model essay-issue 101

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

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

本文采用的是以行为分类为框架的理论策略。针对新技术会不会使学生分心的问题，本文针对三种不同的使用技术的行为，包括视频教学、计算机辅助教学和互联网教学讨论前两种行为不会出现分心的问题而后一种却有可能。这里需要注意的是几种行为的特点都和是否分心关联起来。视频教学不会分心的原因是老师控制了教学工具和节奏；计算机辅助教学不会分心的原因是学生需要专注操作工具解决问题；而最后互联网教学可能分心的原因则是学生缺乏老师指导和管理。所以，这里立论的关键除了使用框架外，还包括找到是否会分心的关键原因。
  

Technological innovations have inevitably changed the ways students learn in schools and teachers present their materials.  Whether or not such innovations may distract students from real learning depends on the specific technology and how they are used for learning.  I’ll first illustrate how video and computers can be very useful for students to learn certain subjects with some specific examples.  Afterwards, I’ll discuss the problem of online distraction given the ubiquity of the Internet.  

Materials in video form can serve as useful supplement to the written texts for courses in history and literature.  In a history course on World War II, for example, students can have better understanding of the issues after watching a documentary film on the topic. Different from the textual account of the historical events, the films treat the topic with multimedia materials, some of which may come from primary sources.  The video can offer a fresh perspective on the subject matters and stimulate the students to ask more questions.  Since the teachers usually operate the equipment (e.g. DVD players) and have control over what to present, students will not be distracted by materials irrelevant to the topics.  Therefore, the use of video should not cause any problems of distraction.  

As the use of computers has revolutionized many scientific disciplines, the computing tools have become essential components in learning such disciplines.  The study of Calculus nowadays, for example, often involves programming in Matlab, a powerful software and programming language for sophisticated calculation.  When using computers to learn programming in Matlab, the students will focus on how to implement the math models by writing codes and learn to debug the codes when errors occur.  It is very unlikely that they would be distracted by other activities as Matlab will keep them busy and concentrated.  As this example clearly illustrates, digital distraction is not an issue when the students are fully engaged in learning how to use an advanced computer software to solve problems.  

The use of certain Internet technologies, however, could lead to the concerns of digital distraction.  In many courses, students are often asked to conduct research online and collect materials that can be incorporated in their reports on certain topics. As a result, students often have full access to the Internet with their own computers during the course.  As teachers can only supervise one or two students at a time, there is no way to ensure that students are working on their research projects while online.  They might find themselves checking their friends’s facebook updates or browsing the web mindlessly.  After all, doing so requires less effort than doing researches.  Digital distraction can be a serious problem in cases like these when teachers do not have full control over how the students use the technology and the students may lack the self-discipline to do what they are supposed to do online.  

In conclusion, whether we should be concerned with digital distraction depends on the specific technological innovations used in the teaching and learning processes.  When teachers have control over how the tools are used or students are fully engaged with the technology, there is no need to worry about this issue.  Nevertheless, more attention has to be paid to digital distraction when students are left on their own on the Internet.  





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