How Does New Technology Affect Education - Term Paper Example

Technology & Education Introduction: Technological advancement has changed the entire life of the people all over the world. The field of education is no exception to it. The use of technology in learning process has been an essential part of modern world. Smart education with technology is the new trend in current education system. The modern classrooms are incomplete without technology. In modern schools, computers and audio visual devices are frequently used to impart training to the students. The impact of technology is no doubt very significant and it is quite true that the usage of technology can enhance the effectiveness of the sessions and the educational productivity. The learning process has become more interesting and pleasurable for both students and children. It is the observation of the teacher that the students’ interest increases when the teacher incorporates technology into the lessons. Online or virtual learning also has gained a lot of importance due to the technological revolution. Some teachers many times complain that the constant use of technology is hampering the real growth of the students with many side effects. The paper tries to discuss the cause and effects of the use of technology in education with all its strong points and weak points. Keywords: Technology, education, pros, cons. The technology is spreading at a rapid pace. It has occupied almost all the fields. The technological inventions have carried out numerous options which are inexpensive, and user-friendly. The mobile phone is the essential commodity which is used even by kids. Children are rather more tech-savvy than the grown up people. “Students generally know, or quickly learn, how to access the tutorials embedded within a software program, video games, or phone “app” in order to learn how to complete specific tasks using the program.” (Cennamo Katherine, Ross John, Ertmer Peggy 2013) Laptops, DVD drives, USBs, modems, wireless network have been the part and parcel of everyones life. Television, telephone, computers are also very frequently used in learning and teaching process. The cellular technology is becoming persuasive and they are turning into the digital assistants which have an access to internet. The students from the modern generation are digitally and technically literate and they can easily absorb technology in their daily life. Along with teaching, non teaching tasks are also involved in education field such as conducting admission process, communicating with parents, meetings, presentation, communicating stakeholders and vendors of the institution or organization maintaining records etc. Todays educational organizations prefer to recruit those candidates, who are computer literate. Because of technology everything has turned into sophistication. For the smooth running of administrative and clerical work, computer technology has been an essential part. The role of the teachers in the digitalization process has extended and become multi-tasked. Their expertise is not restricted to their teaching skill and knowledge in their areas of specialization. The transformative power of technology requires both cognitive skill and the knowledge of technology to both the teachers and the students. The teacher has to be technologically literate. It is because of the optimum use of technology in teaching and learning process. The modern generation is certainly very fortunate to have technology in their learning process. Technological revolution and designing and disseminating Curriculum and Study Material: In the past, the teachers had to rely on library, books and encyclopaedia. The traditional method of jolting down notes while the teachers were delivering lectures; was used. The students would rely completely on teachers as well as library for notes and study material. Lot of paper work would be done and the students had to maintain notebooks strictly. The evaluation system also was very traditional and the students would be evaluated by pen paper exams. After the advent of advance technology it became possible for students to access online material. Instead if using paper or notebook, they can store the data in their computer or emails and they can use it whenever they need. The evaluation system also has developed with smart and sophisticated techniques. The job of paper checking is also performed by computers. So it is more time saving and accurate. Of course, still the computers cannot replace the teachers completely. With the help of modern technology, it is easier for the teachers to use smart method of designing study material. Now the teachers can be supported by internet. The teachers can access various options for information from various websites. They can collect data and then manipulate it to make their own study material that will suit the requirement of their students. Online dictionaries are available. E books also are available on internet. They may use them for reference and thus make their own study material. Free downloadable videos also are available on sites such as You Tube. They can download it and use it offline also. Various educational games, flashcards, and other activities are available to make your students active in learning process. The small tests of all topics also are available on internet. Further the teachers can contact their colleagues, discuss with them via chatting or mailing and thus share the ideas to each other, which further help them to design outstanding syllabus and study material for the students. With the advent of the new and latest application on mobile i.e. Whatsapp, the teacher and students have formed their groups. The teachers provide study material on a specific topic followed by a test. This kind of test can be conducted on weekly basis to measure the performance of the students. “Technology can certainly be used to provide immediate feedback for drill and practice, but it can also be used as a tool for the analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of information.” (Pitler Howard, Hubbell Elizabeth, Kuhn Matt 2012) The teachers role has changed drastically with the arrival of technology in education. They are mentors more than the teachers. They guide their students for using proper material and websites and making notes. They further refer certain websites or study material available on internet. So technology is an effective tool to empower the students. As Casey Jean(2000) says, The promise or hope of technology in the literacy classroom is realized when it is used as a tool to empower the students to read and write. Students are able to learn from home. It is very feasible and practical way for the students who are working professionals. Not just curricular study but the co-curricular skills can also be taught and learnt via video conferencing or with the help of skype. Some teachers train their students online even in the areas such as music and dance. Geographical distance further does not matter. The teacher and the students may be on the opposite corner of the world, the teaching-learning process can be carried out smoothly. The education material can easily be accessed by the students and it is just a click away from them. It is a good option for the traditional paper work which needs lot of time and paper. The students can access the material anytime anywhere through Smartphone, i pad, laptop or tablets. Thus the concept of online learning emerged with the advent of computer technology. Carliner Saul (2004) In the classroom, people always assume that the learning is intentional, but computers let people store and review a variety of information anywhere. As a result, learning can happen unintentionally. In learning process the learners constant engagement is very necessary. The engagement in learning among the students is established through online games and video technology. The students will be engaged if they watch something, or hear something with audio-visual effects. Hence the use of audio visual has become crucial in learning process. While discussing the effectiveness of audio visual aids, Pathak R. P. Says, Education imparted with effective use of audio-visual aids, influences more than one sense organs, which helps in understanding and in remembering any subject matter.’ He further says, Lessons taught with the help of these aids is imprinted on the heart and mind of the students.. With the use of these aids, the educational base for students becomes more solid. Disadvantages of Technology: The way of using technology decides its advantages or disadvantages. The major con behind using technology in education is affordability or its economic value. There are social, cultural, Geographical and technical barriers for using technology. The urbanized people are mainly benefitted from technology because the technological equipments can easily be available in big cities or urban areas. But the students from uneducated families, living in a remote area where the internet cannot be accessed, it is difficult to use technology in education in such areas. Further the cost of using technology is sometimes very high. For example the expenses for establishing video conference system are so high and all educational institutions, especially from rural area cannot afford it. Further the maintenance of the equipment is also not feasible due to financial, technical and geographical barriers. Talking about the financial barrier of using technology, Constance A. Morella (1997) says Technology is only effective and useful when you have the funds to support and maintain the technology, and you have teachers who know how to integrate the technology into their daily classroom lesson plans. The second disadvantage of the technology is its excessive use in education. Both the students and the teachers rely too much on technology and sometimes they get paralysed because of technology. Many times it has been observed that the teachers and the students are showing very poor performance in presentation. It is because all the time technology supports them. The copy – paste culture has been gushed in all over. The matter or content that they use in their slides is not the original or they do not even take some efforts to edit the matter they have copied from internet. During their presentation, they incorporate lot of stuff from internet on their slides and they just go on reading it blindly. Sometimes they do not know the meaning of some of the words on slides. It creates a mental blockage to both students and the teacher. Technology further kills the spontaneity and the creativity of the person. It is observed that many times even the professors from college or masters level use the same slides and presentation for many years. They even do not know that much of the content has been outdated and no longer in use. When the computer becomes tutor of the students, it creates mess as computer cannot replace the teacher. A report entitled Computer Advantages: Tutoring Individuals, states “with computers as tutors, no student will be overwhelmed because he or she is missing fundamentals the computer will repeat material until each lesson has been sufficiently mastered” (Bennett, 1999). According to some scholars and experts, computer technology is the main barrier in developing the thought process of students. Boyle (1998) argues that information technology “may actually be making us stupid. He argues that the computer takes more of the thinking process out of students.” Every time, everywhere the technology cannot be applied in education process; it is because every student is different. Technology is not person-oriented. While using technology, all the learners are treated on same ground irrespective of their cultural, social, educational background, behavioural pattern and intellectual capacity. It is because technology cannot feel human emotions or the cognitive side of human being. Wehrle (1998) states “the pre-computer age generation envisions designing computer technologies that still take into account the emotional needs of the students”. Many times it is observed that the students use mobile phones in the classrooms, play with them and do not pay attention to what the teachers are teaching. They have a very casual approach because they know that they can easily get the study material on internet. If the teacher encourages them to use technology or internet references, instead of sticking to their topics, they are tempted to watch other websites and thus they are likely to get distracted. The Economist Intelligent Unit (2008) and Consumer Association of Penang (2004) reported that addiction to the internet has distract student focused in especially if student in front of the World Wide Web or internet connection, it is almost not possible to expect them do not use it for other purpose during classes. Conclusion: Technology is always neutral. It depends on who use it, how it is used and why it is used. It means the pros and cons are associated with person, way of using and reason or objective behind using it. If both students and the teachers use it in a constructive and innovative way; it is really a blessing. But if it is used as a substitute to human brain, then it is definitely a curse. Even though the calculators or computers are available to calculate huge figures, it is the responsibility of the teachers to make the students expert in learning tables. The students should have the ability to calculate at least small figures manually, without taking help from machine. It will enhance their logical reasoning and mathematical ability and save our brain from logical and intellectual blockage. Further the schools should not allow calculators to the students during exams. They have to solve the problems by using their brain. The technology should be supplementary. We should always keep this in our mind that technology is for us and we are not for technology. Dependence on technology should strictly be avoided. The teacher should teach the students to use internet material for gaining information and for references but the ultimate objective will be to use their own creativity and thought process. Resources: 1. Cennamo Katherine, Ross John, Ertmer Peggy (2013) "Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use" Published by Cengage Learning. p. 85 2. Pitler Howard, Hubbell Elizabeth, Kuhn Matt (2012) "Using Technology with Classroom Instructions that Works," Published by ASCD, p.4 3. Casey Jean (2000) "Creating the Early Literacy in Classroom : Activities for Using Technology published by Library Unlimited. p. 9 4. Constance Morella, (1997) "Technology in Classroom" Diane Publishing Co. 5. Bennett, F. (1999). Computers as tutors: Solving the crisis in education.(p. 3). Sarasota, FL: Faben Inc. Publishers. 6. Boyle, F. T. (1998). IBM talking head’s, and our classrooms. College English, 55 (6), p. 618-626. 7. Wehrle, R. (1998). Computers in education: The pros and the cons. Retrieved on February 18, 2003 http://www.edweek.org/sreports/tc98/intro/in-n.html 8. Carliner Saul (2004) “An Overview of Online Learning”, Published by human Resource Development. p. 9 9. Pathak R.P. “Educational Technology,” Published by Pearson Education India. p.96 Read More