Positive and negative impact of technology on the learning process

One of the key contributions of digital technology is the democratization of access to knowledge. Students can access a large number of sources, scientific articles, e-books and open educational resources, regardless of time or space. This contributes to greater autonomy and flexibility of learning, especially in the context of lifelong learning and distance learning.

However, this positive effect also has its negative counterbalance in the form of information overload and student overload. The amount of available information can lead to overload, confusion and difficulty in distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information. The technological medium does not necessarily mediate quality, but quantity, which further emphasizes the need for the development of information and digital literacy as the basis for critical search, evaluation and use of information.

Strategies and ways to solve the problem of information overload

To effectively deal with the challenge of information overload, teachers and students need to employ strategies that encourage critical thinking, organization, and filtering of information. First, learning objectives and criteria for selecting sources need to be clearly defined, thereby focusing attention only on content that directly contributes to understanding the topic and achieving learning outcomes.

Digital tools can be a significant support in this process. Knowledge organization tools such as Notion (which uses AI), Obsidian, Evernote or OneNote allow for structured note-taking and categorization of information, while reference management tools such as Zotero or Mendeley help in collecting, annotating, and citing relevant sources. Teachers can also guide students in the use of reliable databases and academic search engines (e.g., Google Scholar, ERIC, Scopus) and encourage them to recognize the difference between scholarly and popular sources.

Pedagogical approaches that encourage metacognitive strategies and reflection on the learning process can further help students develop the ability to filter information. Activities such as keeping a digital learning diary, creating mind maps or group discussions about the quality of sources encourage deeper understanding and critical evaluation of the content.

On a practical level, it is useful to encourage a so-called "digital diet", i.e. consciously limiting the number of sources used and regularly filtering saved materials according to relevance. Such approaches not only reduce cognitive load, but also encourage the development of self-regulated learning strategies and information responsibility in the digital environment.