The junior classes like technology in education because it makes their work “easier” and faster.” For example, student “A” answered, “I would rather use laptops to complete classwork/assignments because it’s faster and easier in my opinion.” Student “B” stated, “Tech based learning is the best for me because its easier for me to type things.” Student “C” stated, “Laptops because it allows me to get my work done faster then writing by hand.” Student “D” stated, “I like it. I think it makes the writing process quicker and it is easier to get the point across.” However, then I have student responses like student “E” that state, “I like using technology, typing notes or an essay, makes my handwriting a lot more legible. Also, laptops can be really useful as if there is something I don’t understand. I don’t want to ask the teacher I can just look it up and find the answer. Finally, there are a lot of writing tools like spellcheck that I can make Friday easier. I would rather use laptops instead of handwritten.” Student “F” stated, “Play technology in education. It makes it easier for us students and teachers as well to find information quickly and accurately with little to no problems. I personally would use both online and handwritten classwork/assignments because though and some classes have a technology opening available to you to be very beneficial, when completing a writing, reading, or research assignment, we’re trying to solve problems involving math, I find it easier to write it out by hand, and having to work completed all on one sheet of paper rather than typing in the address online, but having to do the work on paper.” Finally, student “G” stated, “I feel that technology and education can be both are positive and negative thing. Positive, because you can really have a good impact on student’s ability to learn new things and can teach people every side of every argument. Technology can also be a faster and more convenient way to get worked on. On the other hand, technology can be negative because it can negatively influence peoples is perceptions on different things, for example, putting out false information, or damaging or threatening information to the Internet. Personally, I would rather do handwritten work because I don’t have a laptop at the moment. But, in general, I like completing classwork through laptops and handwritten work.” Some of these responses describe how technology can be “for the win,” but potentially for the wrong reasons of a faster and quicker form of education. 

For the freshmen classes, student “H” preferred handwritten assignments and stated, “I personally work better on handwritten assignments. I feel I retain information better with handwritten assignments. However, I do enjoy some of the classwork being online.” Student “I” stated, “Mixed because I’m good at using websites online but I learned from paper and lessons.” Student “J” stated, “like using technology, but prefer writing and hands-on stuff because it’s easier to remember.” Clearly, there is a difference with technology in education based on the age groups of students. 

English teacher would I have to use software to watch student’s keyboard strokes for an assignment to see if they copied and pasted from elsewhere. This was not the same when I was in school. It is at a point now where our district purchased the Chat GPT extension on Turnitin.com since it has been a growing issue within the school in all subject areas that include forms of writing. Based on this experience, part of me wonders: is this due to Covid-19 or do students just not want to write anymore? If so, why? 

However, when juniors are asked to complete a quote analysis online based on the previous night’s reading, AI may be used at times, but students do very well on these assignments and receive the full number of points. For freshmen, I have given small assignments online to submit as “checks.” Students portray what they know online versus discussion in the classroom, which can be frustrating at times. Student voices tend to come out more within forms of technology than on paper. In a way, it is a win/lose situation or a lose/lose situation when it comes to voice and technology. There is no in-between. 

Furthermore, all classes do very well at expressing their thoughts and ideas whether it is in the start of commentary on paper or when students decide to participate in class. Juniors are very good at stating their thoughts, opinions, and ideas in a respectful way amongst their peers in whole group discussion. Freshmen on the other hand are afraid to speak and gain this skill. I noticed the struggle within all classes (regardless of if an assignment is completed online versus hard copies) is that student voice is still lacking for educational purposes (but they will tell you what happened at a party a few nights before). Students are selective with when they use their voices and how they establish identity (except for the Coming-of-Age short story unit I taught with freshmen. This was outstanding). It comes down to student comfort and willingness to explore these two concepts. 

AI bots are different from traditional plagiarism because the software works around plagiarism by making it non-detectable. The robot rewrites the material in a way that it is not flagged. At a first glance, I can determine and pull-out sentences of online forms of student work that are classified as “AI” since it is not the same writing due to students’ academic abilities. Many students use AI for essays, quote analyses, or any other form of writing that requires critical thinking skills. However, students will argue and challenge the idea of not using AI. For example, I spoke with one student for using AI and talked to them in the hallway (this student is a good student and has never had an issue before, which is why I was surprised). Since this was the first offense, I asked this student to simply rewrite the questions that were flagged without penalty and showed them what was flagged within their work. I even picked up on the fact these sentences did not sound like this particular student. The student eventually confessed to using other websites, but not AI specifically. Regardless, the student still used outside sources—which was not acceptable or part of this assignment. When receiving the new submission, the student put a disclaimer at the top stating, “I did not use ai for these quote analysis or any before Redoing them to my teachers request is not admitting that I have all thoughts are mine.” I could not believe what I read with this submission. Even though we had a conversation about this, and the student admitted to using other sources, they still rejected the notion. 

In addition, when it came to online assignment submissions, students were aware of the expectations and students normally received a 15/15 on them. On handwritten assignments, it is different. Students were more stressed using a pen and paper to complete an assignment. Overall, I felt as if students second guessed themselves and got nervous—hence the grades. With online, they can start the assignment and come back to it without the pressures of sitting in class to write it at their desks. When it comes to the handwritten copies, it is almost as if students “forget” everything they have learned and have been practicing the entire school year. Then there is me who prefers to handwrite things down in a journal or agenda pad to keep track and to stay organized. 

Using all of the skills I learned in my courses was crucial during this moment. I felt prepared to handle this situation and prevent a future one. Since I established rapport, know student interests, and accommodate to specific learning needs, there should not be a reason as to why a child should not feel capable of completing tasks and being successful inside and outside of the classroom. The phrase, “I can’t do it” will not become the new student voice and identity. 

