Published on November 16th, 2020 | by Diana Sims
0Importance of Incorporating Technology in Education
Education is broadly defined as the systematic imparting and receiving of information, knowledge, and skills. Education is often described as the key to success, and rightly so. It helps students identify and take advantage of opportunities to improve their living standards in the future. For instance, today, the quality of education you receive is a significant determinant in getting a well-paying job, which will, in time, translate to even more benefits.
Therefore, owing to the importance of education in today’s society, it’s no wonder learning institutions have turned to technology to improve the learning experience for both their teachers and students. Technology has opened up a world of opportunities in the education sector worldwide. However, for quite some time, there has been a debate on whether technology will positively or negatively impact the learning process.
There are various reasons why technology should be an essential part of the learning process, whether we like it or not. It is a fact that we are surrounded by technology, and for students to adapt to post-secondary/ college education, learning institutions ought to incorporate technology in teaching. Most students have already exposed to technology from an early age. Thus, rather than viewing technology as the primary source of distraction, institutions should capitalize on students’ exposure to technology to improve their involvement in the learning process.
Studies have shown that incorporating technology in education has contributed to the creation of new opportunities. This is evident with the increase in student interaction in online learning environments with the help of new collaboration tools, personalized instruction, as well as a host of other engaging and innovative learning strategies. Besides, a 21st-century view of a successful student envisions them to be conversant with current and emerging technologies in your respective study areas.
Advantages of Incorporating Technology in Learning
This article aims to highlight the pros and cons of incorporating technology in the learning process as well as address how easy it is to hire an urgent essay writing service with the increased use of technology. Below are some of the advantages of including technology in the learning process:
1. Allows for the use of pedagogy
With technology, students are more actively involved in learning with improved engagement. The teacher can make use of online polls and offer quizzes with real-time feedback.
2. Technology offers a wide array of resources to facilitate fun learning
Some institutions have introduced competitive classroom scenarios with a rewards system, i.e., gamification. This makes learning fun and engaging, ensuring all students participate. An excellent example of gamification is role-playing.
3. Automation/simplification of tedious tasks
Some tasks take up a lot of time, which could otherwise have been used on constructive learning activities. Tasks such as keeping track of students’ attendance and grading could be automated to allow teachers to interact with their students more.
4. Ready access to a wide array of information
With technology, instructors and fellow students can share information in real-time via the internet. This ensures that students will have up to date course materials to refer to at any time. This helps provide the student with a better understanding of the concepts learned in class.
5. Ability to adapt lessons to suit each students’ needs
With the introduction of online and e-learning platforms, students can either slow down or speed up learning, depending on their ability and desire to learn. Besides, such platforms allow for more student-teacher interaction.
6. Easier communication and feedback channels
Compared to memos and suggestion boxes in learning institutions, technology today has provided various communication channels. Teachers, administrators, and students can post information with minimal effort to reach many people within a short period. In addition, such platforms also allow for instant feedback.
With these few benefits, it is evident that technology is an invaluable part of today’s education system. However, you should also realize that it has its downsides too. For instance, technology can hinder acquiring quality education as it can be a distraction for students. Also, the continued reliance on technology can make students reclusive and withdraw from social interactions.
Technology has also spawned new avenues of cheating, such as copying your classmates’ assignments, hiring online writing companies, downloading plagiarized information from the internet, among others. On the other hand, not all students have equal access to technology. Thus, providing an unfair advantage to some students.
Nonetheless, despite the disadvantages mentioned above, it is clear that the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. The use of technology in education can help open a world of opportunities for students, provided the drawbacks are effectively mitigated.