TECHNOLOGIES IN EDUCATION

 

What is technology in education?

• Technology in education involves the implementation and integration of technological advancement, devices and methods in the education system.

• It assists in refining the performance of learners through resources and processes by producing, using and handling appropriate technologies.

• Allows for personalised, easy to use and track education methods for learners of the modern era where computing/mobile devices are widespread in the population.

What is it used for?

• Technology in education is used to provide a new way of learning for students using the internet. Long distance and mobile learning have become more widespread over the recent years, allowing for the flexibility in situations where there may be limited resources or avenues available to students.

• Digitization of the classroom with digital learning tools like computers, tablets, smartphones and smart digital white board gives educators an expanded method of teaching and improved student’s engagement and motivation within an education environment.

• Online collaborative learning through social media, file sharing and editing software has allowed for students to collaborate quickly and effectively. Providing a way to record effectively the contribution of the group and facilitating complex collaborative activities.

Examples

• Powerpoint

• Social Media

• Website (Online resource, Wolfram, Youtube)

• Online learning platform (Google Classroom)

• Computer Added Design (CAD)

 

Advantages

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• Tracking of students’ progress through simple data collection of exercises, work tasks, etc.

• Flexible and easily adaptable

• Increase collaborative opportunities and methods between students within groups or between the students and educators.

• Various resources available online to enhance the learning process to become fun and more effective

• Ensure full participation of students

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Disadvantages

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• Technology can be a distraction and procrastination tools for students.

• Difficulty in vetting/censoring online resources (e.g. inappropriate/violent content)

• Cheating during assessment may be harder to track for teachers.

• Cyberbullying will increase due to presence of anonymous accounts and teachers will have difficulty in monitoring.