Students are digital natives. They grew up with technology. Technology is woven into their lives. But technology in education is not just the use of digital devices – it is what facilitates the interaction between teacher and student, which increases the effectiveness, and therefore the quality of the educational process. The desire to learn and work among the younger generation is at an all-time low, and educators are competing with countless forms of entertainment in phones, tablets and laptops. Technology can be seen as the culprit for many education problems, or it can be used to improve communication and efficiency by using Modern Technology in Education.
Digital education creates new learning opportunities. Opportunities for personalized learning are emerging, new models of collaboration are emerging, and the range of learning strategies that are innovative and engaging to learners expands. Just like the Government of Queensland in Australia used modern methods of teaching in the form of Miswebmail. But besides the obvious advantages of modern technologies in education, there are also disadvantages – “pitfalls” that teachers face when implementing.
PROS:
1. Technology allows you to experiment more with pedagogy and get instant feedback.
Modern technologies allow children to become more active participants in the educational process, and teachers to create new approaches, methods, models of teaching and upbringing. For example, a teacher can conduct an online survey at any stage of the lecture to find out the level of assimilation of the studied material.
The learning process becomes more dynamic with the use of digital textbooks, when the student can use links to relevant materials or resources. Children can look for answers to questions asked, form their position, and then defend it.
The use of technological tools for organizing project activities makes it possible to achieve significant changes in learning outcomes. Teachers have the opportunity to implement new models of the organization of the educational process, for example, the “inverted classroom”. In this educational technology of the XXI century. The teacher first provides students with the opportunity to independently study new material at home, and then organizes the practical consolidation of this material in the lesson.
2. Technology helps ensure active student engagement.
Online surveys and other digital tools help to engage all students in the learning process, including shy, insecure, and usually not taking the initiative. Online systems allow you to receive regular feedback, including student feedback on the availability of learning materials and assignments. Data analysis allows the teacher to easily and quickly identify the difficulties of each child and provide assistance in time, identify areas where students can compete, which means it is easy to adjust the work of each student or work in a group.
For example, technology can dramatically improve the effectiveness of an active learning method such as a quiz. At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher can conduct a quiz using technical devices and quickly assess the starting level of students, spending only a few minutes to obtain reliable information and analyze it. Further, the teacher can make adjustments to the organization of the educational process by objectively understanding where to direct his efforts and how to organize the work of students. Conducting the same quiz at the end of the lesson will again allow receiving feedback with minimal time costs, and students can evaluate the results and success of the training.
3. There are many resources for organizing productive learning activities for students.
There is no shortage of tools in mobile platform applications and e-textbooks that significantly change how learning is organized. Some technical devices use different types of stimulation and assimilation of information during the learning process, use competitive scenarios for the distribution of points and awards to make the learning process more fun and attractive. An important condition for the use of such technical devices is the achievement of learning goals.
Some mobile platforms and e-textbooks include role-playing games in which students are given the opportunity to present facts and their arguments for, for example, historical figures or scientific concepts. In addition, gaming technologies contribute to the introduction of healthy competition into the educational process. Modern automated learning systems can significantly help in organizing productive learning activities and realistically assess the achievements of each student.
4. Technology can help educators automate or simplify a number of tedious tasks.
Automation can make it easier and less time consuming for tedious but time-consuming tasks such as tracking student attendance and learning outcomes. Modern technological tools simplify the systematization and selection of individual assignments for students, help to track the activity of their participation in the discussion, etc.
The ability of modern technological tools to visualize educational material that is difficult for perception and understanding reduces the costs of the teacher’s efforts and time for explanation. For example, augmented reality technology allows students to create molecules of a complex chemical compound from atoms in a virtual environment using their own hands. Due to the effect of presence, created by influencing the human senses, the technology makes it possible to more effectively demonstrate the process of creating a molecule or substance than a presentation on a screen or a picture on paper.
5. Technology provides instant access to the information you need and fosters important sourcing skills.
The value of the educational process increases if information in textbooks or teaching aids can be quickly updated and supplemented, including by the students themselves. Modern technology enhances communication and creates a more productive learning environment. Students, joining groups on the Internet, can exchange information, work together on group projects and interact with the teacher.
