Since the onset of the pandemic, the world has seen how the need for online classes or online learning platforms has rapidly increased. Institutions like schools, colleges, and universities that faced the brunt of the pandemic and closed their physical spaces to contain the spread of deadly coronavirus understood why the technology transition was needed to save students and their future. As per the data provided by World Economic Forum, nearly 1.2 billion children in 186 countries were affected by school closures due to the pandemic. As a result, technology in education has been integrated like never before.
Even before the pandemic struck, the edtech companies saw a great boom in the transition that was adopted as a part of educators’ technology worldwide. As per the research conducted by The Market Insider, the investment into edtech estimated near USD 18.66 billion in 2019 saw a growth projection of USD 350 billion by 2025 alone.
How is technology integration achieved?
Technology integration involves incorporating various tools and virtual learning methods, which come in handy to different stakeholders of the school system like teachers, students, parents, and school management. It makes the task of managing school affairs easy over virtual means. Different types of tools that help in integrating technology into education are-
- Virtual classrooms make the online learning experience similar to physical classes.
- Whiteboards are similar to the blackboards or green boards where teachers used to give notes to students.
- Video conferencing tools where students or parents can connect with teachers or school staff to resolve their doubts.
- Resource sharing platform to keep a tab on all the resources shared by the teacher, assignments submissions by students, and much more.
- The school management system helps monitor activities like fee submissions and dues for individual students, sending parents timely notifications, managing transportation of students, performance management of staff and students, attendance management, and much more.
Benefits of technology in education:
Technology has played a prominent role in the evolution of the education sector in today’s world. It has revolutionised the way in which education was sought after. The emergence of new technology like learning management systems, school management systems, school analytics, and learning platforms has globalised even the education sector.
If we enumerate the benefits of technology in education, we cannot miss on following points:
Accessibility:
Learning can be available for any part of the world, making accessibility easy. A student sitting in a remote village in India can access the course hosted by Columbia University, and there is no compromise on the quality of education.
Cost-effectiveness:
The leveraging of technology in education reduces the cost spent on traveling for learning, accommodation and different fees that have to be given for physical classes. The overall amount spent on education reduces substantially, which makes it affordable for every class of people. As it is said, “no child is left behind” by integrating knowledge in the classroom.
Diversity of resources:
There is no bondage on access to free resources around the globe. Students have access to a plethora of materials to consult and the number of people they can contact with reference to the particular topic. With technology like the school management system, the access to the number of resources and the period it is available is really helpful for the students to consult notes and prepare for the examinations.
Engagement:
Students of today’s world are more tech-savvy than ever, which is why technology integration comes in very handy to them. They are able to adapt to this method of education more as they know small know-how of various technical devices like laptops, mobile phones, and tablets, right from a very young age. Technology is not a barrier for them. However, the transition for teachers has taken time, but the process has been eased after apt training.
Practical skills:
Considering the ultimate usage of technology in today’s generation, it adds to student life skills. Even in offices or internships, students are expected to know the basics of tools like MS Word or Excel, creating a presentation, and much more, which becomes easier for them as they get exposed to such tools from quite a young age.
There may be some disadvantages, too, like misuse of social media sites or cheating during online examinations, spending time watching a video, or listening to music instead of concentrating on assignments alone. But they are outnumbered by the plethora of advantages of integrating technology in education. However, for proper transition and understanding of technological amalgamation, there must be proper training and hands-on, especially for teachers and parents, to learn about the know-hows of different features offered.
At eduTinker, we offer you a range of products and services for integrating technology in education using tools like our learning management system, school management, and much more. To know more about our products, you can reach us .
