Jenny Zou Synthesis Letter

Topic: Technology vs Education

Research Question: 

1.What are the positive effects technology has on schools in the U.S?2.How are schools at a disadvantage without access to new technology?

Synthesis Letter:

Dear Professor,

While researching technology impacts on school, I encountered many problems and I kept losing myself. I realized many articles were either repetitive or just weren’t too related to my topic. Scholarly articles were also really hard to find, so it was a long and complicated process. However I did come past several good points on technology benefits that I might’ve missed or haven’t thought about. Statistics from interviews or personal reports also gave me a further understanding on my topic.

My first article talks about the benefits of technology use in classrooms. He lists out several good key points like the change in student-teacher roles and increase in self-motivation. Although he does include one small negative impact of technology (paying more attention to aesthetics rather than the actual assignment), his article sounds more of listing ideas rather than an argumentative one. Although it’s kind of obvious, there were still no signs of studies or statistics, so I can’t be so sure about the accuracy. My second article I found was quite similar to the first, but I felt it was stronger. The author has his own position/claim and uses strong words like “should” and “important to note”. She feels educators should take advantage of the fast-advancing technology to create a better learning environment to support student needs. She listed out several good points and included a counterclaim. She also mentioned Covid-19, a more recent problem which proved the importance of technology. Without access to these products, students would have a hard time catching up in their studies.

In my third article, it was a pdf I got from scholarly. I had a hard time converting it to APA format citations and couldn’t open it with a link, so I got it downloaded. My article was interesting. It talked about the step by step process of incorporating technology into classrooms. Teacher went from a questioning/worried tone to a more trustworthy attitude throughout the process, which clearly portrays the success of technology in education. Lastly, my video depicted a series of interviews from teachers to students talking about their experience or thought on technology. Many of them feel it was more beneficial and helped them stay organized. However, some also mentioned how technology can cause distractions(social media, youtube, etc) and impact engagement. There was a balance of pros and cons, which can help me support both sides of the argument.

I learned a lot through my research as I have seen the problem through several different perspectives. There were students, teachers, parents and even researchers. Overall, there was a more positive attitude towards technology so there is a lot that I can incorporate into my argumentative essay. This will allow my audience to think from a different perspective and see all the different outcomes and how these problems can be overcome. 

Sincerely,

Jenny Zou