We are living in the digital world. Since the inception of the internet, everybody has started to fill their pockets with smartphones or are using laptops/computers. And it is not wrong to say that technology is not going anywhere soon.
The internet and technology have spread their wings to such an extent that we cannot imagine our lives without them. Not only it helps in communicating with friends or family, but it is also a great tool to look up recipes in the kitchen. It helps in every sphere of life. Likewise, the education industry is not untouched.
Do you want to know how technology has given a boost to the education sector? If yes, then scroll down a bit and fetch yourself with all the answers.
Advanced research: With the advent of cloud storage, research has become easier for many students. Now, they don’t have to go through stacks of books to find a particular reference. They can find it with the help of any internet-enabled device, which reduces the possibility of errors.
Additionally, the process of data collection has also become advanced with the advent of cloud-based software. In this way, the research becomes speedy.
Effective assessment: With digitization at its peak, especially in the current pandemic, teachers are now preparing online lessons for their students. Not only this, they can also efficiently track the performance of their students.
There is various software that helps teachers to update and receive the assessments from their students in real-time. Teachers remain updated with these softwares. For example, how many assignments they have allotted to the students, how much time their students are taking to solve the problem, etc. In this manner, teachers can get the idea of how efficiently the students are solving a particular problem and what further steps they can take to improve their performance. Digital assessments make it easier for the teachers to keep the records up-to-date and that too accurately.
Parents are more informed – When there was not much advancement, parents had somewhat little insight about what was happening with their young ones except what they were told at parent-teacher meetings. Now the technology has opened up the wings for the parents as well. They can be more informed as compared to the earlier times and can participate in the learning process of their child. Experts say that when parents give their contribution to their children’s education, the children are more likely to succeed.
Parents and teachers now communicate more effectively with technology. In any case, if the parents want to talk with the teacher or the administrator, a learning management system is always there to help them. Thus, updates about the student’s behavior, attendance, and grades are easily available to the parents.
Many online learning sites provide step-by-step assistance to the children, and that too for all the subjects. If any doubt arises, it offers hints and explanations to solve the same. Hence, it is not wrong to say that parents are more informed than ever before.
Children can learn at their own pace – There is no denying the fact that self-paced learning is one of the most significant advantages that technology has to offer to students. It is sometimes difficult to achieve in the traditional classroom setup. But that’s not the case with online learning. Whenever students learn a new concept and find any difficulty, they don’t need to skip it. Therefore, children who need extra time can go over the exercise repeatedly until they understand the whole concept.
Moreover, it also frees up the teachers to support them at the individual level. As schools are yet not fully opened for the children, teachers are taking up online classes to cover the syllabus and to clarify doubts. The experts are providing tutoring in many fields ranging from Online Science Tutoring to maths and other subjects. This way, teachers can help the students to the largest extent.
Project-based learning: Do you think that children can’t work in groups if they are in the four walls of the home? Let us clear this for you. Children can still engage in group activities with programs like Google Classroom. Teachers and students can do the live edit check of the document with the help of Google Docs.
Project-based learning enhances the critical thinking skills of the students. Now, kids can access unlimited resources about any subject through technology. Children are freer to create their assignments in the form of videos, blogs, or websites.
It benefits the teachers too – Not only to the students or parents but technology also helps the teachers too. They can enhance classroom learning through various tools. They can look for study material on the internet to show to the students to help them with their concepts. There are plenty of resources available to the teachers to augment their development.
Now a teacher can quickly send an email to the entire class as it is just a few clicks away. Suppose a teacher needs any guidance from a colleague. In that case, they can inform their colleagues to join them in an online forum to discuss the problems. Every day there are various articles about the development in the education industry, and teachers can get access to these articles at their fingertips. How? The answer is very simple – technology.
Saves money – No doubt that gadgets like iPad, laptops, or computers cost quite a bit of money, but it is worth looking up at the benefits they provide in the long run. You can actually save a lot of money. Confused? If you use more electronic documents than paper ones, you will automatically save money. Teachers can now upload the assignment electronically, so the need for the printed material reduces a lot.
Besides, many schools opt to go for e-books as they don’t need much storage space and maintenance. Teachers can take the students on virtual field trips using free online virtual reality programs.
To sum it all up
Technology is the medium that has rightly given the kick to the education industry. All the teachers, students, and parents benefit from the online study material and plenty of learning opportunities. Lastly, David Warlick can’t be more right when he said –
We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.
