The Role of Technology

Educational technology and its usage in classrooms has increased over the last few years as there people that are convinced it is an effective way to learn whilst others are still on the fence about it and have made convincing arguments against its usage as well. Different methods are used to teach students through technology like smart whiteboards where teachers display diagrams from their laptops so all the students can view them with ease. Another method is learning the flipped way where students use their mobiles or other such devices to look at lectures uploaded on the sites of the school they attend and they then listen to these lectures. Educational apps also seem to be the norm for students nowadays and apps like Google classroom helps a class take virtual field trips to important historical places or even places where one can benefit from the culture.

Pros of Technology

Using technology has effects on the engagement shown by the students as they tend to pay more attention in class and show more signs of healthy curiosity which helps them question how a lot of things work and so they become prone to conduct their own research to answer the questions they have.  Studies have also shown that in classrooms where technology was integrated, the graduation rates and attendance for classes spiked even results for testing rose amongst students. The job of teachers is made easier as well because before, teachers spent a lot of time preparing lessons, making assignments, checking copies and whatnot but with the incorporation in technology their job has been made significantly easier as they can monitor homework through an internet platform and even copy out lesson materials from apps like Google Classroom. This also reduces the amount of paper that is used in homework and assignments and with a lot of paper being saved, the process of using technology makes education somewhat Eco-friendly.  The greatest advantage has to be the fact that learning can be customized to meet the needs of all students as every student learns differently and teachers can use different methods to teach students who are different levels. The job of teachers is made less tedious because tasks like checking assignments or answering frequently asked questions is the job of the technology being used so the teacher does not have to put in a lot of hard work.  Lesson planning and messaging students or their parents is made easier as well. Furthermore, students and teachers both have access to an unlimited amount of information at the click of a button. If anyone wants to learn anything, all they have to do is Google it and they will be provided with a lot of material related to the topic they are researching.

Cons of Technology

It is believed that spending more time behind a screen is damaging to young minds as there is already an increased use of mobiles and tablets at home without them being used at school too. All this causes children to become more antisocial and bonds with family and friends are hard to build. It is believed that students will lose the ability to communicate with other people in different situations because of technology. They need to develop strong peoples skills, and when they use technological devices in school as well as at home, this limits the time they get to spend interacting with their peers and so antisocial behavior is encouraged rather than stopped. Technology can be very distracting too. Students who are young children already have short attention spans and if they fiddle with technology when they are supposed to be learning, the purpose of the technology is completely defeated. Technology is not easily available to everyone and not every person on the planet has access to it. Many schools just do not have the funds yet to incorporate technology in to the curriculum especially because of budget cuts. Even for students, technology is not readily available to all because the financial situation of every household varies significantly. If the teacher assigns homework which has to be done on a hand held device, some students might find it hard to do so. Cheating is made easier as well because all students need to do is copy and paste from the internet or for a little cash, they have access to essay writers from an online essay mill which the students then proceed to hand in as their own work. This decreases the amount of research done by the student himself and defeats the purpose of so much knowledge that is just waiting to be accessed.

Author Bio: Patricia Grays professionally a writer of Assignment Writing Service but she also an educationist and developed for technology specifically for classrooms wrote this article.