TECH EDUCATION

Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology in Education

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Technology is one of the most important and valuable tools that human-beings are having today and the fact is that technological advancements have greatly shaped and changed the way we do most things today. In fact, these days technology is everywhere starting from business, recreation and lifestyle and even in education whereby this has greatly improved on the way we communicate and do things than ever before. Additionally, one of the things that have led to a great development in technology is the rise of computer and Smartphone industry whereby you can easily streamline or do anything using your computer, tablet or Smartphone. However, in this article I’m going to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of technology in schools and these will actually give you a clear picture of the effects of integrating technology into the educational system today.

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Advantages of Technology in Education:

  1. It promotes independent learning amongst students: practically, if you have a computer or tablet coupled with access to the internet then you can easily find anything you need online. This actually acts as an educational source for most students without even requiring any assistance from their teachers, parents or other students’ thus promoting independent learning and research. In fact, the internet provides the student with a lot of educational content that is usually updated on daily basis hence making him/her more knowledgeable even when not in a classroom setting.

 

  1. Access to internet broadens students’ minds: getting access to technology in form of internet will actually help to expose students to new things outside their teachers or parents’ interests thus helping them create their own educational-opinions. This helps to make students more understanding and knowledgeable than ever before hence creating a big impact in our communities today.

 

  1. Technology brings fun to the classroom: before the rise of technology, students used to sit and listen to the same teachers everyday and this really made education boring and tiresome. In fact, this boredom led to lack of motivation amongst students hence affecting their performance in the long run. However, with the integration of technology into classrooms students became more active and motivated than ever before and this has actually led to an improvement in the way students learn and do things today.

 

  1. Technology prepares students for the future: today, technological advancements are moving at first pace and it’s just obvious that the future is based on digital and technological tools. So, integrating technology into classrooms enables students to learn how to use most technological-tools in-terms of collaboration and communication so that they can be able to fit into the highly competitive job-market in the future. In fact, if a student learns to use at least one form of technology at an early stage then this will help him/her become more comfortable with using technology and he/she will even be able to develop other technological skills in the long run. Additionally, almost every job today requires someone who knows how to use a computer and this implies that integrating technology into classrooms at an earlier stage will give students an advantage when they get old enough to work.

 

  1. It has led to a reduction in educational prices and tools: integrating technology in schools has actually helped students to access more educational-resources easily and this has actually led to a reduction in the usage of educational-tools like textbooks. In fact, today textbooks have been converted into digital formats so that students can be able to easily access them online. additionally, educational fees are also gradually decreasing due to the advances in online-learning whereby students no longer have to go to classrooms to study but instead connect to the internet using their laptops and do the learning remotely.

 

  1. Technology makes students more creative and innovative: the introduction of technology in education has actually made students more creative and innovative than ever before. In fact, today most new technologies like; facebook have been developed by students and this clearly shows that technology helps to make students more innovative and creative to our communities.

 

  1. Technology has encouraged development of new teaching methods: today, teachers and professors don’t have to stand and talk for hours because of the advances in technology that have enabled them to easily communicate with students and these include blogs, social-media platforms and even podcasts. Additionally, teachers can even use web-conferencing technologies and other online communication tools inside the classroom and this has actually enabled them to easily educate all types of students including those with disabilities.

 

  1. Technology improves on interaction between students and teachers: using technology in classrooms gives teachers and students a chance to effectively get into a particular subject that they are learning about. For example, using videos and PowerPoint slides in a classroom helps to make students more interactive and attentive thus improving on their learning curve easily.

 

  1. Technology provides students with unlimited information: with technology integrated into education, students are able to get unlimited information on several topics by simply searching on the internet using their computers, smartphones or tablets. This actually helps students to expand on their understanding without the help of teachers which is a great thing.

 

  1. It makes researching more convenient and easy: technology helps students make research more conveniently and faster than ever before because they don’t have to go to the field to collect data. In fact, all the information that students need for their research can easily be accessed on the internet using a laptop or Smartphone. So, this has helped students to save-up a lot of money that they would have spent on making research in the field.

 

  1. It provides students with updated educational information: technology actually provides students with updated information daily and this wasn’t actually possible with traditional educational-resources like textbooks. This is actually a great advantage because it helps to save money that would have been spent on creating or buying new textbooks and it even helps students to know what’s going on currently.

 

  1. Students no-longer have to carry heavy backpacks to school with advancements in technology today: with great advances of technology in schools, student no-longer have to fill their bags with heavy textbooks and books when going to school. In fact, some schools today recommend students to go with a laptop and simple notebook because most of the learning is done online these days.

