Whether Technology In The Classroom Ever Get In The Way Of Learning:
Technology is currently mixed in almost all parts of humanity. It impacts how people live, interact with one another, work, and most importantly learn. With wireless and mobile devices such as the IoT being an increasing the need across all industry currently, it has only been making sense in recent years that schools are effectively deploying mobile technology in class. Students are natives of the digital world. Most of them grew up around technology, and it’s woven in their individual lives (Gonchar, 2015). The fact is that the 21st century will need the necessary skills of using technology in the workplace and school (Gonchar, 2015). However, using computer technology in class may not be merely about digital technology in class, and it related to anything facilitating interactions between a student and teacher. However, for a majority of learning institutions, implantation of the latest technology has proved to be challenging to navigate. There have also often been claims of classroom engagements being at a low and lectures competing against destructions from mobile phones, laptops and tablets (Gonchar, 2015). The paper will be a Toulmin argumentative essay on the question as to whether technology in school ever interapt learning, and will revolving around the thesis statement that proper technological application measures at the school could be harnessed towards improving student effectiveness and engagement.
At the start of 21st century, Helen Ladd and Jacob Vigdor, economists from Duke University, noted the academic development of close to 1 million less advantaged students in middle school against dates they had been issued with networked computers (Himmelsbach, 2019). After assessing the students’ reading and math skills annually for five years, they noted student who gained access to home computers between grade 5 and 8 tended to note a persistent increase in math as well as reading scores.
There was also analyses on many studies of educational technology in 2018, together with the summary conducted on a forthcoming update (over 120 conducted experiments), showed that at the time education technology was used in individualizing the pace of student learning. The overall results showed a lot of promise (Gonchar, 2015). In other words, analysis of conducted data showed that technological application on education could go a long way in improving learning when applied in personalized instruction of evert student’s pace.
Additionally, the same meta-analysis, together with other considerable but correlational research, also noted that increased access of technology in educational institutions had been connected with improved proficiencies, as well as increased application of, technological devices overall. It is necessary to note that accessing technological devices and innovations outside the educational environment has proved to be unevenly still distributed for socio-economic, ethnic, as well as geographic boundaries when applied to all the students, technology for learning, making sure that no student gets to experience a 21st-century opportunity and skills gap.
The use of technology in educational institutions, as shown in the data above, allows one to experiment increasingly in pedagogy as well as getting instant result. Technological application caters for an active learning process; one can lead to an increment engagement via online polling as well as asking quized questions in the course of lectures. The educational matter is timely and dynamic with a digital textbook that connects links to the necessary materials as well as student-maintained curriculum. If adding single tools for a certain term or project, or increased dramatic changes like the flipped classroom, achieving a well-versed technology-wise may aid in building student credibility, as well as other colleagues (Gonchar, 2015). In the case where one chooses to integrate technology in the classroom, they may have better ideas of their students’ progress.
Technological applications in schools also help to ensure the full participation of the students. Practices such as online polling as well as other digital tools go a long way in helping to put all students engaged, including the shy students that would not usually participate in class (Costley, 2014). Online systems of engagement allow one to regularly confirm with participating students for the feedback on assignment and materials; the analysis of data can be used in helping spot the areas where students needed to be struggling. Therefore, one can adjust their courses accordingly.
Technology also undoubtedly comes with many limitations in developing enhancing education as well as making learning be increasingly fun and effective. From e-textbooks and apps to the organizational platform, there cannot be shortage tools which transform the classroom. Their instructors have been turning towards to gamification in the classroom, the application of scenarios inherently competitive, and the distribution of rewards and points as a way of making the class more engaging and fun (Costley, 2014). The primary means of ensuring such methods have also proved to be useful in designing them towards supporting the goals. Digital storytelling by gamification may make the learning process more exciting as well as, at times, be noted among students. Gamification has allowed for interactive education as well as reducing passivity in school.
Additionally, technology has proved to be automating a lot of one’s tedious objectives. Automation may go a long way towards speeding up time-consuming, tedious tasks like tracking the performance and attendance of students (Costley, 2014). Tools of engagement help streamline grading in discussions, writing participation and assignments, as well as answering the common questions from students, which could have otherwise seemed daunting as a result of their target nature.
With the inclusion of technology in school, students can be in a better position of having consistent access to current information that can suppliant their experience in learning. There has been noted value of having course and textbooks materials which are always updated, ones that can also include additional suggestions from students. It also goes a long way in fostering a more collaborative environment for learning (Bates & Sangrà, 2011). Connected online, students can go a long way towards sharing information, working together on group projects, as well as interacting with the instructor.