So, the free Community-Scratch resource allows you to effectively use not only media capabilities (working with music, graphics, etc.), but also the ability to work together on tasks, network interaction, self-organization and other systemic effects. The work of students in a group helps to bridge the gap between classical and digital culture due to the fact that cultural institutions (libraries, museums, contemporary art centers) provide source materials (texts, illustrations, musical recordings) for their further use by children in creating games, cartoons and digital stories.
6. Learning to use technology is a life skill and an important form of literacy.
Being digitally literate is about more than having “separate technology skills”. Today it is about a deep understanding of the digital environment that enables intuitive adaptation to new contexts and collaborative content creation with other learners. Creation of presentations, training in finding reliable sources on the Internet, maintaining proper online etiquette, etc. these are life skills that students can learn in the educational process, and they will be useful to every child throughout their life. Digital literacy can help educational organizations not only improve the quality of learning, but also allow learning outcomes to always remain relevant.
MINUSES:
1. Technology can distract from the learning process.
Research has shown that smartphones and gadgets do distract children from the learning process. But the teacher’s task is to make the educational process interesting and if students are distracted, then this is the teacher’s problem, not technology and devices.
Today, the urgent task is the formation of culture and respect for all participants in the educational process. While limiting the use of gadgets, still define specific tasks, projects, time and intelligently implement the capabilities of technology in the classroom.
2. Technology can negatively affect the development of students’ communication skills and social interaction.
Many educators do not like gadgets because students’ ability for real live communication decreases. However, if you create activities that allow the use of technology tools, oral presentations and group collaboration, the children will actively interact with each other.
Technology is a tool that can significantly improve the quality of the learning process, but it is not an end in itself. A modern teacher should be able to use it competently, keep it under control and know the benefits.
3. Technology can provoke deception and evasion of tasks.
Students have always found ways to avoid completing assignments, and digital technologies will make it even easier – from copying and using someone else’s work to buying a ready-made abstract or presentation on the Internet. The teacher can always structure tasks and tests in such a way as to minimize risks. For example, if a control event is made open, i.e. to give the opportunity to use technology to search for factual information, and shift the main emphasis to solving the problem with its use, then the teacher will not only be able to check the students’ understanding of the studied material, but also the skills of working with information. A number of software products allow you to select individual tasks for each student, which involuntarily directs his attention to work,
4. Students do not have equal access to technological resources.
Not all students can afford a tablet, laptop, smartphone, or even constant internet access. They can be offered assignments that will allow them to work in a group and share resources, and be encouraged to use libraries or other organizations where they can gain access to technology.
Make technology neither a focus of the learning process nor an obstacle. Incorporate technology into a holistic educational system.
5. The quality of Internet sources is poor.
The Internet is a blessing and a curse. Your students will need to be able to distinguish between quality and unreliable sources of information. In educational organizations, you can create a list of electronic educational resources, information from which students can trust, use, copy and adapt.
Educators can use educational resources that are freely available. Typically, such resources are classified into sections according to the main disciplines of general education or areas of additional education. They contain educational and reference material. Students can also use these resources. Electronic tests, interactive models, colorful illustrations, ready-made developments, simulators and other educational and methodological materials contained in the sections of the resource will help teachers prepare and conduct interesting, informative, vivid classes, and students – to complete homework, research projects or other types of independent works.
TECHNOLOGIES IN EDUCATION: THE FINAL VERDICT
It is clear that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, but the key to the introduction of technology in education will always be determined by the teacher-student relationship, because this is where education takes place. Technology can be a very effective tool, but it is just a tool. Technology is not intended to replace the teacher; rather, the idea is to create a learning environment that will allow the organization of the educational process to shift from “one-man theater” to collaboration and productive learning activities.
Today we are at the first stage of introducing technology into education. The implementation process can be frustrating, annoying, and time-consuming, but ultimately technology can open doors for new experiences, discoveries, ways of learning and collaboration between students and educators.
