Although there is much controversy around whether to incorporate technology into classrooms, and if so how much – it is difficult to ignore the digital phenomenon that is being consumed in every field. With an increasing number of education institutions embracing technology, childhood schooling is changing for future generations. Here are three ways that technology has helped to improve education.
1. Stimulation and Demonstration
In previous generations, it was simple to stimulate children with a cardboard box or a sandpit. However today’s tots are very aware of all the tech products that are available and so their own imaginations are lacking. Not being able to avoid the digital age, teachers are using technology to their advantage and encouraging children to interact with computers and SMART boards in helping them better understand concepts that might otherwise be impossible. Explaining processes that all too slow or too fast to display physically, or impossible to see with the eye can be demonstrated digitally.
Virtual demonstrations can also help students better understand cause and effect in a practical way that might not be viable to do in a classroom, such as mixing incorrect chemicals in a science lab.
2. Better Assessment
Technology allows teachers to monitor learners by doing online testing. Doing exercises that require step-by-step instructions or understanding lets teachers know when and where children are going wrong, allowing for a quicker route of correction.
According to Mashable, The Concord Consortium, a non-profit organisation dedicated to transforming education through technology, is designing a programme that will ensure teachers can collect real-time assessment data from students, making intervention for struggling students even faster.
3. E-Books and Epistemic Games
E-Books are allowing for greater potential to be unlocked in education as more information can be stored and shared, and children are more enthusiastic to learn when they do not have to carry around multiple kilograms of books.
Mashable states, “Epistemic games put students in roles like city planner, journalist, or engineer and ask them to solve real-world problems. The Epistemic Games Group has provided several examples of how immersing students in the adult world through commercial game-like simulations can help students learn important concepts.”
We need to question whether it is possible to use technology effectively in education without it becoming a distraction and ultimately moving away from learning. With tech trained teachers and valuable digital tools, it can benefit students in a healthy environment that will only improve with time.
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