I definitely agree with you in that adding technology to educational environments does seem to be counterproductive. I think the temptation to switch from typing a paper to Netflix is just as tempting as the urge to check your phone. The article also noted that technology has begun to impair our capacity to focus, which connects back to your idea that the recent additions to education may be inhibiting peoples' learning. However, in contrast, the technology has made our lives easier in terms of research, typing papers, etc and because everyone gets a chromebook, everyone has the same access. That reminds me of the article we had read earlier in the year about how the technology gap is a civil rights issue. By distributing Chromebooks, for example, to everyone, we help lessen that gap. Back to your original statement though, with all the research supporting the fact that technology has begun to slowly take over our lives and even harm our brains, why is it that almost everything in the educational system is becoming "digital"?

I found the paragraph about smartphones really interesting. I think we've all known deep down that technology and our smartphones do not do us any good when it comes to focusing so it's nice to have that scientific validation. Though it begs the question: why are encouraging the use of technology and technology based assignments in our classrooms? Studies have also shown that taking notes on a laptop versus hand writting them yields worse scores and the inability to remember what we learned. With this information present to us why are we getting chromebooks and moving away from the "old fashioned ways?" When did convenience replace our desire to help people truly learn?