Name: Omeisha Daley 

Date: 11/9/2020

Professor Velez

English 110 

Cover Letter 

The audience of this specific essay would be anyone that is using technology or electronics during this pandemic; which as you may know is basically the whole world as of lately. I picked this specific audience because I felt like it was time for these people to start thinking about the technology they use and approach the effects that it may have on them that they probably haven’t even thought of. I used specific language in my essay to get my audience to understand and appeal with my topic which would make reading ultimately easier for them. I’ve gained insights regarding language and literacy such as the fact that language and literacy can be executed and carried out in many different ways and everyone has their own view on language and literacy; which makes L&L so unique in writing. The concepts such as audience, evidence, author, and exigence have impacted my learning and writing practices because they’ve helped me to figure out what I’m writing and how I’ll write it which helps me to write a well organized and well executed essay that readers can truly grasp and understand. I’ve had to use all of these terms excessively in my writing and I believe that they are the building blocks of great writing. I believe that I’ve achieved some Course Learning Outcomes such as Locating Research Sources and Practicing Systematic Application of Citation Conventions. I’ve had to utilize the second listed learning outcome in my third essay and it has helped to solidify my evidence and let the reader know that my evidence is coming from reliable sources. Also the first listed 

Learning outcomes has also been utilized in my third essay and have helped me to determine if I have enough evidence to write this essay and it of course helped me to pick out my evidence from reliable sources.

Technology and Its Effects on 

People During a Pandemic 

Since the 1900’s technology has very much been present in our everyday lives and because of this presence it’s continued to advance and improve over the years. Almost everything we use as of today is digital and can be accessed via the internet; which can be seen as efficient by most people. Technology has helped to make our lives ultimately easier throughout history and comes with its fair share of advantages and disadvantages. There has been a huge spike in electronic activity in the past few months due to virtual learning being introduced. Students all over the world are confined to learning via technology and the internet and it can either be a beneficial or stressful experience for them. Virtual learning is a very different experience for everyone and will take some time to get used to. The increased use of technology in this pandemic has allowed for increased anxiety, depression, stress, and insomnia in students around the world. And while technology has had some pretty impactful results in students, technology has been far more detrimental on students. Technology has also allowed for people to work from home and support themselves and their families, but technology also comes with mental health issues that are driving young people to take part in activities they shouldn’t. Therefore, technology is having too many negative impacts on students and should be evaluated.

Technology has been beneficial to students during this pandemic by allowing for them to get and maintain an education through virtual learning; which should help to keep their brains stimulated and steady while we’re all confined to our houses. Keeping your brain stimulated and busy during this pandemic is crucial to students because without it some people would probably go stir crazy. The internet has allowed for students to learn at their own convenience and on their own time according to Michael Horn “ Pre-recorded lessons also serve to allow students from different time zones to learn at their convenience”(Horn).  This is highlighting and bringing attention to the fact that technology has allowed for students to have access to education with minimal to no hassles. Not only is the internet allowing for students to have an easier education it has also allowed for the teachers to have an easier teaching. The teachers can record lessons at their leisure and upload it so that students can access information at their will; which is a very efficient way to learn. The efficiency of learning has definitely improved since virtual learning has started and students across the world can definitely agree with that. In virtual learning some say that it has allowed for students to express their full identities which helps to engage them in class as said in Anne Dennon’s article “ In virtual learning environments, technologies can be used to show students’ profile pictures, names, titles, pronouns and pronunciations… all of this enables students to bring their full identities into the open, enhancing their engagement and learning outcomes”(Dennon).  This is explaining how virtual learning has allowed for students to better express themselves and their identities; which leads to students becoming more engaged with class and even becoming more comfortable with their classmates and teachers. A student’s “profile picture, pronoun, and name” are all little pieces of insights into who the students are and can even tell you a little about their personality. And with them revealing these things it helps to boost the comfortability between classmates which is really important for the success of a class.

While electronics and technology have been beneficial to students during this COVID-19 pandemic it has also allowed for an increase in detrimental mental health conditions that are plaguing students that have to rely on virtual learning. An increased number of students all around the world are being diagnosed with anxiety and clinical depression ever since virtual learning has been introduced. A professor in Harvard talks about how young people are developing mental health conditions during the pandemic more than any other time by saying “he’s seen a rise in young people with anxiety and depression during the pandemic”. This demonstrates how the pandemic has been causing young people to develop detrimental mental health issues which ultimately makes their lives harder. Also this portrays the idea that this pandemic is causing many unwanted issues for students which isn’t ideal only because of the fact that virtual learning isn’t as easy as some people make it seem. In the polls that schools are sending out the parents are saying that they are not happy about social distancing and virtual learning and feel as if their kids are experiencing more harm than good and the polls that Ray Schroeder created are saying “  Nearly 3 in 10 parents said their child is experiencing emotional or mental harm because of social distancing and school closures and the new virtual education system, according to a nationwide Gallup poll in June”(Schroeder). This suggests that the pandemic and virtual education are not having very positive impacts on kids and are actually causing mental harm to kids that participate in virtual learning. And the fact that parents are the ones that notice the mental and emotional harms inflicted onto their kids makes the concern for kids that much stronger and makes anyone realize that virtual learning efforts have to improve. Virtual learning may give kids access to an education but along with that comes mental harm and mental health conditions that makes learning and obtaining knowledge online that much harder. Schools and administrations  need to figure out ways to make virtual learning easier for students.

In conclusion, technology can either help or hurt humanity and in this pandemic we are starting to see clear ways in which it can either be an advantage or disadvantage to certain people. Virtual learning has caused increased mental health issues among people across the world and has really become a huge problem for people of today. Students all over the world are forced to deal with anxiety and depression by themselves with no real support. And none of these schools have really taken the time to step back and think about ways in which they can tweak and improve virtual learning efforts in order to improve the mental health issues caused by virtual education. Teachers still continue to bombard students with assignment after assignment and it would definitely be beneficial if they got the students opinions on the material being taught; in which they would know how to move forward. 

Works Cited Page 

Ray Schroeder; Worldwide, lives are stressed and strained by COVID-19; October 1, 2020; https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/wellness-and-mental-health-2020-online-learning 

Michael Horn;COVID-19’s Ultimate Impact on Online Learning: The Good and the Bad; 04/30/20;https://campustechnology.com/articles/2020/04/30/covid19s-ultimate-impact-on-online-learning-the-good-and-the-bad.aspx 

Raji Srinivasan; The Positives of Virtual Learning That Nobody Is Talking About; Sep 30, 2020; 

https://news.utexas.edu/2020/09/30/the-positives-of-virtual-learning-that-nobody-is-talking-about/

Anne Dennon; Coronavirus Impacts on Students and Online Learning; October 19, 2020; https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/coronavirus-impacts-on-students/ 

University of Illinois Springfield; Strengths and Weaknesses of Online Learning; https://www.uis.edu/ion/resources/tutorials/online-education-overview/strengths-and-weaknesses/ 

Emma García and Elaine Weiss;COVID-19 and student performance, equity, and U.S. education policy; September 10, 2020; https://www.epi.org/publication/the-consequences-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-for-education-performance-and-equity-in-the-united-states-what-can-we-learn-from-pre-pandemic-research-to-inform-relief-recovery-and-rebuilding/ 
Cathy Li and Farah Lalani; The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever; April 29, 2020; https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/