Many aspects of education have started to revolve around technology, especially when it comes to research. Technology has become a significant aspect of modern education, where both students and teachers utilize it to ensure more effective learning and teaching respectively.
However, there are a lot of people who worry about the potential harmful impact of employing technology in the classroom.Is it going to inhibit students from learning social skills? Will it cause them to become too dependent on computers? What if they come across inappropriate material? However, people said similar things when the radio, television and printing press was invented. All these inventions can be misused, but they still made knowledge more accessible to people and have aided us immensely in our journey towards progress.
Television
Let’s start with television. While it is not a relatively new invention, it still plays a major role when it comes to acquiring new knowledge and learning. For instance, movies, documentaries, series or programs are a great way to learn a new language in a fun and easy way. They can put on a movie in that language and read the subtitles to understand what is being said. We often forget that television is not just for entertainment, it offers so many educational programs such as documentaries, news and scientific channels that you can learn a lot from.
The Internet
You are probably already aware of how the Internet has revolutionized and advanced various sectors of our society. It is probably the most beneficial technology these days.It has turned our vast earth into a small village, making everything (including limitless information) accessible at the tip of our fingertips. This has helped the education industry a lot. Students and teachers can just search for whatever information they need on the internet. Conducting studies and researches has become so much easier. If a student is struggling with a task, they can easily search for the best assignment writer online and ask them for help. So many online academic services- from course providing websites to services that can get you in touch with the best assignment writer- have sprung up that make the process of learning and the lives of students so much easier. It also allows you to stay in touch with people spread across the globe. You can easily communicate with your family, friends or even classmates using voice chat, emails, messaging or video chat.
Computer Assisted Instruction
The use of technology in classroom has become commonplace. Teachers utilize computers to enhance their teaching and also give students tasks that involve using technology to accomplish effectively.
CAI or Computer Assisted Instruction refers to the use of a computer to present instructional materialto students and record how much they learned. It combines graphics, sounds, video and text to speed up and facilitate the learning the process. Computer Assisted Instruction programs make use of simulation, drill and practice, problem solving approaches and tutorials to tackle a variety of topics from the curriculum and determine how much the student understands them. The advantages of CAI programs include:
- Direct interaction and individual attention
- Students stay motivated
- Immediate response to the answers
- Allows students to learn at their individual pace
- Gives teachers time to give more attention to students who really need it
- Makes it easier for slow or shy learners to learn
- Multi-sensory approach makes it easier for students to grasp complex concepts
- Fast learning
Smartphones
Smartphones have completely transformed out lives. These days almost everyone owns one of these convenient devices. They are an extremely easy and fast way to get access to information anytime and anywhere, as well as communicate with others through messages and calls. However,unlike older phones, the function of this pocket-sized device is not just limited to communication. These days mobile phones are multi-purpose. For instance, you can gain access to internet on phone. You can also download a variety of applications that make your life easier such as car hailing apps, provide access to knowledge such as dictionary apps or make sure you never get bored such as game applications. Smartphones are also equipped with camera which means you can take videos and pictures of every moment of your life with ease.
When it comes to education, there are a variety of examples of how smartphones aid learning. Many education-oriented iOS and android apps have become popular among students who want to improve their learning skills. For example, there are a variety of smartphone applications that aid learning through the use of games, flashcards, quizzes and puzzles. They make it easier to understand and retain information. Some applications can even help students with their homework. Students can use them as a dictionary, thesaurus, spell checker or grammar checker to ensure they deliver impeccable work.
To conclude, both the pros and cons of technological advancement are countless. What we need to make sure is that we make appropriate use of all the various technologies to get the best out of them. We need to be the one leading technology instead of letting it lead us. Smartphones, the internet and TV are all examples of the technologies we cannot completely stop using in modern day. We need them to catch up to the fast pace of the current digital era. Similarly, technology has become so ingrained into the fabric of our current education system that getting rid of it would be more harmful to our progress than beneficial. Therefore, we need to push for reform in the direction of how we use it rather than think about why we use it.
