I-Search 1: Does the influence of technology make education more effective?
This topic could be discussed in a class that discusses the success or failure of technology in making education effective. Education is traditionally dependent on the teacher-student relationship. A student learns as much as or as little as the teacher is able to teach. Can technology help remove this dependency and therefore be more effective in educating people?
What I Knew
I have heard about smart classes in school and increasingly at universities too, technology is replacing chalk and blackboards. We are more likely to attend lectures that have a slideshow presentation than a professor writing or illustrating a concept on the board. Children are not just exposed to technology at school; 53% of children between the age of 2 and 4 have used a computer as have 90% of 8 year olds . There also is a perception that technological aids help children acquire skills like research skills, real-world application of problems, and organizational skills . The more interactive the technology, the faster students can learn concepts. Also, there is the rationale that in future children have to work with technology in their day to day jobs, therefore technology is viewed as a natural part of their curriculum.
Why I’m Writing
I am writing this paper because I believe that technology needs to be used carefully in any of its application. There have been increasing reports of technology addiction with young people glued to their smartphones and social media. Children today are exposed to technology from the time they are born. Continuous exposure to technology in the name of learning may be detrimental to their other natural skills like socializing with peers, imaginary games, storytelling and unplanned outdoor games and sports. Therefore the actual benefits of a technology based education must be established before exposing children to technology almost continuously.
The Search
This issue has started gaining prominence in the recent years alongside the tremendous growth technology. I first did a simple Google Search on “technology in education” which gave me the statistics and outlook of educators toward technology. I next did a search on “impact of technology on education” and “does education become better with technology”. This provided information that most opinions were favoring technology in education. Therefore my next general search was on “negative impact of technology on education” which gave me information on how technology changes the way children think, how they feel, leads to less physical activity and puts privacy at risk.
Once I had this outline ready, I searched on the site of Google Scholar to find journal articles and other documents on this subject. In my searches I first used keywords similar to the initial Google search and then became more specific. I searched for the background on technology in education “technology in education” and next searched for the specific benefits of technology in education. I first searched for “technology in education + affordable learning”, “technology in education + research skills”, “technology in education + achievement”. Next I searched for the negative impacts “technology in education + technology addiction”, “technology in education + thinking ability” and “technology in education + physical outcomes” They gave me results that I could use to write a paper built around the hypothesis that technology can make education effective only when it is judiciously applied.
Building on this initial research I would like to do more research on subject-wise achievement outcomes of children who learn with the aid of technology and those who do not to identify which subjects are most aided by technology and which are best taught in traditional ways. This will create a more effective delivery of teaching and go a long way in making technology a true aid and not just a blanket solution.
What I Learned
I found that as far back as 1982, people had been writing about the advancement of technology and its particular influence in education and how it should be carefully applied . Studies have been conducted on the effects of technology in education and most have found positive influence on student achievements . The rise of technology in education has mirrored proliferation of the internet and mobile technologies. Positive effects of technology include increase in achievement scores, research skills of students and also makes education easily accessible to children from all socioeconomic backgrounds. In terms of achievement it was found that the quality of technology exposure was critical to students achieving a good score and typically older children had better outcomes than children below the age of 8 . Students who took computer assisted courses had also historically shown better achievement scores in their exams . Technology assistance also helped better scores in science and math . Technology is also making learning affordable and personalized and enhancing the learning experience for students in positive ways . It also has displayed great potential in higher learning but its major impact is in making education more accessible. Technology assisted learning also helps enhance the research skills of students and also impacts the education system by encouraging more research oriented learning , . However other research has shown that there are some negative impacts of technology aided education as well. In certain studies there was negative impact of technology exposure on mathematical skills . I also learnt that while technology itself maybe addictive, some students are more prone to addiction than others , but nearly everyone is at risk . There is also growing concern that too much exposure to technology has a detrimental affect on their physical activity time. Children become sedentary which impacts their growth and leads to obesity and diabetes , excessive use of technology has negative psychological impact .
But all the research increasingly points to the fact that technology by itself cannot be effective tool for education. Teachers must be prepared technologically as well and it is their method of imparting education that makes the education process effective. It is still a human-dependent process and in future I would like to be able to conduct an empirical study on the effectiveness of learning measured using teacher’s skills and the extent of intervention of technology.
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