Technological Advancement In Education

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Contents

Introduction –

Thesis statement: Advances in the technology are very helpful in transforming the way people are educated.

From the abacus which made teaching math easy millennia back, to word processor which changed the way research paper are being written and presented. The technological progress of humans has a positive impact on education. Technological change has given shape to education from the very beginning, but with the addition of digital revolution it has popularly increased the speed at which education is transforming. From the past 20 years, there have been changes in technological education that few people ever dreamed. .

Many colleges and universities have started offering distance learning programs before the discovery of internet where these programs were difficult to find at that time. Due to this reason, many people who lived in villages and towns lack access to these universities and colleges. There is no doubt that technology has greatly involved in our daily lives and mainly when we are talking about education field. There is almost no escaping from the fact which is produced by the researchers. Education has been widely affected by the integration of technologies as it is a fast way to reach mass number of students.

Literature Review –

There are basically three main theoretical frameworks presented in the educational technology literature which are Behaviorism, Constructivism and Cognitivism. These frameworks were presented earlier which is present in today’s literature. We will discuss some of the frameworks which as follows –

Behaviorism –

This framework was developed in the early 20th century with the animal learning experiments of various scientists. Many psychologists used these theories in order to describe the parallel human learning. (Summers, 2013)

Constructivism –

It can be called as educational philosophy which was followed by many educators in the later 20th century. The primary principle of this philosophy is that learners must have to construct their own meaning from the new information which is provided, in which they would get a chance to face the reality with different perspectives.

Cognitivism –

Cognitive science has changed the views of educators. It was started in the 1960s and 1970s, from where it has gone under great deal of change. These theories provide a new paradigm which explains brain-based learning.

Technology in the Classroom –

There are various kinds of technologies which can be used in the traditional classrooms. Some of them are discussed below –

Computer in Classroom –

It is considered that having computer in the classroom is asset for teachers as well as for students. The teachers can use computer to demonstrate new lessons, new material can be presented, illustration of using new programs and showing new websites.

Class Website –

It is an easy way to display student’s work where a web page is needed to be designed for the class. Once a web page is designed, it is very helpful in posting homework assignments, trivia games, students work and famous quotes and many more things. At present time, each and every child knows how to operate computer and can easily navigate their way through a website.

Class Blogs and Wikis –

There are number of Web 2.0 tools which are currently being implemented in the classroom programs. Blogs allow a student to maintain his/her own running dialogue. Wikis are more group focused as it only allows few members of the group to make changes in a single document. Blogs allow a student to freely express their knowledge of the information learned.

Wireless Classroom Microphones –

Noisy classroom is regular scenario of schools these days, but with the help of microphones students could hear their teachers more clearly. The benefit for teacher is that they no longer lose their voices at the end of the day.

Mobile Devices –

The devices such as Smartphones and Clickers are used to improve the experience in classroom in which professors get to receive the feedback.

Interactive Whiteboards –

This device provides touch control of computer applications which enhances the experience in a classroom by showing different things on the computer screen. Apart from visual learning, it is interactive so that the students can draw, manipulate and write images on the whiteboard.

Digital video-on-demand –

Digital video replaces in-classroom hardware and also allows the students and teachers to access video clips without using public internet.

Online Media –

The classroom lessons could be more enhanced by the use of streamed video websites. (Dunn, 2013)

Online Study tools –

These tools are used to motivate study making it more fun for a student.

Digital Games –

The field of educational games is growing considerably from last few years where it is provided as tools for classroom and provides positive feedback that includes higher motivation for students.

Smart Classroom Technologies –

A smart classroom is an artificial intelligent room which can automatically reconfigure itself and its resources totally based on the profiles of user groups. It can be achieved through a pre-defined schedule based on the arrival of a specific class group or lecture.

It can react automatically on the arrival of the staff or students. Tedious task can be automated at the start of a lecture that allows the teacher and the students to focus on the learning process. Simple tasks include list of attendees with their photographs which can make enhancements in the interaction of lecturer and student which is particularly for large groups.

In the case of smart classroom, low cost pervasive technologies are presented, where presence of Bluetooth-enables personal devices that are made as the core rational for developing Context Aware Smart Classroom (CASC) inside school.

Why Smart Classroom Technologies?

