Although it is true that technology has an impact on critical thinking, I think that technology is actually a result of critical thinking—and a very important one at that. Because it involves skills like analysis, understanding, and application to produce invention and creation, critical thinking has a high-order thinking level. Therefore, without critical thinking, nothing can be created or invented.
The development and invention of technology are first and foremost based on hypotheses, postulates, theories of uncertainty, and research. The use of modern technologies to reform and reshape the world sparks creativity through critical thinking. As a result, there is a significant link between technology and critical thinking.
According to George M. Chinnery’s article, “A framework for integrating the internet into ELT,” technology is now playing a crucial role in “tutoring through the internet.” The technologies used in these activities have traditionally been divided into two categories: tool and tutor. (Levy and Stockwell, 2006). The Internet is also a crucial tool for the development of education in the modern era. The extensive use of the Internet includes synchronous and asynchronous online learning as well as communication, information, idea sharing, social networks, and videos. The most effective illustration of the relationship between technology and critical thinking is learning on canvas through an asynchronous course. By making instructor/instructions, reading material (articles), guidelines, online discussions, assessments, and grades available, Canvas provides the platform where course material and interaction are closely connected. In essence, critical thinking involves a student in the process of methodical learning. Technology is the term we use to describe this systematic learning process of creation or invention through communication, analysis, problem solving, and evaluation.
But it’s important to stress the need for caution in this situation. Teachers and parents are strongly advised to monitor students’ and children’s extensive use of visual media, as opposed to printed material, because, as Patricia Greenfield’s research indicates, “No one medium is good for everything… A balanced media diet is necessary if we want to grow in a variety of ways. Each medium has advantages and disadvantages in terms of the skills it fosters.
Evaluation methods that incorporate visual media will give a better picture of what they know, according to Greenfield, who has been using films in her classes since the 1970s, as students spend more time with visual media and less time with print.
And while we regret some people’s heavy reliance on visual media, it is regrettable to see that a sizable portion of our population, including students, lacks access to modern technology. When discussing the use of technology in teaching and learning in Pakistan’s outreach areas, there isn’t much to be excited about, especially in government schools where there isn’t a curriculum for computer studies from Grade ECE to 8, and students can only choose computer science from Grade 9. Our class-based educational system only allows students who attend private schools, particularly elite ones, to choose computer studies starting in ECE.
In this context, we at HANDS Pakistan are introducing contemporary technologies in outreach areas and the semi-urban coastal belt from the ground up. HANDS Pakistan has adopted government schools under public-private partnership in Sukkur, Khairpur, Dadu and Karachi. Multimedia is being used by teachers to visually explain science and English lessons. Powerpoint presentations that we’ve prepared for additional resources and activities. We give students access to the Internet for communication and informational purposes, and we offer them games and movies to improve their vision. Recently, we introduced a tablet with the Karis Math Software pre-installed to help our teachers and students in grades 1 through 5 with their mathematical abilities. (primary level). We are primarily concentrating on enhancing teachers’ capabilities through the use of technology too.
We used UO content to further our educational goals because it expands our ideas and helps us be more creative. It is important to mention the book Teaching and Learning with the Net Generation by Kassandra Barnes, Raymond C. Marateo, and S. Pixy Ferris in this context. The Net Generation actually learns differently from their forebears. Being the first generation to grow up surrounded by digital and cyber technologies makes this generation special. An average Net Generationer will have spent 10,000 hours playing video games, 20,000 hours watching TV, 10,000 hours using their phone, and only 5,000 hours reading by the time they are 21 years old. (Bonamici et al, 2005).
When it comes to their learning styles, Net Geners tend to be independent and autonomous, which has an impact on a wide range of educational decisions and behaviors, from “what kind of education they buy” to “what, where, and how they learn.” (Carlson, 2005).
To sum up, it is impossible to achieve educational goals without incorporating technology and critical thinking into the teaching and learning process.
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