23rd May 2014 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A recent study showed that almost half of teenagers feel that they are addicted to the internet, and that over three quarters of teens take laptops, phones or tablets to bed at night. The majority of these teenagers are using social media or watching films and programmes online. Initially during the spread of personal phones and computers, educators welcomed the advent of the technology and could immediately see the benefits of students being able to access educational materials at home at the touch of a button. But this is now causing problems for teachers who have to cope with students falling asleep in class because their students have been up half the night using social media, or who are more concerned about their online profiles than their school work. So what problems does students’ excessive use of technology cause for tutors?
The use of the internet as an educational resource is vital for tutors. Many would not be able to access the materials they need, especially syllabi and practise exam questions, without it. They also rely on students being able to access it in order to do the homework they have set, not having the resources of a school to bring to their lessons. Technology is vital to private tutors, but it also causes the same problems as experienced by teachers, and then some. In the past I have tutored students who are so addicted to their mobile phones that in the first lesson I have had to ban them from using them during our sessions. This is something that in the past I would have thought was a given, but students who know full well that they should not be looking at their phone during a lesson just can’t seem to help it.
The problem is that such technology has brought all the anxiety and drama of teenage life into the home, where it would have remained in the school yard. We have opened the door for education at home, but let in the unfettered flurry of communications which distract students from their work like never before, It has also changed their priorities, and for the worse. Charities and programmes who advocate the use of technology in education have started to advise on the extent of use, and have said that it is necessary for teachers to schedule use of technology such that time for non-internet study and bedtime are sacrosanct. Tutors should do the same, and advise students to limit their use of technology in order to ensure that it benefits rather than hinders their progress.