Why is Technology Important in Education?

Singapore Youth Festival Ministry of Education

Technology has been an integral part of our lives now. With every passing year, advancement in technology is becoming more and more pronounced. Some people still think that only the younger generation benefits from technology but this isn’t necessarily true. While they are more familiar with it, even older generations also enjoy what technology has to offer from smart devices to robotic vacuum cleaners. For younger generations, however, it’s become more prominent for them especially with the recent events that prevent them from attending physical classes for the time being. Because of the pandemic, schools have switched to home-based learning that divides the students’ time between online classes and modular learning.

Being technologically literate early on can mean that children will grow up to become tech-savvy as well and aim to keep up with the changing world and increasing development digitally. As such, there are also many new exciting ways for technology to be used to facilitate learning from apps for younger students to even virtual teachers for older ones.

Simplified and accessible education

With the power of technology, knowledge can literally be accessed at the touch of our fingertips. Technology has offered a more convenient way to access the news, encyclopedias, articles and journals, and many other informational sites. Older generations had to go through the process of looking for information and rely on what is in the library. This generation doesn’t have to do that and has more access to discoveries and updated information that books from years and years ago may not offer.

There are also other wonders of technology that help students, especially with their classes. They can look through articles and journals through the Internet, AI apps for editing your essays, and free text to speech apps that make listening to your writing easier (and thus, easier to correct as well). There are also a variety of note-taking apps and sites as well as archives for free practice papers and mock exams.

Technology also offers students the option to go paperless. Students all know the amount of paper waste they may garner throughout their student lives. It also helps students share information with their other classmates through shared notes such as in Google docs.

We’ve gathered some apps, sites, and programs that might be helpful for students:

It is a database with a wide variety of articles, journals, books, and essays. Essentially, it works the same as the normal Google search engine, however, the difference is that it looks through data and metadata from scholarly works. This makes writing and researching easier for students. As an extra, citations can also become easier.

This is already a pretty famous AI writing assistant that helps students edit their work before submitting them. What’s good about this app is that it allows you to accept or decline the suggestion for editing and in the premium version, there are also other features other than the usual grammar and spelling editing. However, if you’re on a tight budget, you can also opt for another writing assistant app, ProWritingAid.

• Duolingo and Memrise

Another famous app is Duolingo. We all know it from the iconic green owl of the app. Duolingo acts as a game all while learning another language. It’s a pretty enjoyable app and offers a wide variety of languages to choose from. Memrise is also a language learning app that allows the user to pin a memory note to associate with the word learned. It also provides short videos from native speakers to help with pronunciation.

This is a productivity app that lets students focus on the task at hand. It helps beat phone addiction primarily but it’s also available on desktop. Additionally, it also acts as a game as your tree will grow as you remain focused on your task. Students aren’t the only ones who can use this, even adults who have trouble managing their screen time, can too.

An app for those interested in the stars and can also be used when learning about them. Star Walk doesn’t necessarily fall under the educational apps but it’s a very entertaining one nevertheless. It works as a star map that relies on the user’s location. You open the app and it will show you the illustration of the constellations and stars present in the sky. The user will not only see the name of the star they are looking at but they can also envision the constellations.

We’ve tackled limiting phone screen time and tips to lessen screen time in our previous articles. But this doesn’t mean that we believe technology is bad and students should stay far away from it as possible. Many people may think that children are obsessed with technology and they can spend hours and hours on their devices, and that may be true. But there are also other ways to utilize this and turn it into a more productive approach that will help students develop and learn. As mentioned above, there are also available productivity apps that even parents may enjoy since they lock phones for the time being so students (and adults) can focus on their task at hand.

Making learning fun

Students, especially younger ones, can get bored very easily. This is especially true when they lack interest in a certain subject or topic. As such, when teachers use the same method or strategy with them every day for every lesson, things can get boring and dull very easily. This can lead to students’ disengagement in the lesson and can result in them not understanding the lesson at all. This will only prove to be a disadvantage for the student.

However, with the availability of technology, learning can be made fun again. There are several activities online that can help students learn every subject and more. They can even learn through games. There are many apps out there that offer a wide range of subjects that help teach students such as in Math, Science, Geography, etc. Some apps aim to help with literacy and learning another language. Then, there are also apps that teach music or learning instruments.

Since classes are limited to virtual interactions, educators can also turn to simulation programs or apps to bring real activities to digital where every student can still experience and continue learning from it. There are many tools to choose from that can help students experience lessons in the real world without breaching safety protocols, especially since we’re in the middle of a pandemic.

Use of media in teaching

The days of endless lectures and chalkboards are long gone. Almost all classrooms are equipped with projectors now and with the recent events, teaching and learning have moved virtually. In virtual lessons and online classes, students may still get bored and even more so when their beds are closer to them than before. This means that educators should also take advantage of technology to engage students. They can make use of presentation programs such as MS PowerPoint and Prezi to add excitement to their lessons. They can also show videos and pictures in class, podcasts are also a new way to learn more and engage the students’ attention.

There is also the possibility of using Virtual Reality or VR devices. Students can still experience going on field trips without actually doing so, but still getting the same amount of knowledge they would otherwise. With VR technology becoming more accessible and cheaper, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for it to be widely used in schools and teaching in the future.

Online tuition

As the pandemic took a hit to the education sector, many parents may be worried about their children’s future and how they will be affected by the change in the learning environment. Additionally, the student’s supplemental learning may also be put to hold as there are safety measures to be taken. However, parents and students shouldn’t fret. Through the power of technology, online tuition has become a more mainstream way for parents to give their children the additional learning they need.

Online tuition isn’t only cheaper than regular home tuition but it’s also very convenient considering the circumstances of the global pandemic. Tutors and students virtually meet through their agreed platforms. Applications and programs such as Zoom and Skype are just some of the more commonly used ones for video calling functions. Additionally, through these programs, students and tutors can also share their screens, making sure that the tutor can still give their discussion and/or show presentations during so.

Future career choices

The world will only continue to advance. Because of this, students should be given ample exposure to technology in order for them to catch up with the advancements in technology and increase their digital skills for the sake of their futures.

Many schools offer programs related to technology such as coding to their students. Children are also exposed to different areas that all revolve around the use of computers such as troubleshooting a computer, running a program, or even debugging a program. This helps the students get the foundation they need for future technological advancements and to also improve their critical problem-solving skills.

Developing new skills is an essential especially in the 21st century. Almost all modern careers that the children of today may pursue tomorrow are related to or require a certain level of technological literacy so getting started with these skills as early as possible is essential for the children’s futures.

Carelle

Carelle

Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.

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