Recently, however, this problem has become increasingly prevalent in my learning process once again. It is not music that is the distraction this time, but rather my smartphone as a whole. Although technology can certainly be helpful, in the case of schoolwork I often find my phone to be extremely hindersome: a variety of distractions, from Instagram to internet articles, can vastly increase the time spent on my homework! I have also discovered that these diversions can inhibit actual learning; for instance, after using my phone I often forget the content of my previous study efforts, leading to a large waste of time. Even after identifying this problem, however, I surprisingly still have a difficult time convincing myself to stop using my phone. This dilemma occurs quite frequently among students, and I believe it attests to our fear of social isolation from easily-accessible smartphone media as well as our unproductive dependency on technology. Personally, the only way to achieve maximum productivity in my learning process is to stop attempting to multitask, and this is an issue that I will definitely strive to improve in the years to come.
Throughout my many years of education in the public school system, perhaps the most important insight I have found about my learning process is my inability to multitask. I first discovered this around sixth grade: middle school had just began, and like many young teenagers I received my first iPod with music. It didn’t take long for this to seriously impact my schoolwork; for me, listening to music was absolutely incompatible with any school-related responsibility, be it homework or even simple reading. Indeed, I found that when I tried to multitask like this I was neither able to enjoy the songs nor do my work, and thus I quickly stopped. Listening to music has continued to be an effective and enjoyable outlet for me ever since, but only when separate from educational tasks.
Recently, however, this problem has become increasingly prevalent in my learning process once again. It is not music that is the distraction this time, but rather my smartphone as a whole. Although technology can certainly be helpful, in the case of schoolwork I often find my phone to be extremely hindersome: a variety of distractions, from Instagram to internet articles, can vastly increase the time spent on my homework! I have also discovered that these diversions can inhibit actual learning; for instance, after using my phone I often forget the content of my previous study efforts, leading to a large waste of time. Even after identifying this problem, however, I surprisingly still have a difficult time convincing myself to stop using my phone. This dilemma occurs quite frequently among students, and I believe it attests to our fear of social isolation from easily-accessible smartphone media as well as our unproductive dependency on technology. Personally, the only way to achieve maximum productivity in my learning process is to stop attempting to multitask, and this is an issue that I will definitely strive to improve in the years to come.
7 Comments
Hello Ricky!
Reply
Ricky
5/4/2015 07:57:25 am
Hi Annie, you make a good point. As I've mentioned before, knowing that technology can be hindersome does not necessarily guarantee an escape from its distractions. I find it hard to concentrate on my work every single day, even though I am aware of this problem. In my opinion, a more effective approach is to simply be more active about removing diversions, whether that means powering off your phone or unplugging your computer.
Reply
Daniel
4/30/2015 08:44:06 am
Ricky,
Reply
Ricky
5/4/2015 08:09:01 am
Hi Daniel, thanks for commenting. Honestly, the hardest part of focusing on schoolwork for me is my phone. Constant notifications splinter my concentration and can fragment a study session into taking far more time than is normally needed. As I've previously said, I attempt to deal with this problem by turning off my phone, but oftentimes I find myself quite reluctant because this inhibits communications with my peers.
Reply
Kenzie
4/30/2015 08:45:31 am
Ricky,
Reply
Ricky
5/4/2015 08:14:37 am
Hi Kenzie, thanks for your advice. I find it very interesting that music can help you to study; this definitely shows the vastly different ways that individual learning can occur. Using technology as an incentive is another intriguing point: not only would it prevent accessible distractions, but it would also serve as encouragement to finish quicker.
Reply
Ms. D.
5/4/2015 11:39:27 pm
Hi Ricky,
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI'm Ricky, a student in Ms. Dockus' 3rd hour American Lit class. Archives
April 2015
Categories |