“Technology will not replace great teachers but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational.” – George Couros
In the 21st century, a colossal part of education is replaced from traditional, heavy books to light, multi-tool technological devices, from a simple whiteboard, to a digital whiteboard. Not only that, but physical classrooms are also now replaced with digital classroom applications such as Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of this, many people are now wondering: is this technological advancement beneficial to the students? According to the Pew Research Centre, 92% of teachers said that the internet has a major impact on their ability to access content, resources, and materials. What is your take on this?
Firstly, technology in the classroom encourages different learning styles. Every child learns things differently and teachers should adapt and try to let every student to strive to their maximum potential, to design equitable learning. For example, if a student needs help with math homework, a website such as Khan Academy provides sample problems and tutorials that can be helpful. Google provides several virtual reality field trips for students and teachers through Expeditions. There are various websites such as Quizlet that allow students to review material. Students can even get personalized learning adventures on sites like Classcraft. With technology, there will be a lot more opportunities to modify a lesson into a lot of diverse ways, such as people who like to draw can draw to learn, whilst people who like to watch videos and look at graphics (visual learners) can watch videos. Technology provides a wide variety of learning styles and choices, which is beneficial to the classroom and to the students.
Secondly, technology makes the classroom more efficient, no matter to the students, teachers, or parents. Students could collaborate online for their tasks and projects, teachers could share the attendances online, and parents will receive important notices from school at their fingertips. It makes collaboration and communication between the school community easier. Some good examples might be Google Docs, in which students could collaborate and edit the document together. By incorporating technology to daily tasks, teachers free up more time to work on other tasks instead of wasting time writing and printing assignments when they could do it in just a few clicks.
Thirdly, students can learn how to use technology through embodying it in education, which will be beneficial to them when they graduate and start working. We are now living in a world that focuses on technology, and most people are expected to at least know how to use some useful applications such as Microsoft Word, Google, and Gmail. Not only that, students could also gain skills like researching and editing and overall adapting to new technology.
Technology will undoubtedly continue to advance, and it is important to adjust the classroom style to align with its advancements. However, students should not misuse technology and should use devices smartly.
As the saying goes, “If you’ll never try, you’ll never know what you are capable of.”
Written By: Chong Xin Yi
Edited By: Lim Hao Yue
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