Role of Technology in Today’s Education

“Change is the only constant thing.” – Heraclitus

In the past, education was happening solely with the help of a teacher. She was always the one to spearhead the learning process. Today, with the help of technology aids the learning process is no more solely dependent on her.

In today’s era, one who wants to learn has lots of educational resources due to technology aids, of course. After all, every field today is in some way aided by technology and education is no exception. Technology has opened many opportunities and has changed the aspects of learning and education.

Various countries across the world have adopted technology in the field of education – some adopted completely and some are in the progress of complete implementation. Where does India stand in this list? India is lacking behind many other countries in the process of making full use of technology for the growth and success of education system. However, India is trying its best to fit in in the growing world of computers and technology.

In the olden days of school and colleges, books were the only source of knowledge to the students as well as to the teachers. The teachers also made their teaching notes only with the help of books but today, the internet is replete with sources relevant to the disciplines they teach.

In the good old days, knowledge was theoretical. But today, knowledge is made relevant to real-life. Today, no school has done away with the black board and chalk – those are elements that are still vital to a classroom. It is just that schools today blend traditional methods of teaching with the modern.

There are many sources of knowledge including books, journals, online blogs and forums, encyclopedias, and other online sources of educational content. Teachers use various available sources to gather updated information and deliver this knowledge to their students. They are able to teach the curriculum better with audio-visual aids. Students have wide variety of information sources at their reach, and thus, they are able to learn the latest and the required.

Benefits of Technology
For Students:

1. Active learning: Students get more interested and focus better in the course material due to the use of audio-visual aids. These aspects increase the curiosity and creativity of their minds.

2. Better learning: Research has shown that people learn better when they are more interested and engaged. Technological aids help teachers teach the lessons in a beautiful and interesting style. For example, KG students can learn poems better when using audio version of poems and can visual science concepts better with the help of virtual models.

3. Distance learning: Technology has enabled distance learning for knowledge-seekers. In distance-learning education, students need not come to a common place. They can study from their place of residence. In addition to books, other course materials like video tutorials and presentations are available for distance-learning.

4. Group learning: Students can learn better in a group where knowledge is shared and different levels of minds interact with each other – asking questions and solving problems with each other. Technology supports and promotes group learning through forums, online groups, mail lists, and various other communication mediums.

5. Online learning: Internet is a source of vast information and students have open access to this knowledge. Students can read blogs, join mail lists, join online groups and read encyclopedias.

6. Individual pacing: In the class, teachers teach in their own pace and students are required to learn at that same pace, but many students find difficult to understand the topics at teacher’s pace. This problem is solved if students are provided with digitized course materials which allow students to learn at their own individual pace. This helps in imparting knowledge effectively.

For Teachers:

1. Better course materials: Teachers can take help of computers and technology to generate digitized quality-driven course materials, e.g., presentations, quizzes, animated videos, etc. which can be distributed to students and other teachers. These materials can then be provided via CD/DVD ROMs, flash drives, or the Internet.

2. Better communication: Teachers can use various technology products to communicate to their students in easier and quicker way. They can make use of online forums, groups, mail lists, IRC channels, etc.

3. Better feedback: Teachers can use various survey methods, e.g., polls, survey forms, etc. to get feedback from students. Students’ response will let teachers better understand the students, their progress, and expectations from the course.

Technology plays an important role in today’s learning process. Education system is technology powered and driven in the present era, which makes it impart practical concepts and knowledge in the students. At the end of the day, it won’t be wrong to say that technology has changed the learning process into an interesting, educative, effective, and interactive process which is better for everyone involved.