I’m sure you’ve recently read something concerning technology and education. You may have heard that using a device improves learning outcomes. Perhaps you’ve heard that too much screen time is bad for kids. Perhaps you’ve heard somewhere that there’s no link between adolescent screen time and happiness. Or that the more electronics in college students’ classes, the worse their learning becomes.
If there was ever a good argument to be made that additional study might muddy. Rather than elucidate a subject, it appears that technological use and learning fits the description. This article discusses what science indicates, some questions unanswered, and how to handle the use of technology. In teaching and learning environments to maximize learning opportunities while minimizing the danger of harming pupils.
THE BENEFITS
I’ve mentioned the mixed findings of collaborative learning, which strategically mixes in-person starting to learn. With technologies to facilitate real-time data utilization, tailored training. And mastery-based progression, in several recent posts. This nascent database does suggest, however, that technology can lead to better learning. Learning can be improved when integrating technology into classes in ways. That are compatible with strong in-person teaching techniques.
When education technology is being used to individualize students’ speed of learning. The outcomes show “enormous promise,” according to a 2018 meta-analysis of lots of longitudinal studies of ed-tech. As well as the executive summary of a future update (126 robust experiments). In other words, when used to adapt instruction to each student’s speed, ed tech can help them learn better.
Furthermore, this meta-analysis, as well as other large but co – relational research (e.g., OECD 2015). Indicated that higher access to technologies in education was linked to improved competency. With, and greater use of, technology in general. This is significant given that accessibility outside of the classroom remains unequally distributed. Across ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic boundaries. When technology is used for learning, it assures that no student. Falls behind in terms of “21st-century skills and opportunities.”
More Benefits of Technology
More realistically, tech was shown to scale and sustain teaching techniques that’d be too. Resource-intensive to operate in solely in-person learning contexts, especially for the most vulnerable students. Multiple large-scale studies have found that incorporating technology into the educational opportunities. For hundreds of children across various school systems is related to greater academic outcomes than equivalent classrooms that do not.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller, more localized examples of technologies. These being used effectively to improve students’ learning experiences have been added to these bigger bodies of study. Furthermore, meta-analyses and research syntheses reveal that blended learning. Which is more effective than solely in-person learning.
Everything else suggests that, when properly implemented, technology can help to increase fairness in learning possibilities. Parents and students from wealthy backgrounds can make decisions regarding technology use. That maximize its benefits while minimizing its risks, whereas parents and students from marginalized. Situations do not have the same chances. Intentional, thoughtful integration of technology into public educational experiences can make sure that students. Regardless of ethnicity, socio-economic status, linguistic status, special education level, or other character traits. Have the opportunity to grow and improve skills that will allow them to reach their full potential.
THE FLAWS
The research on the neurological effects of technology use, on the other hand, is extremely mixed. The American Academy of Pediatrics amended its screen time recommendations for parents in November 2016. Loosening restrictions and raising the suggested maximum time. That children of all ages spend engaging with screens. These guidelines were updated for two very practical reasons, not for any new research (Saro Mohammed, 2019).
First, the nuance of existing evidence–particularly how recommendations alter as children get older–was not well represented in prior guidelines. Second, due to the pervasiveness of technology in everyday life, the preceding principles had become nearly difficult to follow.
The truth is that children learn through engaging with our material realm and other humans, and very early (passive) encounters with devices–rather than individuals–can disrupt or misguide neural development. As we get older, spending time on devices often takes the place of time spent exercising or socializing with others, and it can even take the role of emotional control, which is harmful to our physical, cognitive, and psychological development.
The prevalence of technology in teaching and learning contexts has also been linked to (but not proven to be the cause of) bad traits such as distractibility or hyperactivity, loneliness, and worse grades in adolescent years. Multitasking isn’t something that our brains are capable of while learning, and due to the diversity of apps and programs installed on and generating alerts through a single device, technology often reflects not just one more “task” to attend to in an educational environment, but several others tasks.
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THE OPTIMISTIC
The current lesson from the study is that using technology in learning contexts has both potential benefits and hazards. While we can’t put a bow on this topic just yet–there are more questions than answers–there is proof that, in the hands of skilled teachers, technology can enhance successful teaching and learning. The best we can do right now is to understand how technology may help educators do the complex, human business of teaching by capitalizing on the benefits while keeping fully aware of the risks as they currently exist.
As we move forward, we must keep improving our grasp of both the dangers and the advantages. With that in view, here are some “dos” and “Don’ts” when it comes to using technology in the classroom:
Make use of technology:
- To improve or broaden social connections
- To give opportunities for learning environments that would otherwise be unavailable (such as advanced courses, simulations, buy dissertation online, and so on).
- facilitating and creating educational opportunities that are effectively associated with in-person learning
- Adapt learning to each student’s pace, path, talents, and interests by personalizing, individualizing, and/or differentiating it.
Use technology sparingly:
- Each day, for a certain number of hours or an unlimited number of hours
- To exclude students from learning opportunities available to their peers
- To deploy, scale, or perpetuate inadequate in-person instructional tactics
- Students are tracked or streamed into rigorous or long-term learning groups.
References
Saro Mohammed (2019). BROOKINGS. Is technology good or bad for learning?. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2019/05/08/is-technology-good-or-bad-for-learning/
