Digital Learning Environments
Over the last decade there have been vast changes in the way we live, learn and work, and with the advancement of technology and new learning tools, these things will continue to evolve. Today’s learners need new skills to survive and thrive in the future. Education should combine practical, intellectual, and social skills as never before.
It has been well documented over the last few years the rapid changes that have occurred on the technology front. In this day and age you can not walk down the street without seeing someone talking on a smart phone, or listening to their music on an iPod. Even reading a book is not the same with the creation of the Kindle. Technology has always been about change and is saving consumers time and widening their access to information.
Like the evolution of technology over the last ten years, the educational system has similarly seen some changes too: one of the key shifts being the ingratiation of technology into the classroom. As we are a very technologically driven generation it is only natural that technology should filter the classroom. For example: children in primary schools are being taught to use such tools as iPads, and Mac Book’s to help aid their learning.
There has been a vast amount of research conducted exploring whether this integration is a good thing for students, and how it affects their standard of learning. The WestEd Regional Technology in Education Consortium (2002) reviewed a series of different research which explored the impact that technology had on education and learning. They selected studied that they perceived to be the most methodologically sound and which also reported change over duration of time. Their review of the studies found that there was convincing evidence that suggests technology can be effective in school and specifically basic skills.
In school, the skills that are instilled are often mostly concerned with absorption of the content, for example how to pass an exam well. These skills are based on the idea that information alone is all the students will need to know to prepare them for their life after school. There is always a misconception that if someone knows a lot then they are a well-educated person. Whilst they help the student, and gain good feed back from their teachers and their parents, a student needs more that just the ability to remember facts.
It is key that students are taught life skills as well as academic skills. With such fast pace changes in technology it is often hard for people to keep up. Due to this it is paramount that teachers prepare their students for this equally important skills. Donald G. Knezek is the chief executive officer of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) explained why he believed technology in schools in a key tool for learning:
“Learning in a connected, technology-rich environment enables young people to undertake meaningful experiences as they engage with peers, celebrities, relatives, and experts worldwide. The educational opportunities that technology gives to students are not only amazing, they are transformative!"
(Knezek, 2013)
As ever there is conflicting evidence on the issue of whether the use of technology within education aids social skills or hinders it. Some argue that use of the use of technology dampened fundamental skills such as talking to other people in person, their telephone skills, and eye contact. Gee (2008) asked the question of how are we going to reform schools when the people who are going to doing the teaching are not really digitally confident- even when they’re young. His response to this question was firstly let the students show their understanding to the teacher- the teacher has to understand what her students are capable of. Through the students can show their range of abilities and in itself it is a good teaching tool.