 

Disadvantages of Technology in Education:

Although technology has a lot of advantages to offer in schools, it also has some disadvantages which actually make it a bit inappropriate to use in schools and some of these drawbacks include;

  1. Access to inappropriate information/content: access to inappropriate information is actually one of the biggest concerns of using technology in schools today. This is because students can easily access pornography, violent content and other improper content online without the knowledge of their teachers or parents. In fact, this can cause a big problem in schools if such content is shared with other students when in classroom. In fact, it’s very hard to control the content that should be accessed or not be accessed when using the internet.

 

  1. It can create a great distraction in classrooms: the other big problem about using technology in education is that it can be distracting to students while in classroom. although there are several great educational things that can be accessed with technology, there are also a lot of non-useful things that can easily be accessed by students when using technology in classrooms and these may include; games, videos and music whereby all these can distract students from what they are expected to be doing in classrooms with the help of technology.

 

  1. Access to false information: not everything that is posted on the internet is true or correct. This is actually a big problem when it comes to educational-content because students making research on certain questions could easily come across incorrect answers and may not realize it in the first place. This actually makes using technology a bit tricky and hard especially when making research since it’s upon the student to decide what looks right or wrong before them.

 

  1. Technology facilitates for easy cheating of questions by students: with technology, it’s very easy for a student to cheat when given a particular question. This is mainly because a student can easily access the internet and search for an answer on a particular question on instant without even the teacher noticing. This has actually made students a bit reluctant when it comes to making research and reading because they know that they can easily access information on the internet.

 

  1. New technological-tools are very expensive: the newest technological tools can actually be expensive and this means that schools will have to spend a lot of money to acquire such technologies in their classrooms. So, this makes it difficult for most public schools to acquire new technologies and even parents without a lot of money won’t be able to afford certain technological-tools for their children when at home.

 

  1. It hinders basic learning skills: technology automates almost everything when it comes to learning in schools. For example, a student will simply use a calculator on their laptop or phone to calculate something instead of learning and understanding the basic math algorithms, students also use spelling tools on their laptops or smartphones instead of using their heads. So, technology prevents students from retaining their ability to problem-solving and thinking which is not good for the community.

 

  1. It leads to lack of interest in studying: since anything can be accessed over the internet using a computer of mobile-device, students are starting to develop poor studying habits and even a lazy attitude towards learning in schools. In fact, some students today think that they can skip school because they can easily find lessons and answers online. This actually makes students forget the basic methods of studying and when it comes to taking tests at school without any form of technology, such students are most likely to fail these tests.

 

  1. Teachers and professors need to be retrained to use technology: for the teachers and professors to keep up with the pace at which technology is advancing, they need to be retrained. In fact, teachers who have been teaching using traditional methods can be highly affected by technological changes in education. In fact, some teachers see technology as a threat to their jobs because students can actually study online and get all the answers they need online.

 

  1. Lack of face-to-face interaction: technological advances in schools have actually led to lack of face-to-face interaction between the teachers and students. This greatly affects the students’ performance because students think that the data they gather online is enough and they don’t need to consult the teacher or professor. In fact, students who enroll for online courses tend to have higher chances of failing and dropping-out of class compared to students who go to schools physically. on the other hand, students who use technology at school tend to have less time for friends at schools and this is because they tend to fear face-to-face interactions and just prefer socializing online which is not actually good at certain degree.

 

  1. Exposure to cyberbullying: the use of technology in schools has actually exposes some students to cyberbullying today and this affects their concentration and performance in classrooms. In fact, cyberbullying involves one student bullying the other over the internet on any social-media network and the only problem with cyberbullying is that there is no way you can monitor or disciple students involved in it.

 

Note: all in all, technology in schools is growing at high speed especially in most developed countries like USA, EUROPE and ASIA. In fact, technological advances in schools have helped to favor different types of students in schools including those with disabilities and these days using internet in schools helps students complete coursework’s easily and faster than ever before. On top of that, also teachers who embrace technology in schools have gained from it because they don’t have to overwork themselves when teaching in classrooms but instead they use technology to accomplish some duties in the classrooms. In conclusion, integrating technology in schools has its own advantages and disadvantages but with proper implementation students will be able to highly gain from it in the future.

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Vanilla Farmer, Amazon Retailer & Tech Researcher. Yosaki is my personal blog but I'm working on some big tech project back doors. I will keep on posting various topics on things I have knowledge about.

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