Doesmoderntechnologyhelpstudentslearnmoreinformationandlearnitmorequickly?Marvelousasitlooksatfirstsight,moderntechnologydoesnothelpstudentslearninformationatagreaterspeedandwithhigherefficiencyinmostcases;oritcouldworktowardstheoppositedirectionwhichledstudentstolosetheirinitiativetolearnandexplore.Firstofall,onepropertyofmoderntechnologyislatentlyharmfultoanylearningmind–itdistracts.Onethingwefeelaboutwhenwearesearchingforinformationonlineisthattheinternet,asanoutstandingexampleofmoderntechnologyandevenregardedastheinnovatorofeducation,providesuswithnotonlyrelevantresultstomakeuseof,butalsoexternallinkstoclick.MorethanonceIturnedonmycomputertocheckschoollibraryforresources,butendedupwatchingvideos.Inthiscase,computerasarepresentativeofmoderntechnologyplaysanegativeroleinlearninginformation.Wedoacquiremoreinformationwiththeconvenienttool,yetmostofthemareirrelevantandintheendprocrastinatingwouldlowerourlearning.Also,studentswouldeasilybecomedisorientedinthehugeseaofinformation.Althoughmoderntechnologycouldequipuswitheasyaccesstoinformation,thehugeamountofresourceswouldactuallyleaveusdiscombobulated.AnillustratingexampleismyexperiencewithaHKdigitallibrarywhichstoresalmostallthebooksIdesire.AtfirstIenjoyeddownloadingthemfromthedatabase,however,onemonthlaterIendedupwithhundredsofbooksstoredinmyhardwareyetnoneofthemfinishedoreverclicked.Furthermore,moderntechnologygivesstudentsanillusionthatinformationandrealknowledgeiseasytolearn–justbyclickingmouseorwatchingvideos.Butinfactthisformsonlythefirststeptowardsusefulinformationandeffectivelearning,aslearningofanykindrequiresfullconcentrationandinteractivethinking,whicharealmostabsentintheprocessofpopulare-learningexperience.Tosummarize,moderntechnologydoesnothelpstudentslearnmoreinformationandlearnitmorequickly,thoughitdoesmakeaccesstoinformationandresourcesmuchmoreeasily.Thepopulare-learningstilllackstheconcentration,depth,andinteractionthatarethehallmarkoftraditionalwaysofeducatingandlearning.我们生活的时代比父辈们年轻时生活的时代更好还是更坏?Itseemsthatpeoplealwayshaveadesiretocompare:amIprettierthanothers?Arewelivinginabetterage?Or,asthequestiongoes,isourlifeeasierandmoreenjoyablethanitwasseveraldecadesago?Iwouldsayno,asIhavewitnessedthestruggleandparadoxofourgeneration.Firstofall,wearenowlivinginanageofrevolutionwithnoprevioushumanexperiencethatcouldbereferredto.Livinginsuchafast-changingworldwouldnotbeeasyandcomfortableatall;witheverythingkeepschanging,everyonehastomovefastinordertocatchupwiththemajority.However,peopleweremuchmorestableandcare-freewhenourgrandparentswerechildren;theydidnothavetolearnasecondlanguageinordertogetabetterjob,orreadalotinordertogetinformed.Yetinourage,thesearesupposedtobetheresponsibilityofyoungpeople.Anotherdiscomfortofourageisthatweareexperiencinginterpersonalalienation.Withthedevelopmentofcommunicationtechnology,peopleinfactbecomealienatedwithfriendsandrelativessincetheycouldbesoeasilyaccessedviaphoneoremail.Toooftenwefeelthatfewofourfriendsaretruefriends,withoutthetraditionalfeelingofmutualaffectionwhichcouldonlybecreatedbylongtimeapart.Butseveraldecadesago,peopletreasuredtheirfriendsandmaintainedrelativelycloseinterpersonalrelations,whichismuchmoreenjoyablethantheestrangementsweareexperiencing.Thelastfactorthathasmadeouragesouncomfortableistheabusiveuseoftechnology.Althoughitbringsmuchconvenience,itessentiallychangeshuman–wearenolongerthemasteroftools,butinsteadtheslavesofdevices.Werushtometrostationinordertocatchanearlytrain,sitinfrontofradioactivecomputersalldaylonginordertogetourworkdone,andstayinair-conditionedroomsallsummerwithoutexperiencingthenaturalchangesoutsidethickcementwalls.Severaldecadesago,peoplecouldstillliveclosertonatureandmakerationaluseofmoderntechnology,whichtomeistheessenceofhumanlivingexperience.However,thecomparisonbetweendifferenttimesisitselfridiculous.Thecriteriacouldnotbeeasilydetermined,andopinionsarehighlypersonal.Anyway,wehavealongerlifespan,moreadvancedmedicalfacilities,andeasiertrafficthanourgrandparentwhentheywerechildren,andweshouldtreasurethepresentexperience.Imaginationofthepastmightonlybenostalgia–ifIaskmygrandparentsthesamequestion,theymightaswellsaythatourlifeismuchbetterthanthepastgenerations.