The digital age has brought great advances in most corporate processes, and schools are no exception. The value of data is increasing, addressing new challenges and needs in educational institutions. This is part of the digital transformation process that schools are experiencing, introducing technology in all areas.
Thanks to technology, now it’s easier to learn and teach than ever before. After the pandemic in 2019, many people have proceeded to work online which impacted the educational sphere.
What is Educational Technology?
Technologies that are used in classrooms can be defined as applications, tools, or devices that are implemented to facilitate the work of teachers, as well as to improve the studying process of students.
What applications, tools, or devices exist? The main ones are smartphones, computers, and tablets. They have especially become essential during distance learning when students couldn’t leave their houses.
Since scientists are always working on something, new advances that will completely change the concept of teaching and learning will certainly arrive shortly. A great example is virtual reality glasses that will probably one day make it possible for students to enter class even when they are at home. But the technology we have now is enough to make the educational process effective online.
Now let’s talk about the numerous benefits of technology in teaching and learning.
Provides immersive learning:
Digital advances enrich classes, engage students, and create a space for interactive experiences that facilitate understanding of different topics. For example, virtual reality and augmented reality are becoming more accessible in institutions, especially in science labs where students learn difficult concepts through hands-on activities.
Contributes to process automation:
Like any other organization, educational institutions contemplate many internal processes for the provision of their services. Administrative management, grades, reports, analytical boards, nutritional plans, medical records, school transportation, security, admissions processes, enrollment, portfolios, and collections are just some of the methods used in school functioning.
Helps digital literacy:
The world has advanced, so students, teachers, and school administrative staff must know how to use technology. Digital literacy makes it possible for people to function well through technology. If you’re a student, you need to know how to use computers/tablets to study. If you’re a teacher, you need technology to keep the teaching process going.
Gives flexibility:
Flexibility is a great benefit when it comes to using technologies. On the one hand, it allows students to study at the most appropriate time and in a place where they feel comfortable. On the other hand, it helps schools to anticipate unforeseen events. In this way, schools can count on technology to cover transportation coordination, news, and rating scales, among others.
Technology even gives flexibility when it comes to choosing your tutors or people you can study with. If you don’t like studying alone, find a study buddy. You can search them on Nuwber, Twitter, StudyTogether, or any other websites.
Allows personalized training:
As you know, sometimes it’s difficult for teachers to prepare a class for different students taking into account the particular needs of each person. Now, thanks to artificial intelligence, teachers can have information about the learning characteristics and reinforce the topics they deem necessary. It’s also become possible to conduct surveys to understand what students find effective. What if they don’t like reading out loud in class or they didn’t understand the topic they had last semester? It’s easy to find out by giving students a survey to take.
Increases efficiency in processes:
Time is money, and using outdated processes for different activities only makes institutions waste time. The greatest benefit of technology within school management is that it can integrate information from different areas. Having the data in a single platform not only saves time but also provides more productivity for students and teachers.
Facilitates access to educational resources:
Having to search in a dictionary or an encyclopedia is a thing of the past. People are increasingly used to looking for information online on tablets, smartphones, and laptops. Search engines, electronic books, educational videos, or online forums are part of what students expect to use when entering college. Being able to count on all the tools gives you comfort during the studying process.
Enhances creativity:
Technology prevents many students from getting bored during classes, as it allows the incorporation of interactive elements that attract their attention and make the learning process more entertaining. Technology makes students want to learn and be involved in creative processes. Gamification and interactive videos are some of the main examples of how greater student engagement is achieved. Now it’s so much easier to be creative during studying.
Centralizes the information:
Having up-to-date and true information is crucial for schools. One of the advantages of technology is that it provides accurate and unified information. It helps avoid errors and facilitates the decision-making process. Educational institutions cannot provide information that is erroneous or have different data from different people in the same area. Technology makes it easier to gather information in one place. There are also many ways to check whether the data used for educational purposes is correct or not.
Prepares young people for today’s world:
Of course, it’s impossible to forget the greatest contribution of EdTech: developing the necessary skills for a future world of work. Traditional education is getting further and further from reality, and the use of technological tools allows the entire school community to work collaboratively.
Let’s summarize the main reasons why technology makes education easier:
Many computer programs and tools make learning experiential
That is, through robotics or virtual reality glasses, you can learn practically. In addition to enhancing creativity, coordination, or logical reasoning, you can even come up with your own methods to study if you know how to properly use technology.
Individualized follow-up of students
Some tools allow teachers to monitor how the studying process of each student is going. This way teachers can detect students’ weaknesses and generate a method to correct the situation.
Comfortability
It’s now possible to study just from anywhere. If you go to another country, just take a laptop and you won’t miss anything. If you need to do homework but know that you don’t have time to do it at home, bring your device with you wherever you go.
All in all, there are many benefits of educational technology, so you have to be open to new changes.