Collaboration between parents and professors can be better facilitated via the learning management system (LMS) like Blackboard and Moodle, where professors can include new content for reviews of students online. Technological innovations aid students take part in a continual cycle of learning, prior, in the course of, as well as class. (Costley, 2014) An online system for students like clickers may also aid students to apply their conceptualization of the concepts noted in the course and may show areas which require to be looked at.
After all, the world is increasingly moving towards digitalization, and technology comes out as a life skill. Gaining digital literacy is more than merely getting isolate skills in technology. It rather includes generating a better conceptualization of the digital setting, facilitating intuitive adaptation of new context as well as content co-creation with others (Costley, 2014). In such an environment, the whiteboard will ultimately be extinct, as technology has never been of more significance in class.
However, there have been claims of academic scores of students dropping and remaining depressed even with the intervention of technology. Even worse, the weaker students (African-American boys) proved to be adversely affected compared to the rest. At the arrival of their computers, their reading scores decreased. It is yet to be defined why this has proved to be so, but there have been speculations. Without adults there to offer supervision, many students use their networked technological devices not for educational purposes, but in playing games, trolling social media, and downloading entertainment (Gonchar, 2015). Furthermore, there is the question as to why would they not do the same, considering their druthers, a majority of adults can do the same.
There is also the problem of students coming from low-income backgrounds schooling in educational institutions located in neighborhoods of low-income. These schools find it expensive to install modern technological devices. Children of low-income parents also tend to spend about half of their working hour in front of screens, more than two times spent by the middle-class children (Gonchar, 2015). They tend to get less parental support compared to their children. These interactions stand out as the determinants predicting the development of vocabularies and success in school Videos and apps do not.
Even in the case where children get to spend more time with electronic devices, they may also be likely to be out of sync with the behaviours of their peers and their learning by the time they reach fourth grade (Gonchar, 2015). There is, therefore, the probable question on whether adding more clicking and viewing to their school days be considered as a good idea.
Technological applications in school can also arguably be more of a distraction. Students that are tech-savvy can, at times, find it a challenge to focus in class having to be surrounded by digital devices surrounding them. College students have also been noted to be learning less when then they use tablets or computers in the course of their lectures (Trust Radius, 2019). They may even get worse grades. The research can prove to be unequivocal, considering that laptops and phones destruct students from educational practices, both for the users as well as for around them.
Technological innovations also potentially make students more disconnected from interacting with socially interacting. Many people have been sceptical of technology and the things it does to students, as well as that of the ability of everyone else to verbally communicating. Through the creation of assignments in school which use both technological tools and group collaboration and oral presentation, students can learn to be dynamic in the manner they learning and interacting with others.
Conclusively, improvement of education has proved to be a large part of society. The way people noted performance compared in different countries, test scores, and various elements have shown to be pushing education of many of issues of national legislations, behind healthcare reforms. Technology may go a long way utilized to improving learning and teaching and helping students in being successful. While people in different education levels and sects would like to see smaller size of classes, smaller schools, technology may not do that physically (Trust Radius, 2019). However, technology may indeed be a multiplier of force for the teacher. By using learning management systems (LMS), the students may access resources online as well as getting assistance in-demand beyond physical reaches of their teachers. Technological applications can also go a long way towards extending education in many other ways, like practising educational concepts and exercises more actively online.
References
Bates, T., & Sangrà, A. (2011). Managing technology in higher education: strategies for transforming teaching and learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Costley, K. C. (2014, October 30). The Positive Effects of Technology on Teaching and Student Learning. Retrieved December 25, 2019, from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiGucbV3M_mAhUAUhUIHRa_AhkQFjACegQIBhAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffiles.eric.ed.gov%2Ffulltext%2FED554557.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0v-HPFy9sYGmE8d_v6lbpM
Gonchar, M. (2015, May 19). Does Technology in the Classroom Ever Get in the Way of Learning? Retrieved May 6, 2020, from https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/19/does-technology-in-the-classroom-ever-get-in-the-way-of-student-learning/
Himmelsbach, V. (2019, July 15). Technology in the Classroom in 2019: 6 Pros & Cons. Retrieved May 6, 2020, from https://tophat.com/blog/6-pros-cons-technology-classroom/
Trust Radius. (2019, March 28). How Technology Can (and Does) Improve Education. Retrieved May 6, 2020, from https://www.trustradius.com/buyer-blog/how-technology-improves-education