Last Updated on April 22, 2023 by Uncle Pat Ugwu
As our world continues to change, technology continues to be part of our normal life. Consequently, technology is being used today by many people, especially the young ones. They largely depend on it for their day-to-day activities. In this article, you will learn the importance of technology in education. Previously, we wrote about the use of infographics in teaching enhancement.
Most importantly, it is necessary to acknowledge that students are also interested in using technology. This has created many opportunities for students, teachers, and schools. The integration of Technology in the classroom is for the benefit of all.
One of the roles of the teachers is to improve students’ performance and technology can be of help to accomplish this goal. Government and school administrators should help teachers to gain the required skills needed to enhance learning for students through technology. We previously made a list of educational technology quotes.
Although, people sometimes ask if Educational Technology is Boon or Bane? (i.e. blessing or curse). There are many advantages of technology in education that have been established through academic research work. Let us now begin to explore them. If you like, watch the article as a video below:
If you choose to read the written article, please go on.
1. Access to Educational Resources
Students already rely on technology in their everyday lives. Children today frequently make use of smartphones and tablets at home, and integrating them into the classroom will give them access to more useful educational materials.
Already, there are a lot of online learning resources on the internet. Technology can give unlimited access to these educational resources to students. Students on their own have started visiting some of these resources, and many of them are not well-made for our educational system. Integrating technology in education will help make stakeholders guide teachers on how to choose the best resources for their students.
Institutions can adopt the use of Open Educational Resources (OER). This involves any educational resources such as course materials, textbooks, curriculum, video tutorials, audio podcasts, live-streaming, and any other materials that have been designed for teaching and learning purposes.
2. Encourages Collaboration
Not only can Educational Technology engage teachers with students during lessons. Students can as well communicate within themselves. Online education that is powered by an internet connection makes this possible.
Students can work together on a project or solve a group assignment. This help both students and their teacher to share thoughts and ideas.
3. Personalized Learning Opportunities
With the help of technology, students and teachers have multiple access to educational resources. Meanwhile, because of learning styles and abilities, students learn in different ways. Technology provides great opportunities for making learning more effective for everyone with different needs.
Therefore, students can learn at their own pace, review difficult concepts or skip ahead if they need to.
4. Helps in Career Preparation
Just as we all know, technology is widely used by professionals across a wide range of sectors. Its inclusion in education will help students when approaching the start of their careers.
The importance of technology in education also includes its ability to support teachers to improve themselves by taking online study while working.
5. A Fun Way to Learn and Students’ Demand for it
Today’s children and technologically native, we must learn to teach them with technology. Many educational materials a packaged in form of games, visuals, simulations, etc. These visual effects and interactivity make it fun for students.
When teachers introduce new topics with the use of technological tools students have already mastered, they feel confident in their ability to learn the new topic.
6. Improves Knowledge Retention
Furthermore, students who are engaged in things they study because of technological enhancement get better knowledge retention. Technology can help to encourage active participation in the classroom, which also is a very important factor for increased retention.
Videos, images, and Visual effects use in technology-enhanced learning materials have proved to improve knowledge retention. Gamification in Education can be of great influence too.
7. Improves Teacher Productivity and Efficiency
Teachers as well can benefit from technological tools. They can leverage on technology to achieve new levels of productivity, and implement useful digital tools to expand learning opportunities for students. Technology can help schools by reducing the costs of physical instructional materials.
Teachers can also maximize their time by utilizing technological tools that give them the ability to reuse the material they have created. They can also reach more students anywhere in the world through online education.
With countless online resources, technology can help improve teaching. Teachers can use different apps or trusted online recourse to enhance equipment and prepare them.
In all this, there are still challenges to educational technology in the developing world.
Final Thoughts
The importance of technology in education cannot be overemphasized in our world today, its application and use have come to be part of us. Some developed countries like the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Australia, France, and others have fully integrated educational technology.
To sum up, many of these countries have been using technology in teaching and learning even before the global lockdown caused by Covid-19. Other Third World countries are also making effort to integrate technology into their classroom.
Please use the comment section below to ask your question or share your view. Consider joining our Facebook Group to meet with other great teachers who are interested in EdTech. Also, subscribe to this blog by email and through our YouTube and Telegram Channels to receive regular EdTech and DigiLit updates.
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