Technology has evolved greatly since the Stone Age. In the earlier years of humanity, technology meant a lot of things, such as telling the time of day using the sundial and the discovery of fire and its multiple uses. Over the years, we saw technology transform from its simplest to its most advance form. Nowadays, technology has become an integral part of our everyday life. Practically everything that we do can be performed or completed easily with the aid of technology. Thus, it is not surprising to discover that technology has also invaded the field of education.
While some people prefer to focus on the traditional tools of learning, it cannot be denied that using technology in the classroom has a lot of advantages. It does not only help make teachers and educators' work easier, but it also helps students learn efficiently. To understand the value of technology in education, here are five reasons why incorporating it in the classroom is beneficial.
1. Incorporating technology into the classroom is essential in achieving diverse learning styles.
Using education in the classroom (such as computers/laptops/ tablets, the Internet, and apps & programs) is one way of encouraging teachers and students to embrace different learning styles. Teachers can use technology in reaching out to different types of students. They can use programs and apps that will make it possible for their students to learn and advance at their own pace. Each student is unique, so with technology, a teacher can address this issue efficiently.
2. Incorporating technology into classrooms helps make learning more interesting and fun.
When you do the same routine every day, you tend to get bored. This is what normally happens to students who are confined to the four walls of the classroom. Sometimes, they lose interest in learning because they find the monotony of the routine quite boring. But if you use technology in your lessons, things can become more interesting, and your students will have fun. For example, instead of asking a student to do a simple oral report about her favorite poem, you can ask her to create a video or PowerPoint presentation about it. It can be a visual dramatization of the poem. This will make the report livelier, so much so that your students will want to participate in the discussion and activities.
3. For the teacher, technology can help lighten the workload.
Teachers spend hours upon hours of their time checking papers, computing grades, and recording all these in a written record (a record). These tasks become easier if teachers use the computer instead of the traditional way of recording and monitoring students' performances. There are programs and applications meant specifically for teachers: a lesson plan maker/template, a class record template, an attendance tracker, and other such things. All these can be stored on the computer for years, compared to paper documents, which can be destroyed or get lost. Also, as long as your computer is with you, accessing these records is easier and can be done anytime and anywhere.
4. Incorporating technology into the classroom helps students become well-rounded learners. They can understand the teacher-student process better.
Using technology in the classroom introduces students to many new (and unique) concepts, thoughts, and ideas. And this encourages them to formulate their own. This helps them think out-of-the-box. Additionally, this also helps them better understand the teacher-student process as they can participate more in discussions with technology incorporated into their daily activities. For example, instead of the usual after-story homework in reading or English class, a teacher can ask her students to come up with a short video presentation of the lessons learned from the story.
5. Incorporating technology into the classroom can help students prepared for the real world.
Exposure to technology in the classroom will help students learn how to become tech-ready while also teaching them to take advantage of its positive contributions. Likewise, students will be prepared for the real world, which has become heavily dependent on technology. Practically everything in the world has become technology-dependent. Students brought up in a technology-exposed classroom will be able to deal with this fact easily and more efficiently than those who were educated in traditional classroom environments.
The integration of technology into daily classroom activities is not easy. It will be a step-by-step process. However, once it is started, it will bring in a lot of rewarding learning experiences for both the teachers and students. The need to invest in technology for education has never been more apparent than it is now.
