As technology is creeping into every section of our human lives, educational sector is not left behind. Over the last century, a lot of technology has been incorporated in education systems making it both simpler and faster for the learners to grasp the intended message or information (Jones, 2007).
Some of the most affected departments of all by use of technology are science and research as well s mathematics. Other branches like geography have seen a better venue to present some physical experiments in an attempt to have deep understanding of the theory presented in class (James, 2010).
Another advantage is in educational research. This is exhibited mainly in places where learners are given assignments to help them read and learn more on their own. Research has been made easier by use of internet and computers which are part of the most heavily used technologies in education in the contemporary world. Smaller computers like calculators have greatly simplified the process computations making it very possible for any learner to understand how to carry out complex computations. This greatly reduces the time required to learn a new concept in computational studies like mathematics (James, 2010).
The advantage is the flexibility in learning. Take an example of an international student. Online booking of studies and facilities like accommodation has become very easy with technology. The learners are able to conduct discussion from whichever location of the globe provided they are connected to the internet. This advantage has extended even to greater heights where researchers have been able to coordinate research remotely and carry out the required activities remotely. This has in turn resulted in reduced costs of education acquisition process since even online courses are possible with the current technologies.
Lastly, technology has made it easier to administer education. The learners no longer need to be in class always so as to attend classes. The mode of learning has become very flexible and the educational administrators have enjoyed this advantage also.
Technology has also come with some great demerits as well. One of such demerits is the increasing levels of laxity in the learners and eventually the young work force in the labor market. This has come due to the increased use of computers and calculators to carry out even the simplest of all tasks. This in turn has made the learners become lazy to a point of always referring to a computer any moment they want to teach anything new (Jones, 2007).
Another closely related demerit is watering down the quality of education in the society. Tracing back to the years when technological knowledge was applied only in higher educational levels, the quality of education was very high. The learners were very creative and innovative to a point of even challenging the technology that was in existence. For example, the inventor of Microsoft was not a technocrat as we have changed the education system to become. He was enrolled in public schools and the knowledge he had acquired by the time he dropped out of school to start his own company was of very high quality compared to the knowledge acquired in the current institutions (Jones, 2007).
Another upcoming tread associated with technology is disillusionment in the syllabus of curricula. This has been witnessed in a number of education systems where educational researchers have complained that great involvement of technology in education has affected the syllabus. Though knowledge knows no bounds or classes, this bulk of knowledge is broken down into manageable chunks in the curriculum. Technology presents the whole bulk to the learner thus at the end of the day the learner gets confused more than he/she understands (Derek, 2001).
The last demerit that I might illuminate is examination irregularities. In the past when technology was of minimal use in the education sector, exam irregularities were minimal. This was due to lack of centralized source of information as it is the case with the current world where everything is on the internet. Discussion forums were also manual thus there was no method of having a copy of the same information. This disallowed existence of any problem of plagiarism. With the current technologies, it is possible for the learners of their relatives to hack into exam systems and have access to examinations even before they are done. This has resulted in increased cases of irregularities.
One of the latest technologies has been learning through computers whereby the learners use computers as their basic learning tool. This has led to development of two types of classes which I can classify as wired and wireless classes. A wired class is a class whereby the learners live and operate as a unit in all their discussions. This means that the learners have a physical contact and are in a position to discuss any concept physically as they note down any important information in their notebooks. A wireless class on the other hand is a class where the learners use technologies to teleconferencing to create virtual classes. Discussion forums are held online thus physical meeting of the learners is limited to few occasions like main examinations. Assignments are also mostly done online and submitted remotely to a class online learning resource center (Derek, 2001).
References
Jones F. 2007. Designing Learning and technology for educational reform, Princeton Inc
James R. 2010. Connecting students to a changing world: a technology strategy for improving science and mathematics education, Oxford University Press
Derek G. 2001. Effective Practice: computer technology in education. Mac-Grow Hill Inc.