Hicks, Troy (2018). The Next Decade of Digital Writing. Leading the Call. The National Council of Teachers of English, 9-14. 

Loh, C. E., & Sun, B. (2018). “I’d Still Prefer to Read the Hard Copy”: Adolescents’ Print and DigitalReading Habits. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 6, 663–672. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.904. 

Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter. (2023). Future of Life Institute.

Ravid, R., & Efron, S. (2020). An Action Research in Education:

A Practical Guide (second). The Guilford Press.
 Rowsell, J. (2020). “How Emotional Do I Make It?”: Making a Stance in Multimodal Compositions. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 6, 627–637. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1034.
 
Turner, K, H., (2020). Digital Literacy (Still) Can’t Wait: Renewing and Reframing the 

Conversation. English Journal, 86-93.
 
Turner, K. H., Hicks, T., & Zucker, L. (2019). Connected Reading: A Framework for Understanding How Adolescents Encounter, Evaluate, and Engage With Texts in the Digital Age. Reading Research Quarterly, 2, 291–309. https://doi.or/10.1002/rrq.271. 

Although technology is “convenient” and beneficial for students since it can be a “quicker” way to write ideas and education can be accessed anywhere on various platforms (such as Google Classroom), technology does not replace learning, education, and establishing authentic student voice and identity. As a result, technology can be harmful within education due to AI, students negatively promoting their voices on social media or using the internet to “surf” versus “search.” Students may also be distracted using technological platforms and not fully pay attention to the assignment at hand or not listen to instruction. 

Furthermore, I collected data while students worked online and in the classroom. For example, if I gave students an assignment on Google Classroom to complete, I walked around the room and assessed who was staying on task and redirected others who were “surfing” the web to stay on task. I took notes of the students and considered who they were as learners, if they had accommodations, if students “surfed” the internet versus completing the task at hand, etc. Another way I assessed students for a written writing assignment was to check and see who used phones and why for any assignment. 

In instances like these, where identities are not just clashing but contradicting, too, educators can peek behind students’ lives to see technology use not only as paradoxes but also as literacy-rich activities under no clear purview: Students often seek out these online spaces specifically because they are free from perceived authority, and their teachers are either legally or ethically barred from interacting with them online.  (Gerber, 2018 p. 594)

Identities can be a struggle for adolescents. It is important for educators to use relatable content in order for students to see the relevance within their daily lives to establish identity. Online spaces can be classified as a “safe space” for students to explore identities since they may not physically see someone on the other side of the screen and interact differently on various platforms. As a result, authority figures are not necessarily checking student content—meaning students are not graded on what they post or comment on social media for personal use. This may also promote a student’s freedom of expression through technology. 

In addition, in “The Next Decade of Digital Writing” (2018), Troy Hicks discusses adaptations that can be made to technology in education. Specifically, he states, “We need to provide intellectual and emotional space for students to explore new ideas, gather their own evidence, and present academic arguments through media other than just the printed word…” (Hicks, 2018., p. 11). I agree that students need an intellectual and emotional space to explore new ideas, but it does not necessarily have to be through technology. For example, in a course at Fairfield University on teaching writing, we discussed writer’s notebooks and how these are “safe spaces” for students to portray ideas while knowing an educator or adult may not look within these spaces. Technology can be a “safe space” too, but student ideas are out there for others to see—which can create an “unsafe” environment if they aren’t aware of audiences where they post. Writer’s notebooks could be an extremely beneficial way to have students physically write what they are feeling versus an online platform.

When adolescents take a stance, they are building a foundation of who they are or what they believe. These aspects are important factors that contribute to identity and establishing voice. As an educator, it is important to help encourage students to take a stance. Stances often connect to establishing identity and finding one’s place in the world. In order to collect data on stance, I can ask students where and when they would take a stance.

Similarly, in “Digital Literacy (Still) Can’t Wait: Renewing and Reframing the Conversation” (2022) Kristen Hawley Turner and Troy Hicks describe how technology can be beneficial for students. For example, they write “Teachers used a variety of tools during the pandemic: Google Classroom, Zoom, Padlet, Edpuzzle, Gimkit, Nearpod—the list is long. Often, however, the use of tools was in service of content delivery” (Turner and Hicks, 2022. p. 88). In today’s society, many more platforms of educational technology have been developed. Now that students and teachers have experience with online platforms, it is familiarized and integrated more into a classroom setting. The importance of this article is that technology can be beneficial within education—but only to a certain extent. Students can receive an education online, but they lack the true essence of being in a classroom with potential limited resources (white boards, hands on activities, or utilizing the classroom in general). Although a student is able to communicate with their educator online, it is challenging to receive that true and effective sit-down one-on-one assistance versus looking at a camera and talking to a teacher. Zoom, Google Meet, and WebEx etc. can only do so much for a child’s education. There is more to a student learning and development with some lecturing and instruction versus all online. It is one concept to utilize these resources as resources, but it is another to replace teaching with these platforms. As a result, students are lost and confused.

Furthermore, in the article, “‘I’d Still Prefer to Read the Hard Copy’: Adolescents’ Print and Digital Reading Habits” (2018) Chin Ee Loh and Baoqi Sun, describe how educators should incorporate technology within education when necessary. They state, “Understanding when, for whom, and how reading is done is crucial for developing complex understandings of how different technologies are used differently for different purposes” (Loh, 2018., p. 664). I agree with this statement. There are specific times and places to incorporate technology within the classroom, but it does not have to be for all assignments. In today’s society, I feel this concept is lost and technology is used as a replacement versus enhancing student learning.