Although innovations such as videos, computers and the internet seem to offer schools improved methods for instructing students, these technologies all too often distract from real learning.

The innovations in the field of science and technology have revolutionized the field of education. Gone are the times when students needed to rely on dull tomes as the main source of information.  With access to videos, computers and the internet,  schools are able to offer  improved methods for instructing students. Many people think that these modalities all too often distract from real learning. I do not agree with this argument.  The benefits of the advanced technology and open access to a wide variety of choices for  furthering education through prudent use of the computers and internet outweigh their  potential harm. Motivated students can always find a way to focus on their education despite all the distractions.

Learners can be classified as  visual learners, auditory learners and kinesthetic or tactile learners. The pictures and videos help the visual learners immensely. It just takes a few clicks to google an image or find a video on  youtube regarding your topic of interest. For auditory learners, again there are great lectures available for free on the internet. If they would like to record the lecture at school or college, that is an option too. Thanks to the advances in technology, recording a lecture and playing it on your i-pod or any electronic device is a quick and easy process. For kinesthetic learners, in addition to the various projects and experiments that the curriculum offers umpteen other websites which provide access to processes that could enhance their learning.

In earlier days, students needed to go over countless books just to access the right information. Its available now at the finger tips. Websites like Wikipedia have made knowledge accessible to every one regardless of their  socioeconomic status or country of origin.  Students from any corner of the world can now listen to the lectures of the world renowned professors at MIT through the open courseware.

Can internet and other modalities distract students? Of course they can. But so can pretty much  any thing else in the whole wide world. Students who are motivated enough, the ones who have the thoughtful guidance from their parents and teachers should not find it difficult to minimize these distractions and focus on their studies. Limiting access to internet or computers, just because they have the potential to distract students is neither pragmatic, nor beneficial. It would simply limit the student’s access to a wealth of information.

In summary I believe that innovations such as videos, computers and the internet have  offered schools considerably better methods for instructing students when compared to days of yore, and their prudent use by students should be active encouraged.