Over the last century, our technology has continued to evolve and improve. Technology has changed in any aspects from creation of what is now called “the internet”, that able anyone to produce media content and present it to the world, to various applications and hi-tech gadgets. Technology is a great help to us because it can make our work easier. For example, before, if you want to do laundry you have to do it by hand and spend the entire day washing your dirty clothes, but now there is this machine called a washing machine. Through this new technology, you can just put your clothes there, then simply turn it on and wait for a couple of minutes. You can even do something else while waiting, be productive. After a couple of minutes and viola! Your clothes are done and completely dried up. Technology has also made access to education easier. According to elearningindustry.com, there are 8 ways On How Technology Improves Education and Enhance Student Learning.
The first way is “Digital Stimulation and Models”. Sometimes, there are students who are having a hard time picturing out what the teacher is talking about. For example, your teacher is discussing the flow of blood in the heart. Yes, the teacher is discussing the flow from start to end, but you, who is not-so-smart, would have so many questions in mind like, “What does it look like?, How will I able to know where are the arteries and the veins or whatsoever?” This is where “Digital Stimulation and Model” comes in. In order for you to understand a certain topic more, you need a visual representation or a picture of it. That is why visual aids or PowerPoint are very important in teaching, especially that not all students like listening, some prefer looking at pictures and videos.
According to the Ministry of Education of Guyana (education.gov.gy), visual aids “help students improve reading comprehension skills, illustrate or reinforce a skill or concept, differentiate instruction, and relieve anxiety or boredom by presenting information in a new and exciting way.” That’s the reason why it is best for schools to have projectors or TVs in each classroom.
The second way is “Improved Communication”. Communication is very important in order for one to send, receive and understand a specific message. In education, effective communication is important so that the teacher will be able to convey or deliver a topic clearly and because of that, students tend to understand more. If a student doesn’t understand a specific topic, and maybe he/she is shy to ask questions to the teacher in person, the student may use social media apps like Facebook and Messenger to ask the teacher about what he/she doesn’t understand. Through technology, students can easily access their teachers and ask questions, and they might even get a free tutoring.
The third way is “Advance Research”. The internet has made research a lot easier for the students these days. Gone are those days when students still need to go to libraries to read piles of books, magazines, encyclopedias and many more, just to get a research material for their research or thesis. Now with the help of the internet, they can just simply type what they want to know and many sources will show up. For example, you want to know how to cook pasta. All you have to do is type “How to cook pasta” and search. You can also go to some social media apps like YouTube to show you a video if ever you failed to understand the steps without a video.
The fourth way is “Effective Assessments”. According to elearningindustry.com, “There are softwares available with which teachers can give or receive assessments of their students in real-time. Such softwares were made to help teachers stay updated with all records, for instance, the number of learning assignments given, how much time students need to solve a problem, etc. It is a way of helping teachers know how much time a particular question requires from some students, and if they’re getting better; if not, what further efforts should be made for their improvement.” Some example of these are apps like “Edmodo” and “Quipper”, where there is a student portal and a teacher portal. The teachers can give assessments or assignments there and put a specific time and date when the students should finish it. There are also scores in every correct answers to motivate students to participate and answer the activities. The students can also get some study materials there, which they can use if ever they have an examination coming.
The fifth way is “Learning at One’s Own Pace”. There are times when the teacher is so fast in discussing, that even the students can’t understand. This is mostly common in college, because in college the teacher will just simply lecture once but not twice. Because for them, the student is the one who is responsible to find strategies in order for her/him to understand, catch up and get some notes. That’s why many students rely on the internet because there, they can easily access information and even read it again and again if they don’t understand it.
The sixth way is “Fun Learning”. Through technology, learning can also be fun because there are a lot of applications that helps you learn in a playful manner. Some examples of these applications are MoMa Art Lab, Encarta, and more. But most of these playful learning apps are for kids since kids love games and they are more likely to participate when there are games than just plain reading. Also, while playing, they can get new information and learn from it. Mostly teenager students don’t like playful learning applications, instead prefer videos and pictures.
The seventh way is “Online Groups Collaboration”. “Online learning programs promote student-centered learning, encourage wider student participation, and produce more in-depth and reasoned discussions than traditional face-to-face programs” (e.g., Karayan & Crowe, 1997; Smith & Hardaker, 2000). It was said that “Lack of connection between students may have consequences, possibly because students may experience feelings of isolation and stress than those students who made such connections and experience traditional face-to-face programs” (e.g. Haythornthwaite, Kazmer, Robbins and Shoemaker 2000). One reason of the importance of online interaction is because learners experience a ‘sense of community’, enjoying mutual interdependence and a
sense of trust and interaction among community members, which means that the members of the community have shared goals and values. (Rovai, 2002)
The last and the eight way is “Open Education”. According to openaccess.nl, Open education “helps prospective students choose the right program, improves student success rates, makes lesson materials publicly available, improves educational innovation and helps with lifelong learning. It serves ‘self learners’ — those wishing to acquire high-quality knowledge without enrolling in a mainstream program.” Some things that open education provides are Web lectures, Open content, Open educational resources, Open courseware, and MOOC.
Technology has many positive impacts in our lives but there are downsides too. Modern technology poses serious health problems. People nowadays are sleep deprived since taking their eyes off their phone or laptop screens become a near to impossible task for them. This leads to problems in vision, cancer, obesity and many more. According to the article “Modern technology: Advantages and Disadvantages” by Nick Ismail, technology makes people dependent on it. For example, the invention of the calculator. Even if the calculator is a good invention, man no longer makes mental calculation and no longer works his memory.
Technology also makes people lazy because almost all the works are done by machines. Mostly they prefer sitting, playing games or listening to music instead of walking or going outdoors or performing any work which requires physical activity. Due to excessive involvement with various devices, relationship with family members tend to weaken. Since most of their time is spent in playing games, using social media, watching television, and other things, they don’t have enough time for family bonding. As a conclusion, the use of technology should always be balanced. We should not let ourselves be controlled by these technologies, instead we should be the one manipulating it.
References
- Karayan, S. & Crowe, J. (1997). Student perspectives of electronic discussion groups. THE Journal: Technological Horizons in Education, 24, 9, 69–71.
- Smith, D. & Hardaker, G. (2000). e-Learning innovation through the implementation of an Internet supported learning environment. Educational Technology and Society, 3, 1–16.
- Haythornthwaite, C., Kazmer, M. M., Robbins, J. & Shoemaker, S. (2000). Community development among distance learners: temporal and technological dimensions. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 6, 1, 1–24.
- Rovai, A. P. (2002). Sense of community, perceived cognitive learning, and persistence in asynchronous learning networks. Internet and Higher Education, 5, 319–332.
- https://elearningindustry.com/technology-improves-education-8-ways
- https://education.gov.gy/web/index.php/teachers/tips-for-teaching/item/2143-why-are-teaching-aids-important
- https://www.openaccess.nl/en/what-is-open-access/open-education
- https://www.klientsolutech.com/importance-of-internet-in-education-at-schools/
- https://www.klientsolutech.com/examples-of-how-technology-has-changed-our-lives/
- https://www.useoftechnology.com/how-has-technology-changed-education/
