Contribution of technology in determining the future of Education
Every day evolving Technology has greatly transformed our living style. From the moment we wake up in the morning, till the time we throw ourselves to bed in night, we all are surrounded by various kinds of gadgets. Not that all of them are important to us, but we have made ourselves so dependent on them that we feel handicap even if they are out of sight.
Technological advancements have touched every sphere of our lives be it social, economic, legal, cultural or educational. However impact on education sector is very much amplified, and has transformed the education industry to great extent. Looking at past and considering today’s scenario, technological innovations have made their way into traditional classroom and forever altered the course of education. Some examples supporting above points are mentioned below.
· Screechy and dusty Chalkboards are replaced by smart boards in classrooms.
· Desktop computers were cutting edge for their time, but computers today are smaller, faster, and give us immediate access to learning programs.
· The burdens of dozens of textbooks have been taken over by Kindles and tablets enabling students have access to hundreds of books at a time without the need of physically carrying them.
· Homework written by teachers in chalkboards and copied by students has been replaced by student’s online portals.
· Parents teachers conference used to be a once a year event, however today’s parents have instant access to all of their children teachers through email.
So from above points we can say that role of technology in education sector has increased significantly. There are countless reasons why technology is becoming key aspect of learning in the schools. Below are some of the reasons which would further strengthen and advocate the contribution of technology to education sector.
Gamification: making the classroom the new playground
Gamification allows schools to build a competitive environment around a certain policy or objective, by using a computer game-style, cross-device platform to monitor progress and, in some cases, provide rewards. It is particularly popular with target-driven enterprises, but some educators are now also taking a “gamification” approach to how they control their classrooms.
Although this technology is relatively new to the education sector, new platforms are emerging, with more set to follow as the concept of gamification becomes more widespread. One currently available is Classcraft, a World of Warcraft-inspired platform that encourages students to comply with the school’s behaviour policy by gifting those that do with special “powers”.
Making new generation more Techno savvy: Students are engaging with technology constantly outside of the classroom. Kids like to be interactive, and learning through technology has now become a part of their lifestyle.
No boundaries: Having access to other information outside of the book gives students many different ways to learn a concept. Teachers can come up with creative ways to teach their students that keep them engaged. Technology has changed the learning environment so that learning is more hands-on. Schools throughout the nation are diverse in income, and often kids don’t always get the resources they need. The implementation of technology in schools helps close that gap.
Enhance teacher student relationship: When teachers effectively integrate technology into subject areas, teachers grow into roles of adviser, content expert, and coach. Technology helps make teaching and learning more meaningful and fun. Students are also able to collaborate with their own classmates through technological applications.
Assessing student performance: One protocol that schools don’t have control over, but must adapt to, is online testing. Testing online is the way of the future, but it has a lot of advantages. Assessing students’ performance can be done instantly with technology. Beyond seeing test scores in real-time, teachers can better track and understand students’ grasp of the subject.
Vast area of knowledge: Computers, tablets, and other forms of technology bring multiple resources for the teacher that’s not in the book. They not only keep students engaged with exciting new features and apps, but also have other ways to teach students material. Every kid learns differently, and technology helps with this gap as well.
Augmented Reality (AR) - We’re still waiting for Augmented Reality to take the world by storm by way of Google Glass, gaming and awesome apps for astronomy. It’s expected to wow audiences with its AR capabilities, which allow users to see additional information layered over what they see through the lens. Currently, however, access to AR technology for educational purposes is mostly limited to smartphone apps.
However there are some questions which will arise when we talk about technology’s contribution to education like
What does the future of learning hold?
What will classroom of future be like?
Answer to above question lies in concept of Emerging technologies such as cloud computing , augmented reality (AR) and 3D printing. These new technology are paving the way for the future of education in ways we may have yet to see. As for now, let us observe their progress and speculate on how these up-and-coming technologies could potentially change education for the better.
So to sum it up, In the future, education will no longer be restricted to formalized institutes like schools and classes. Using AR, cloud computing, online social networking and adaptive learning systems utilizing eye tracking technology, learning can take place outside the traditional classroom.
Experimentations and mistakes will also be encouraged as simulations are made possible through 3D printing without actually incurring real-world consequences or costs. Chief among all, students will soon be imparted with the wisdom of seeing learning as not a chore, but as a critical and gratifying part of their life which requires their proactive involvement.
