Remember iconic singer Alice Cooper’s, “School’s Out” song? Well, when he crooned “No more pencils no more books”, he wouldn’t have known how soon his words would come true! Heavy schoolbags, wailing children, and ink-stained little hands now belong firmly to the past. Learning has become fun thanks to technology.
Students and teachers are breaking away from the confines of textbook-based learning and moving towards more technology enabled, modern ways of learning. This change has transformed school and college campuses across the globe. There are a million ways how technology has changed the education industry. Let me list down 5.
1. Technology has leveled the playing field
Gone are the days when kids who could afford expensive schools and colleges had a better quality of education than kids who didn’t. Online learning tools have made access to quality content a matter of clicks. It has ensured that students huddled in a remote classroom in Namibia have the same information and forms of communication that a student of an elite, prep school enjoys. It has played a huge role in bringing education out of its walled garden and into the nooks and crannies of the remotest parts of the globe.
2. Puts the students front and center
In the traditional learning model teachers played a central role in imparting information. Students were just quiet, passive consumers of it. Today’s learning models put the student’s front and center. Teachers are using technology as an enabler to seek, gather and assimilate information. And students cannot get enough of this learning style as it finally gives them wings to fly out of dingy classroom windows.
3. Anytime, anywhere education
The students of today carry their classrooms in their pockets. Learning is no longer limited to a few, boring hours in a day. What is the botanical name of mango? The chemical name of salt? Was the communication model SMCR developed by Aristotle? Students no longer have to head to the library or leaf through textbooks to know the answer. Answers, thanks to technology, are available in a single tap. Technology has quietly tiptoed into classrooms and freed teachers and students from the space and time constraints of old-school learning.
4. No more one-size-fits-all approach
Not all students can learn at the same pace. There are a lot of socio-economic factors that play a key role in determining the learning abilities of a student. Learning modules that fail to accept this disparity have for years elbowed out slow learners out of the race. With technology, key stakeholders in the industry have finally woken up to the need for customized learning models that are tailored to the different needs and capabilities of students.
5. Expensive hardbound textbooks are so passe’
The smell of new books can be invigorating. But only for those who can afford them. Education has become a whole lot more inexpensive as E-books are cheap and available easily. There are also truckloads of educational material that are available as free downloads. Instead of buying new books every time textbooks are revised, students can access E-books that are updated periodically at no extra cost.
The wrap-up:
Chalkboards are being quickly replaced by apps, e-books, and online learning courses. Even as I type away this blog I’m glad that some child, somewhere, is benefiting from the equality, accessibility, and convenience of tech-enabled learning.
Do you feel the same way too? Then show us some love and share this article.
About the Author:
Jasmin is the co-founder of We Suggest Software, a leading business software reviews and comparison platform worldwide.
