallum

Professor Suzanne Thomas

UWRT 1103

11 February 2018

After finishing my first draft of my inquiry proposal I received a few comments during a

peer review session about how I could improve my proposal. One comment mentioned was to

change the words “scholarly journals” to “scholarly articles” because there is a difference

between the two (that I was not aware of initially). The word journal typically refers to paper

form while articles are typically in digital form. Another suggestion that was proposed to me was

to not write “the article states.” This unintentionally personifies the article by making it seem

like it can literally speak. A good way to fix this issue is to change the format of the sentence to

“In the article *name of article*, the author states.” I listened to these suggestions and applied

them to help improve the final draft of my inquiry proposal.

There once was a time where the main source of information in schools were books.

Whenever students were given worksheets to complete, textbooks were the common tools used

to help find the answer. However, this was before the spectacular creation of the one and only

computer. In today’s society the typical learning tool is not a book but instead, technology. From

elementary school to college, students are provided with different technological devices to assist

with their learning of academic material. They are also used for completing assignments, tests

and/or quizzes. Though the use of laptops and tablets in the classroom environment is a recurrent

activity in today’s society, it brings up the concern of technology’s impact on student’s learning.

How are computers influencing our work ethic towards academics? Are we truly understanding
material when we use computers to learn? These ideas helped me develop my inquiry question:

is the constant use of technology beneficial for retention of learning?

After establishing my inquiry question other questions have crossed my mind as well

such as what happens to our brains when we read an article online? Does digital text have a

significant influence on how long we can remember the material read? Before conducting

research on technology’s impact on retention rates, I considered my prior knowledge on the

subject. Since I completed a paper in high school about the use of tablets in schools, it gave me a

bit of background on the subject. I knew that some schools switched from textbooks to

technology because of the plethora of sources available on one device. Although textbooks

contain plenty of information, each textbook only has information relevant to the subject of said

textbook. On the contrary, one tablet can provide you with information about several subjects at

once. Information and research constantly updates and because of our technology- engrossed

society one is more likely to find out new information quicker through computers than they are

through a textbook.

At this point the act of using technology in classrooms is so “normal” to students that if

there were a classroom that contained no technology it would almost seem surreal. The notable

transition to the domination of technology in schools occurred during the early 2000s. In her

article “Math That Moves: Embrace the iPad” Winnie Hu discusses Roslyn High School’s

decision to transition from textbooks to technology in the classroom environment. When English

teacher Larry Reif was asked why the school chose to transition he stated “It allows us to extend

the classroom beyond these four walls.” Several colleges require technology in most, if not, all

academic classes and give out a majority of assignments that are online. Though many have
argued that technology is only making students lazier, others have argued that technology is more

resourceful for students.

This is relevant to my classmates and the larger UNCC community because they are

directly affected by the use of technology in classroom. Understanding the consequences, both

negative and positive, of using laptops for understanding academic material will help them

choose wisely in their methods to learn. I believe that it will encourage them to become more

conscious of different tools that would be best for their understanding and retention of

information.

During my research I plan to look for more perspectives on this topic by asking other

students and professors about how the use of technology affects their learning. When searching

up academic articles related on this subject I will use the keywords such as technology, learning,

schools and retention rates. Scholarly articles such as “Technology in the Classroom: Microsoft

PowerPoint Slide Shows” by Susan E Dinan and “Computer Technology Integration and Student

Learning: Barriers and Promise” by Jared Keengwe, Grace Onchwari and Patrick Wachira will

aid me in my research as well. My goal for this inquiry paper is to find out how technology

proves to be beneficial for students’ learning.