The "technology age" that the world is in today has greatly impacted the education of college students. The use of technology in our everyday lives has risen substantially over the past 15 years to the extent that it is a necessity for survival. I decided to center my research project on this impact to see if technology benefited college students academically. Also, I selected this age bracket, which corresponds to my own, so that I could relate to my intended audience. Technology is useful for a college student's education because it gives them easier access to information, allows them to think differently, and it helps students understand new concepts and ideas faster.  

For my research project, I chose the overarching idea that technology is beneficial to the education of a college student for a number of reasons. First off, I have always found technology to be fascinating because it is an industry that is ran by innovative and creative thinkers. The other reason why I chose this topic is that it relates to two of my core principles, innovation and education. Innovation is an significant value to have because it allows a person to both understand and fulfill the world's needs. Likewise, education is also important to me because it determines my future. Overall, I chose this topic because I have always thought that technology was interesting and I have seen its growth in academics over the years.

I believe that I am qualified to answer this research question because technology has become an important tool for my learning over the years. Technology, in my opinion, does improve our everyday lives. For example, my cell phone allows me to put all my important dates for tests and papers in my calendar so that I can manage my study time efficiently. Educationally, I use countless numbers of technological devises in order to progress my learning; it has enabled me to reach for bigger academic goals and allowed me to understand ideas on a deeper level. 

The first source that can help me answer my research question is Ian Leslie's "Google Makes Us All Dumber: the Neuroscience of Search Engines," published in Salon in October of 2014. Leslie's article, which argues the issues with using search engines, states that the human race has become lazy due to the easy access to information, which causes people to lose their curiosity and motivation to explore new ideas and theories. The author explains through a study conducted by Michelle Chouinard, a psychology professor at the University of California, how humans were born ignorant and therefore, it is only human instinct to search for answers. Leslie also emphasizes the need for a symbiotic relationship between technology and humans by quoting from a technology visionary, Kevin Kelly. The author certainly agrees with the use of technology, but he does not support using search engines to find answers to all of life's questions. Rather, Leslie values exploration of new concepts and the expansion of one's curiosity; he cares more about finding his own answer to a question than lazily typing the question into a search bar. This article relates to my research topic because it verifies how the education system could fail due to a lack of innovative ideas from the use of technology. In all, Ian Leslie's article shows how humans became less creative over the past few years due to the readily accessible Internet and hints that this could be problematic for college students in the long run. 

The second source that can help answer my research question is Andy Guess's "Students' 'Evolving' Use of Technology," which was published in 2007 on insidehighered.com. The author's article explains how the rise of technology use in a college student's everyday life could be beneficial in their education. Guess uses a study conducted on college students by the Educause Center for Applied Research to help familiarize himself with the subject. The results indicate that the use of technology in a college student's everyday life is growing substantially and college students, in general, believe that technology allows them to comprehend new ideas and concepts faster. Guess stresses that technology is beneficial to a human's everyday life, as long as it is used properly; he sees the usefulness in using technology for educational purposes, but he also understands that it will be overused at times. Overall, Guess's article shows the rise of technology in the everyday life of a college student and how it causes them to think in different perspectives. 

The final source that will be needed to answer my research question is  "The Use of Technology- In Education and Teaching Process" written by Kahreka Ramey in 2013 on useoftechnology.com. Ramey's article outlines the benefits of using technology, including: acting like an inspiration for students to reach for higher goals, making it easier to learn new ideas, and increasing a student's productivity and creativity. Besides stating some of the benefits of using technology in classrooms, Ramey also gives examples of technological gadgets that successfully improve a student's learning. Like Andy Guess and Ian Leslie, Ramey does value technology mainly because it improves the efficiency of teaching and it's easier for students to comprehend compared to a traditional lecture setting. She is, however, biased in that she always supports the use of technology, regardless of where it is used, but improves her credibility by using popular products as examples of technology that successfully help a student's education. In conclusion, Ramey's "The Use of Technology-In Education and Teaching Process" explains the benefits that technology can have in the classroom both for a student's productivity and their creativity. 

Kahreka Ramey, Andy Guess, and Ian Leslie's respective articles will all be vital in the answering of my research question because they give opposing opinions on the topic and give thorough details supporting their claims. I agree with a majority of their viewpoints, including how technology improves productivity and creativity, but I do not approve of Leslie's belief that humans have become lazier in regards to finding the answer to their question. These different stances articulate some of the disadvantages of using technology in classes. I still believe that technology should be used in college classrooms, but I have now learned about some of the consequences in doing so.  My research question is easily arguable because each side has enough evidence to receive the support from the average human. After thoroughly studying these three author's articles, I would make one change to my research topic; I would be on the side that favors the use of technology for college students rather than be neutral on the subject. The only challenge that I would face in supporting the use of technology is how could teachers make sure that the students were using the technology appropriately. In all, these three articles will be important in answering my research topic question because they give opposing points of view and they allow me to present both side's reasoning for their opinion on the use of technology in college classrooms. 

Technology is vital to a student's education because it helps them comprehend new ideas faster and gives them more readily access to information. One could argue that the "technology age" has contributed significantly to the education system because it has allowed college students to expand their knowledge and develop their curiosity. College students have become more efficient learners due to the innovative technological advances over the past few years. In conclusion, the next generation of technological devices will impact the education of future college students.

