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 what is the impact of technology on the developing child? Children's developing sensory, motor, and attachment systems have biologically not evolved to accommodate this sedentary, yet frenzied and chaotic nature of today's technology. The impact of rapidly advancing technology on the developing child has seen an increase of physical, psychological and behavior disorders that the health and education systems are just beginning to detect, much less understand. Child obesity and diabetes are now national epidemics in both Canada and the U.S., causally related to technology overuse. Diagnoses of ADHD, autism, coordination disorder, developmental delays, unintelligible speech, learning difficulties, sensory processing disorder, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders are associated with technology overuse, and are increasing at an alarming rate. An urgent closer look at the critical factors for meeting developmental milestones, and the subsequent impact of technology on those factors, would assist parents, teachers and health professionals to better understand the complexities of this issue, and help create effective strategies to reduce technology use.

Use of education technology is a somewhat problematic premise, because it has generated a heated debate on whether it helps or hinders learning. Recent dramatic increases in technology in our society have led to proliferation of technology in the learning institutions (from elementary school to the graduate school) at a rapid rate. Integration of technology in schools has changed today’s education and also the way teachers and students use their classrooms. These changes have both positive and negative impact on learning. Here is how technology helps and hinders education.

How Technology Helps Education

Technology has revolucionized how teachers teach and how students learn. The importance and benefits of education technology to the teachers and students cannot be ignored. Technology has made it easier for teachers to impart knowledge to the students and for students to acquire it. The use of technology in schools has also made the process of learning and teaching enjoyable.

Technology as a Teaching Aid

Just a decade ago, teachers used chalk boards, then progressed to white boards and now they are using smart boards. Smart boards are advanced boards which allow teachers to teach and share information with students in a multiplicity of ways. Computers audio-visual capabilities from PowerPoint presentations and other animation software are used to present information in an interactive manner which invites greater interest from the students. Moreover, use of projectors, screens and addressing systems (speakers and microphones) allow teachers to teach a large number of students simultaneously. Studies show that these teaching aids increase concentration levels of students and have led to improvements in student class attendance.

Easier Accessibility of Information

With internet being a vast information base, students are finding it an effective tool for acquiring knowledge. Students can now retrieve all types of information easier and faster than ever before via their personal computers or cell phones.

The Internet has given education a new dimension – distance learning and online education. Students no longer have to physically attend classes to be a part of one classroom. They can attend a class virtually at the comfort of their home. Numerous educational institutes are currently offering online courses, where students interact with their teachers over the internet and access learning materials from the institutions’ website.