There are valuable reasons as why there should be more usage of the smart classroom technology in the education field. Some of them are mentioned below –

Technology and Education –

Learning styles of students are changed with the environment in which they reside. The traditional lecturing style needs to be reviewed in order to establish their suitability to meet the needs of various styles of student learning. There are various other techniques which are used that are problem based learning and peer instruction which provides additional burden on the educators during education session.

Learning Paradigm Shift –

The learning methods and practices are evolving and improving from an educational perspective. Traditional learning approaches include starting with the fundamental and moving onto application which may not address all the learning styles.

Problem based learning –

It involves organizing a group of students in order to complete a project or for solving problems. It can be achieved by applying an individual’s knowledge and learning additional material. Educators also provide them with the guidance required in the project. (O’Driscoll, 2013)

Digital Divide between Educators and Students –

There is a digitally division between children, who are growing in the technologically advanced world and older people referred as educators who have not used the current technologies. Prensky defines the term Digital Native who is surrounded by Digital equipments whole of their life which results they are fully clear with the concepts of internet, HTML language and all kinds of multi-media technologies. Educators are known to be Digital immigrants who have not grown up in digital environment and are now working hard to understand it.

Interactive Response System –

It is also known as voting system which can be used in the classroom to authorize student to answer questions thrown by lecturer. Each student comprise of handheld device which is helpful in selecting one specific answer. The independent remote unit operates using wireless signals and there is a possibility of setting classroom response system with the help of mobile phones and additional software.

Capture System –

Capture system tries to collect the activities of the classroom environment which can be later used for reviewing. It can be achieved by using display system that is interactive whiteboards that permits the capturing of the material presented. Audio Recording can complement the captured information but it should make sure that material and audio are coordinated during review. Video recording from single or multiple cameras could be helpful in providing significant quantity of material for review. This action also needs careful synchronization with the displayed information and audio.

Interactive Classroom Technologies –

This kind of technology provides a beautiful opportunity to improve the learning environment for the students. It provides capability for the users to use technology in order to support various different learning paradigms.

Benefits of Technology in Education –

Educational technology is aimed to improve the education over what it would be without technology. Some of the benefits of use of technology in education field are listed below –

Easy-to-access course material –

Instructors can post the course material or any other important information on the course website which will be helpful for the student as he/she can study at a time and location they prefer and can also obtain study material very quickly.

Student Motivation –

The computer-based instructions can be helpful in giving instant feedback to the students and can also explain correct answer. In addition, computer is considered as patient and non-judgmental device which can motivate students to continue learning. According to the study of James Kulik, students grab more when education is provided digitally and also develop positive attitude towards computer in computer-based classes.

Wide Participation –

Learning material is very helpful in long distance learning and also accessible to a wider audience.

Improved Student Writing –

It is also suitable for students to change their written work on word processor which also helps in improving the quality of their writing. According to various studies, it is known that students are better at editing and critiquing written work which is switched over a computer network.

Subjects are easier to learn –

There are various kinds of educational software which are designed to help children to teach specific subjects that are graphics software, pre-school software and computer simulators.

Differentiated Instruction –

The technology in education also provides a means to focus on active student participation and also to present different strategies of questioning. It also promotes plans of personalized learning and broadens individualized instructions.

The use of internet in education made a great impact on the educators and students on the whole education system. Internet itself has unlocked a world of opportunities for students.

Negative Affect of technology on Education –

In a society in which adolescent education is a requirement and it is advised that higher education is necessary where school systems are flourished with opportunity. Silicon valley Waldorf School believes that educating the child requires rejection of various areas of science and technology. The Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) is following a philosophy of educating the "heart and hands" of their students and for the Waldorf School of Peninsula situated in Silicon Valley, the same technique excludes the use of technology from the stance of interaction with the help of anti-screens in the lives of its students. In the support of rejecting technology in education, Waldorf School’s association provides a powerful reason that it inhibits creativity, attention for more productive activities and possibly, human interaction which is known as physical movement. The main vision of the school is not only nourishing minds but the hearts of students with the help of its spacious classrooms and biodynamic garden. (Stephens)

Conclusion –

Technology is helping in transforming education at present time and it will continue its work in the coming future. . As we can observe, most of the changes applied by the technology in education field is positive and the wise use of technological advancements can bring more improvements in the educational sector for some time to come. There is always the other side of the coin that is there could be various negative effects of technology usage in education which has to be surpassed to be more focused on the positive impact of technology. There are more pros and cons. So, it will be better idea to provide technological education to our children in future.