カテゴリー : Education | サブカテゴリー : Education importance 投稿日 2023-10-10 19:02:09
Technology has impacted almost
every aspect of life today, and education is no exception. Or is it? In some ways, education seems much the same as it has been for
many years. A 14th century illustration by Laurentius de Voltolina
depicts a university lecturer in medieval Italy. The scene is easily
recognizable because of its parallels to the modern day. The teacher lectures
from a podium at the front of the room while the students sit in rows and
listen. Some of the students have books open in front of them and appear to be
following along. A few look bored. Some are talking to their neighbors. One
appears to be sleeping. Classrooms today do not look much different, though you
might find modern students looking at their laptops, tablets, or smart phones
instead of books (though probably open to Facebook). A cynic would say that
technology has done nothing to change education.
However, in many ways, technology has profoundly changed
education. For one, technology has greatly expanded access to education. In
medieval times, books were rare and only an elite few had access to educational
opportunities. Individuals had to travel to centers of learning to get an
education. Today, massive amounts of information (books, audio, images, videos)
are available at one’s fingertips through the Internet, and opportunities for
formal learning are available online worldwide through the Khan Academy, MOOCs,
podcasts, traditional online degree programs, and more. Access to learning
opportunities today is unprecedented in scope thanks to technology.
Opportunities for communication and collaboration have also
been expanded by technology. Traditionally, classrooms have been relatively
isolated, and collaboration has been limited to other students in the same
classroom or building. Today, technology enables forms of communication and
collaboration undreamt of in the past. Students in a classroom in the rural
U.S., for example, can learn about the Arctic by following the expedition of a
team of scientists in the region, read scientists’ blog posting, view photos,
e-mail questions to the scientists, and even talk live with the scientists via
a videoconference. Students can share what they are learning with students in
other classrooms in other states who are tracking the same expedition. Students
can collaborate on group projects using technology-based tools such as wikis
and Google docs. The walls of the classrooms are no longer a barrier as
technology enables new ways of learning, communicating, and working
collaboratively.
Technology has also begun to change the roles of teachers
and learners. In the traditional classroom, such as what we see depicted in de
Voltolina’s illustration, the teacher is the primary source of information, and
the learners passively receive it. This model of the teacher as the “sage on
the stage” has been in education for a long time, and it is still very much in
evidence today. However, because of the access to information and educational
opportunity that technology has enabled, in many classrooms today we see the
teacher’s role shifting to the “guide on the side” as students take more
responsibility for their own learning using technology to gather relevant
information. Schools and universities across the country are beginning to
redesign learning spaces to enable this new model of education, foster more
interaction and small group work, and use technology as an enabler.
Technology is a powerful tool that can support and
transform education in many ways, from making it easier for teachers to create
instructional materials to enabling new ways for people to learn and work
together. With the worldwide reach of the Internet and the ubiquity of smart
devices that can connect to it, a new age of anytime anywhere education is
dawning. It will be up to instructional designers and educational technologies
to make the most of the opportunities provided by technology to change
education so that effective and efficient education is available to everyone
everywhere.
