How Tech Changed Students
Technology has impacted almost every aspect of life today. In some ways, education seems much different than it was years ago. Classrooms today have modern students looking at their laptops, tablets, or smart phones instead of books. Although, some parents say that technology has done nothing to change education. They still believe that students will get distracted on the internet.
In many ways, technology has profoundly changed education. For one, technology has greatly expanded access to education. In medieval times, books were rare and only an elite few had access to educational opportunities. Individuals had to travel to centers of learning to get an education. Today, massive amounts of information (books, audio, images, videos) are available at one’s
fingertips through the Internet, and opportunities for formal learning are available online worldwide through the Khan Academy, Massive Open Online Course or MOOCs, podcasts, traditional online degree programs, and more.
Students can use tablets and iPhones to capture photos of information that has been put on whiteboards during classroom instruction. This certainly provides more efficiency than hand note-taking, especially when there are also apps to organize and categorize notes from any class lectures. The use of tablets to house entire textbooks has been an invaluable help to students at all levels. Instead of lugging textbooks back and forth between home and school, students only need to carry one thing – that tablet! Not only does this option save on future back problems, but it also solves the problem of students who forget to take tests home with them for important homework assignments.
With the worldwide reach of the Internet and the ubiquity of smart devices that can connect to it, a new age of anytime anywhere education is dawning. It will be up to instructional designers and educational technologies to make the most of the opportunities provided by technology to change education so that effective and efficient education is available to everyone everywhere.
We are slowly moving away from “placed-based” college educations. As Bill Gates has stated, “After all, what are we trying to do? We’re trying to take education that today the tuition is, say $50,000 a year. So over four years – a $200,000 education – that is increasingly hard to get because there’s less money for it because it’s not there. And we’re trying to provide it to every kid who wants it. And only technology can bring that down, not just to $20,000 but to $2,000. So yes, place-based activity in that college thing will be five times less important than it is today.”
It’s impossible to predict where technology will go in the future and how it will enhance learning experiences for students at all levels. Suffice it to say, however, that technology has opened up entirely new experiences for children and young adults and can contribute to success for a broader range of types of learners.