Welcome to the 21st century learning era…..:
- A 5th standard student skimming Wikipedia for “photosynthesis”,
- 6th grade student virtually learning the mechanism of respiratory system on Youtube,
- Senior students testing their new designed circuit virtually, through simulation,
- Students using Social Media in their education, specially Facebook and Twitter,
- Teacher uploading the assignment on Google Drive,
- Sharing the remote seminars in form of hangouts through Google Plus…
- Attending online tutorials, lectures and webinars.
- Teachers flipping classrooms…
And what not…..??????
Education is the fundamental right to the entire citizen. The inevitable grooming period in every child’s life is the “schooling “. Today’s students can be well addressed as “netizens” or “digital natives“. Technology has touched 21st century education with its magical wand to promote it to its next stage. So why not beseech its impact on education especially on K-12 sector.
The positive impacts of technology on education are overwhelming though,
“A well is useful only when it has pulley to lift the water to the top!”
Similarly,
Investment in new technologies can only move a school forward when it’s supported effectively by people. The schools need to make hiring educational technology enthusiasts and professionals — a top priority. Educational technology specialists provide necessary guidance to teachers and students in order to maximize the pedagogical reach of tech acquisitions.
What is the role of Educational Technological Specialists?
“Children are oblivious to use technology for education and
Teachers are unaware to use technology for teaching”
Here comes the role of “educational technology specialists”.
They work in consultation with students, teachers and administrators, who can voice their wants and needs. In other words, they’re not the same as IT staffers. In reality, schools need both IT and EdTech staff, and there needs to be a cooperative spirit between the two so that IT can focus on keeping technology safe and running and EdTech can focus on effectively integrating technology tools into the curriculum. It is clear that the impact of new technologies can only be better for a school when it’s supported effectively by people. Educational technology enthusiasts and professionals need to provide necessary guidance to decision makers, teachers, and students in order to maximize the impact of technology adoption.
With the aid of all these technical tools, the teacher needs to play the role of facilitator apart from being the dispenser of information.
Technology Tools Flourishing:
Day by day, the technology tools escalate at high velocity and with a well rendered assisting ambience.
The simple statistic about the number of Google searches in a month reveals,
YEAR NUMBER
2006 2.5 billion
2008 30 billion
2013 100 billion
The rate at which the internet enabled devices replicating every year is gasping!
YEAR DEVICES COUNT
1984 1000
1992 1 million
2008 1 billion
2013 1 trillion +
The amount of the technical information on the internet is doubling every year.
Role of the Government in binding technology in education:
Our government has already set strides in this area with distribution of free Laptops, Tablets and other devices to the students. Still many more amendments are on the line to explore more with the technology – education combo!
The blending of these two turned to be active learning than to the erstwhile passive learning.
Advantages:
- Active learning
- Triggers self interest and dedication
- No time, place bounds
- Creates an environment that gradually pull the student into the learning activity,
- “Know and understand” rather than “read and remember”!
So discover the NEW YOU with technology in tutelage!!!
Drop in your views on what is required by schools and what role do edtech enthusiasts have in educational institutions for optimization of technology adoption and implementation.
