Written by: Elki L.
Visual by: Miki L.
While being in a world where technology dominates more and more in virtually every environment, it is easy to see how great of an extent that education has transformed learning to. With such a great wealth of information being available online, schools must adapt to the new norm: the implementation of technology into school curriculums.
From a traditional viewpoint, technology can be seen as a major distraction that children should use in absolute moderation, but limited perspectives like this do not acknowledge the obvious benefits that technology has brought to learning environments. In fact, the numbers speak for themselves. A study conducted by ETS.org, a technology-centered learning organization, stated that 98 percent of schools in the US own computers. So why exactly is technology so increasingly common in schools?
For one, technology has allowed more diverse student profiles to thrive in their classrooms. The idea of personalized learning, a recently materialized technological method of teaching, involves digital devices, software, and learning platforms adapting to each individual student’s needs. Personalized learning creates a tailored learning environment that carefully understands students’ academic strengths and weaknesses in order to optimize their school experience. This not only aids in terms of academic success but also allows teachers to understand their students to a greater extent.
Along with the benefits of personalized learning, technology’s entrance into the classroom simply allows for a much more productive and time-efficient learning experience, for both teachers and students alike. Instead of organizing materials in large folders and wasting paper in the process, for example, teachers can use online resources and teach in a much more productive manner. Students’ organization is also a large benefit of technology. Having classwork done online, for example on Google Drive, is an incredible convenience; it becomes harder to lose or misplace your work, it becomes much easier to create copies of your work to share with teachers or other students, and it again has many environmental benefits due to the reduced use of physical materials. The inclination towards online exams is yet another example of the convenience that technology can provide. Tests like the SAT, for instance, are beginning to go virtual, being a benefactor towards more secure and lower-risk exams.
To add onto the convenience-oriented benefits of technology, communication through services such as email and online classrooms is one of the most effective merits of technology’s integration into education. One major advantage that technology brings to the classroom would be the ease of communication that comes with email. Without email, teachers and students could only communicate with one another during the limited period of class time. With email, however, students can contact and communicate with teachers at all times, again being optimal for learning. Online classrooms, a good example of this being Google Classroom, are intuitive ways for teachers to assign their students work, post general information about class, and keep track of student progress.
Although the continued development of technology can leave those without access to it too far behind, it is something that schools all around the world need to integrate into their classrooms. Technology is a great addition to any learning environment, since it can improve and curate student learning, make lessons infinitely more efficient, and improve communication between students and teachers. It is something that schools need to implement in the pursuit for the most optimal learning environment possible.