We are going to be talking about the Advantages and Disadvantages of technology for university students.

We cannot deny and undermine the effect of technology on our world today. The world is evolving all the time and our education sector is not left out.

The education sector over time has evolved from chalkboards or whiteboards and markers to smart boards.

As university students, we cannot be left behind so we have to move with the trend and upgrade as well.

World banks are one of the moving forces in ensuring there’s technology in most Universities in African countries.

As with most things in life, technological advancement in education also has its advantages and disadvantages. It is left to you to decide how it would influence you.

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ADVANTAGES OF TECHNOLOGY ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS.

1.  AIDS RESEARCH FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS.

With the aid of technology, students can get more materials for research for school projects and so on.

It also helps broaden the student’s learning horizon.

The student will also get more knowledge and understanding of what has been taught in class by the time he does more research on the internet.

2.  AIDS NETWORKING.

Technology is undeniably a great tool for networking.

You get to meet and interact with other international students in your field of study and learn more.

You also get a broader perspective on things.

3.  PROMOTE COMMUNICATION.

With technology, you could easily communicate with your lecturers and your peers especially when given group study projects through emails, video conferencing, and so on.

Most private schools in some countries have emails that they use to pass on information,

And communicate with their students and their students can easily reach out to them without any physical contact.

4.  ONLINE CLASSES.

During the COVID-19 period, we saw how technology was very important in our education.

Despite the seat at home, the education of so many students was not put on hold as they had online classes and basically did all their school work online.

If not for technology, most students would have grown “cold” in their education during that period.

And upon resumption would have had a really hard time catching up.

5.  IS TIME-SAVING WHEN USED PROPERLY.

If not for technology, most students would have grown “cold” in their education during that period and upon resumption would have had a really hard time catching up.

With the growth of e-library, you get to save time used in browsing through the physical library.

With this, you get to learn more in lesser time.

You could also download e-books which could easily be scanned through by typing keywords to aid your research.

With technology, you could be saved from sleepless nights of research.

6.  FLEXIBILITY IN EDUCATION.

With technology, you get to know more.

You could register for classes away from your field of study at the university and set your own timetable according to your personal schedule.

This way you get to make good use of your free time, broaden your horizon, and your education is not affected.

With technology, you could also further your education in an international school of your choice without having to be there physically,

While getting the same recognition as those who were there physically.

With this, you get to take your classes online and interact with your lecturers and classmates through emails and other social media platforms.

7.  HELP REDUCE MATERIALS SPACE/STORAGE.

With the help of technology, we can easily store books and documents using electronic means.

Files and documents which were usually stacked in offices are now been documented using flash drives and computer storage.

In most universities, a room full of papers can be put in a single flash drive.

8.  ENHANCE LEARNING FOR DISABILITY STUDENTS.

Technologies help to make their lives easier and more accessible.

With the help of voice command capabilities, users can search for questions without stress.

A devices call Augmentative and Alternative Communication(AAC) devices help students with disability to express themselves and engage in class properly.

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9.  CONTINUOUS LEARNING OUTSIDE THE WALLS  OF THE UNIVERSITY.

Even after you’ve graduated from the university, you can still use their online stuff like lessons and courses.

You don’t have to go to the university in person.

You can get information and important papers through the computer. It’s like the university comes to you wherever you are.

DISADVANTAGES OF TECHNOLOGY ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS.

1.  CAN MAKE STUDENTS LOSE FOCUS EASILY.

The internet space is very broad with a lot of content on it.

A student could be doing educational research and something else will pop up by the time they click the link,

It leads them to something entirely different and they forget why they were there initially.

This could unnecessarily eat up the student’s study time which could lead to poor performance of the student.

2.  WRONG INFORMATION.

When a student does research online, without having a professor or someone with sufficient knowledge in the field of study to explain to the student,

He could read a different meaning to the subject of study and misinterpret the subject.

This also could lead to poor performance in the university.

3.  CAN KILL A STUDENT’S “SOCIAL LIFE”.

With technology, most students become independent.

When they have issues with their study instead of meeting their coursemates or lecturers physically for more explanation, they would rather run to the internet.

This will limit the way and amount of times they associate with people.

This may also make them perform poorly in the university as they may sometimes read the wrong meaning of information seen on the internet and there is no one to confirm it for them.

4.  TECHNOLOGY CAN CAUSE HEALTH ISSUES.

Most students would prefer to spend time in their rooms doing research online and they would not realize how much time has passed.

By the time they do this regularly for a long time, they end up using their sports and exercise time in a particular position.

Excessive use of the computer or phone screen can cause obesity, poor eyesight, and bad body posture.

Everything should be done minimally so as to avoid the negative effect of technology and also to enjoy the full benefits of it.

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5.  TECHNOLOGY CAN CAUSE LAZINESS IN STUDENTS.

With the advance of technology, most university students would rather copy and paste from the internet than use their brains for their school projects.

This also reduces their critical thinking skills.

This makes the student more dependent on the internet instead of their minds to solve problems.

This could also increase the rate of exam malpractice, as the student doesn’t learn or read but instead uses the internet.

With all of these, it’s more likely for the university to produce half-baked students from various fields of study.

SEE ASLO: HOW to AVOID PROCRASTINATION in UNIVERSITIES.

6.  INCREASE MALPRACTICE LEVEL.

Students are caught using technology means such as phones during their exams and test period.

Also in plagiarism, students tend to copy direct, especially during project defense in the final year, they copy directly from online without proper citation.

Technology can promote the act of faking documents which aren’t original and most students use these documents for a job application and other activities.

7.  VERY EXPENSIVE.

Technology offers many advantages and also disadvantages, these aspect is the most vital reason why some universities don’t engage in technology learning.

The maintenance level is cost, as the equipment needs proper maintenance and updating of software.

Proper training should be done adequately on those who will handle the equipment, hence the cost of training.

In most Universities, computers are no longer there due to stealing, this is a result of security weaknesses around the building, hence the cost of paying for security agencies.

8.  DECREASE IN TRADITIONAL WAYS OF TEACHING.

Having a personal connection with teachers is really important in learning.

For some students, it’s easier to understand things when they’re taught in person by their teacher.

When we do hands-on activities during lessons, like experiments, it’s much better than just watching them online.

Also, talking face-to-face helps us remember things better.

Classrooms make us feel like we’re part of something special, and this feeling helps us learn more. We get to share experiences with others in the same room.

9.  INABILITY FOR STUDENTS TO PUT EFFORT TO LEARN.

Students these days can easily get information by just clicking a few buttons, no need to put in much effort.

They can find websites for solving math problems and apps that write letters and projects for them. But this can be a problem in universities.

Some students might not learn to spell correctly because they rely on grammar apps, and this makes them not as good at doing things themselves.

So, technology can sometimes make people not do their best.