Nowadays, technology is all around the planet. We use it on a daily basis to get our personal tasks done.
Digital advancement appears to be taking over the world, as well as many aspects of human society. It evolved to the point that it became a resource for pedagogical proposes because it is a powerful learning tool and enhances gaining wisdom and skills for students.
So, the answer is yes, and we will learn more about it in this article.
First, we have to define what exactly is ‘’Modern Technology in the Educational System’’.
With easy internet access, social networking and the rising popularity of smartphone usage, the educational system must innovate itself to deliver relevant contents for academic material in the form of eLearning.
The importance of technology in schools can’t be overlooked, it is a very useful tool for teaching and learning subjects.
In essence, Modern technology in education can represent everything related to mobile apps, platforms or websites, e-books, virtual classes, computers, iPads, and digitalized board installed in classrooms. Basically, everything on the internet that coaches a certain topic.
Why is it so important? The main advantages
Technology is important for countless reasons:
- In standard teaching, occasionally can be hard for students to understand the notion. Technology-based material helps students to understand various disciplines and get familiarized with the digital advancement of our world.
- Tech-savvy teachers can plan their lessons more strategically with relevant pedagogical materials that will help students to understand the concept.
- Adding it to the classroom is a productive technique to connect learners from all learning types.
- Nowadays, people are constantly using technology in their free-time. Kids like interactive teaching, and learning through digital materials, have now become a part of their day-to-day life, so it seems rational to combine teaching methods with what students are used to living their lifestyle.
- Students have to learn basic valuable skills that will be important when they arrive in the world of work, nowadays there is no job that won’t require employees to learn how to use a computer or a piece of machinery. With new opportunities presented by technological advancements like programming or digital marketing, allows students to be more creative and resilient.
- Most teachers nowadays are utilizing technical assistance to stay in touch with their students. They can utilize services such as Dropbox which enable them to share and upload content available to their learners. They are also able to send emails to communicate or use a digital agenda to plan their classes.
- Nowadays, group projects don’t require students to meet face-to-face. Online collaboration platforms exist and it is very easy to use. They can perform voice/video calls, and share files between them.
- Students have access to tips and tricks on how to write an essay or a dissertation. Writing an essay can be daunting sometimes, but the Internet is a wonderful place. You can quickly search for some examples that will boost your grade.
- Information online is updated minute from minute, which means that it’s easier than ever to access the latest news.
What are some of the disadvantages of the technological educational system?
Although technology seems to have a positive impact in educational systems, a study has shown adding one computer for the teacher per classroom had 10 times better effect on boosting learning performance than of adding a students computer to the classroom.
Giving students access to tablets, computers, and e-books were associated with lower educational performance.
The study has shown that students had better education performance when providing technological access to teachers, rather than to students.
That being said, the main disadvantages are:
- With technology advancement, there are more and more tricks and tips to cheat on exams that learners use. During exams, students can have a calculator, and they can input formulas in their calculator to successfully pass.
- People nowadays cannot live without checking their phones 24/7. The interesting part is that because of this, gradually more students are suffering from social anxieties concerning interacting with others, but are completely okay socializing online.
- Attentiveness decreases drastically when students are on their phones. Their focus switches from the teacher to anything they were doing on the phone.
- It can cause students to learn from untrustworthy sources. The internet is filled with incorrect and misleading information, and it’s important to know how to differentiate what is right and what is wrong.
- Looking at a screen induces eye fatigue. The main symptoms are eye irritation, strain, and blurred vision. It can cause a severe condition called “Computer Vision Syndrome.”. Extensive staring at a screen on children puts them vulnerable of having myopia.
- Lastly, it can also create dependence. Search engines supply access to an extensive amount of data, but it can also cause dependence because learners rely on technology. Nowadays, people that grew up with Google will experience feelings of despair if they don’t have Internet to help in their school work.
Most Interesting Facts About Technology In Education:
- 60% of schools in America give tablets or computers to their students.
- 41% of students would prefer to take virtual classes.
- 54% of students would often use at least two devices simultaneously to complete school work.
- 50% of students use the internet to conclude homework about 3 times per week.
- Students that study on computers, tablets, or phones, study about 40 minutes more in a week than those who don’t use tech related gadgets
Final Considerations
The good and the bad sides of technology in classrooms reveal that trying out new devices and gadgets for learning can be helpful, but we must use them with caution to succeed. People have different levels of comfort zones regarding trying out the most recent things. That means that there isn’t a right or wrong.
The usage of technology is a valuable phenomenon, but being completely dependant on it is damaging. Technology should be used to ease work and never for just quickly finishing work without thinking.
Students nowadays have become very lazy with modern technological advancement. Just type what you want in a search engine, make a simple click (e.g: Google or Bing) and you solve a problem. This can be a problem, as it has the possibility to deteriorate the ability of critical thinking.
Digital advancement can present new wisdom and activities. It can also lead to new discoveries about our planet. Those benefits should be balanced out with the risks involved in order to succeed.
