27/12/2022
Disadvantages of using apps in education
Although the advantages of using apps in education are well-known, there are many disadvantages to them too. There has been an ever-increasing number of developers, parents, and educators who have been concerned about the addictive and isolative nature of mobile devices being used in education. In fact. Larry Berger, the CEO of Amplify—a company that develops digitally enhanced programs for various subjects for primary school children stated that technology does not do a very good job of demonstrating how socially useful knowledge is. Technology can also be a drain on the aspect of community learning—when children learn together, they learn quicker than learning on their own.
Here are some top disadvantages of using apps in education:
Distraction
Technology is good, but it is also distractive. Students today are smart enough to find backdoors in school systems to surf the web or play games instead of learning. With the internet becoming a big temptation and school IT infrastructure being shoddy in many places, students end up being online while they should be learning.
Emotional development
The emotional development of little children is as important as getting good grades. A non-human device cannot instill self-control or order in a classroom and students might learn a topic, but not how to play well amongst each other.
Overstimulation due to excessive screen time
Overstimulation caused by excessive time spent on the screen can disrupt sleeping patterns and cause emotional dysregulation. Screen time must be controlled to manage stress and mood swings in children. Increased stress and mood swings are often used as indicators of too much screen time in young children. The usage of education technology or EdTech in schools will contribute to the screen time children are exposed to in a day.
Decreased social interaction
Educational apps are mostly designed for use by individuals and not for group activities. This causes students to stay engrossed with themselves and not interact with other students in the class or school. This leads to developmental delays in social skills such as talking and interacting with others and may cause little children to become introverts.
Reduced emphasis on traditional teaching and learning skills
A near-total reliance on googling for answers has caused students to lose out on information search and analysis skills that help us to find the right text and interpret what is needed from it. What was inferred from an extempore speech by teachers is now the domain of to-the-point information provided by apps and programs. Additionally, spellings, grammar, and other automatically corrected errors lead to reduced reliance on comprehension and problem-solving skills.
