Tech changes education system Essay Example for Free

Tech changes education system Essay Teaching and learning process will change significantly due to the technological innovations in daily education activities. Learning platforms, software tools developed to support the different stages of education, personal devices like PC tablets and e-book readers and displaying devices like interactive web boards will have an impact on how educators plan programmes and how students receive information. 1)Positive Effects of Technology on Education Talking in a positive sense, the impact of technology on education has been phenomenal. Using Internet and computers as en effective medium to establish communication between schools, teachers, students and parents; educational institutes have been able to handle many issues that were previously not handled with ease due to geographical limitations or lack of adequate training technologies. 2)Enhanced Teaching and Learning Technological developments like digital cameras, projectors, mind training software, computers, PowerPoint presentations, 3D visualization tools; all these have become great sources for teachers to help students grasp a concept easily. It has to be understood that visual explanation of concepts makes learning fun and enjoyable for students. Theyre able to participate more in the classroom and even teachers get a chance to make their classes more interactive and interesting. The importance of technology in schools can be understood from the fact that it empowers the educational system and produces better students. 3)No Geographical Limitations With the introduction of online degree programs there is hardly any need of being present physically in the classroom. Even several foreign universities have started industry oriented online degree courses that aspirants can join. Distance learning and online education have become an integral part of the education system nowadays. Certainly, the value of off-campus education may never be equal to that of on-campus training but for diploma and other courses, when the student is thousands of mile away from the educational institute, these online courses can be of great advantage. Negative effects 1)Poor Teacher Student Relationship any teachers have a common complaint that negative habits of students are more exacerbated due to the use of technology. In countries like the US, where assignments and homework are required to be submitted online, students tend to forget common email etiquette like salutation and sometimes, even adding texts in the attachments! Moreover, the trend of last day submissions has now transformed into last hour, last minute submissions. Students submit their assignments even hours after the time for submission is over and their emails dont contain any explanation or a note of apology. Moreover, questions, queries and problems regarding any topic in assignments that should reach to the teacher within 24 hours of submission of the homework, remain due for days. Not many students are even bothered to get their queries cleared. Those few who raise questions want them to be answered online which is not always possible, as teacher student interaction is something that is vital to understand intricate topics. The trend of blackboards wherein, teachers post online notes, lectures, assignments and other information has cultivated the habit of skipping college lectures amongst students. The belief that Google is always there, has made students disorganized and impatient. They just want to copy and paste the information, so that they can finish the assignment. Going to the college library, searching for information from books or even online library facilities seems to be a daunting task for students. Teachers have expressed concern that not many students are productively utilizing technology for their growth. Teachers are also concerned about the fact that students dont fix appointments with them to seek answers to queries or to know something more about the subject. 2)Lack of Focus SMS or text messaging has become a favorite pastime of many students. Students are seen playing with their cell phone, iPhones day and night, right from crossing a street, or driving and very often even between lectures. Being ever-connected to the online world has resulted in lack of focus and concentration in academics and to some extent, even in sports and extra curricular activities. It is certainly not possible to read a difficult subject and at the same time, chat with a friend, and remain logged in on facebook. These are very obvious distractions that have eroded the sense of mental focus, peace and concentration ability from students life. Video gaming for instance has become the greatest distraction for students. Teenagers are easily influenced by any new gadget and technology being introduced in the market and this has also made them splurge unnecessarily. 3)Poor Reading and Writing Skills Reading seems to be a lost hobby in this age. While there is a plentiful of information in the form of free ebooks available on the Internet, anybody who likes reading will agree that reading a book online and reading a printed form of book certainly has some prominent differences. Even if students were reading books online, it would have been fair but the fact is that owing to bombardment of information, the moment a teenager opens a website, he is lost elsewhere, either searching for new games or opening his or her facebook profile. Since assignments are mostly done online, hand writing skills of students have become pathetic. It is understandable that in this age of computers, there is hardly any requirement of hand writing skills but still, a good hand writing is an integral part of learning. It improves our eye to hand coordination, makes us more focused and gives us an opportunity to express ourselves, more profoundly. Writing skills also convey deeper aspects about our personality like our organizational abilities and ability to express our ideas in a refined manner. Certainly, typing on a keyboard doesnt impair creativity in writing (in fact they are useful, as using a backspace, one can easily change previous sentences). Nevertheless, hand writing skills are certainly an integral part of good education. Since technology has both positive and negative dimensions, we must make efforts to help students and kids realize the potential in the proper use of technology. Since kids always love freedom, respective authorities must ensure that they are not overdosing students with strict rules and regulations regarding using technologies in schools and colleges. But, certain rules are essential to avoid overuse of technology in education. That will ensure that technology is used for improving a students life and not wasting valuable resources like time and money.