Technology?

Does access to the vast amounts of information on the internet inhibit students analytical thinking skills? More importantly do students rely on other people to provide the answers to question or can they think for themselves?


All institutions of learning want to produce students who can think analytically and find solutions on their own. It is a lofty goal these days when the internet provides the answers to all questions that they can dream up. Students have access to so much information at all times. With the information now being available on the go in the form of an iphone or other cellular devise there is less opportunity for critical thinking.
In my classes I allow students to use calculators for graphing and other operations in order to save time during assessments. Students tend to use the calculator like a crutch and don't see the value in knowing how to do it without one. They often ask why they need to know how to do it when the calculator can do it for you. They want things to be simple so that they do not have to work as hard to obtain the desired results.
I have fallen prey to these habits when it comes to reading books for school. I can see why students would turn to the internet to look at sparks notes and cliffs notes. The convenience of having a summary of the text is helpful when you have a limited amount of time to dedicate to each class.