Technology in Education - Research Paper Example

?TECHNOLOGY USED IN EDUCATION Introduction: Mankind has explored many ways for its comfort. It has been a continuous process and it has been achievedin steps with improvement from one phase to another. Science and scientific expansions are one of them which are complemented by technological advancements. These technological and scientific advancements have been used to the benefit and welfare of mankind. These have been used as tools towards the betterment and seeking to explore new dimensions that would facilitate the mankind in one way or other. Technology has changed the outlook of our entire life, the entire pattern of how we go about things, how things are perceived, how they are adopted and accepted. Communication is being performed through it, which is an essential tool of technology. This tool has been put into effect in different disciplines of life, and education is one of them. Technology and communication means have been brought together to facilitate the purpose of education and it has been put to good effect in many zones. While education has been a continuous quest, and it is through education that these changes and developments have been made, yet education too has undergone the modes in which it can be acquired. Modern day means of education are advanced and enhanced through technology. While the technology has emboldened every sphere of life, education is no exception and it has undergone the realm of technology as well and as a result we have education in a more dynamic manner. As a result of technological introduction in to education, education means have become more flexible, more vibrant, dynamic and expressive. People have explored better means of imparting education. While education might have been limited to a certain segment in past, technology has enabled its spread far and wide regardless of any demographic segregation. Technology has modified the overall outlook of education in entire expression. A gift of technology is internet, and internet is used as a dynamic and active medium for seeking and spreading education. Research papers, dissertations, proposals, defenses, presentations, lectures, synopsis, case studies, observations, experimentations, all these have been brought to a platform of technology which are parts of the educational realm. PDAs vs. hard form books: Portable digital document devices are part of schools, colleges, universities, libraries. People sit in cafes, parks, travel in metros and have this digital device that contains many books in them. It has added to the economy aspect as well, for example large number of books are available online now which were not in past and people had to pay for it or go to markets to get them, with so many books available online, mere download enables books in your digital device, and they don’t even cost anything in terms of the digital memory, being thin on resources in terms of digital consumption, these books consume merely a few kilobytes or megabytes of space which has become an irrelevant term in modern times considering how much of space and capacity has been created in the computers in present day. Diplomas, certifications and courses are conducted online. Video conferencing is a gift of technology and is largely used in educational sector, not just in the domain of students but also for the organizers and top heads of educational departments all over. The manner in which education is being spread has also changed as a result of technology. More than hard form of educational resources, it is the soft form of educational content that is in practice and business. E- Libraries have over taken the conventional libraries. Note books have been replaced by the digital note books. Tablets, laptops, mini computers, desktops, mobile phones, portable readers, electronic readers, all are depictive of the digital sources which are used for educational purposes. For example specially designated and designed digital equipment has been introduced for a specific purpose of educational imparting. This device comes in form of a specific laptop which is powered and sponsored by Microsoft and it aims to spread education in the far flung areas and especially the African continent where students remain unattended when it comes to education. Education has a demographic consideration as well. Many parts of the world are still found lacking in terms of the desired literacy rates. Technology in this regard can help to a great extent to reach to them and bridge the gap that is there in existence. While mobile phones mark is in billions now, if these devices are used in a manner complementing education, they would directly affect the cause of spreading of education in a most desired manner. Social media: Social media is a direct gift of technology and it has contributed towards educational development as well. Twitter, Face book, Orkut, and many more social networking websites are providing people with many educational resources and functions. For example dedicated groups, pages and communities are in place which are specially designed and developed for discussions, innovations, resolution of disputes, research in respective field and many more things. Higher education and technology: It is higher education that has profited most from technology. For example the research papers, publications, online reports, are all online. Different associations, different groups and communities are in place, international publication entities such as I.E.E.E, JSTOR and many other are available which have a wide array and database of educational content and enable online and free access to the peers. Not just the peers, rather those who want their work published can use the medium of technology and internet for it. faculties, students, peers, all are equal beneficiaries of it. Virtual programs: Online degree programs are part of many countries, even the not so developed states of the world have embraced themselves to the idea of online degree programs where a student who might be sitting miles away from a particular place and university would be able to complete and get his degree and get educated. Every year large number of students from different parts of the world get enrolled on to a university program in the disciplines of different faculties and interest and without even visiting the university get their degree done. This would not be possible without technology. The websites in a loosely coined way can be termed as a replacement for the classrooms where students would gather and attend lectures. It is now the website that does it so and brings together all the students. The single website has all the notes, data, date sheets, exam papers, exam results, teachers’ details, analysis, extra material, university information, degrees and disciplines information available on it. Hence a gift of technology and improvement. Even video lectures are available to make it look real. Internet and online resources have a large repository of online videos in form of documentaries about academic courses, historic courses, lectures about particular subject and many more elements which are unique in its way and only limited to technology and without it these would not be possible. Conclusion: Technology is bound to increase the spread of education in times ahead, at the same time it would open more dimensions of educational ease and spread in all parts of the world. Although libraries look more deserted now, yet it is the omnipresence of technology that is more dominant. With every day advancements in technological field, one can only guess what would be the future outlook but one can for sure say that it is the betterment of education that will come along it as the technology and science proceed. Read More