Long gone are the days when ‘A for Apple’ and ‘B for Blackberry’ were regarded as fruits, in today’s era of modern technology the meanings have certainly changed for the youth of the country. Let us explore the impact of technology in education.Technology
as we see today has formed an inseparable part of the basic living in our society.
Right from logging into our Facebook accounts to swiping debit cards for making payments, technology has crept into major portions of our lives. It is a no-brainer that education in this regard has been one of the affected siblings. Thus it becomes the responsibility of the present generation to prepare the stage for a more technologically equipped society.
The knowledge of technology that we learned as kids in our childhood has certainly helped us in our latter years irrespective of the fact whether our chosen field is computer-oriented or not. Instead of handwritten assignments, the focus has certainly shifted towards PowerPoint presentations and documentaries. However, more steps should be taken in order to bring technology to the classrooms.
There goes a famous saying-‘I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand’ therefore, the focus should be to inculcate more interactive technology in the classrooms. This would not only help in more encompassing learning but also help in breaking away from conventional cramming that does no good to the students instead of just feeding living robots to the factories, bureaucracies and armies. Little efforts like introducing interactive whiteboards, 2D and 3D demonstrations, use of video and animations instead of textbooks, would pay in the long run. Imagine how wonderful it would be to learn from a 3D version of heart instead of textbook learning.
Internet learning should be made compulsory in every school and higher education institution since internet is the only medium which allows learning of anything at any place at any time of the day. Internet would not only help in mobile learning but also aid in distance communication. Imagine the pleasure of not having to cut a billion trees for a few assignments because of the ease of online homework submission. Imagine the pleasure of not having to waste your precious time and energy in scorching heat just to attend your ward’s parent-teacher meeting or just to pay fees because of the ease of online ward monitoring and fees-payment systems. Internet is thus about bringing together the entire system, from the stakeholders to the parents to the students, and making them a part of each other’s life.
There is however just one drawback of the Indian education system and that is the government has still not played a major role in bridging the gap between classroom education and technology. Most middle class families who cannot afford a private school education still bear the brunt of this situation as children of these families find it difficult to secure a job because of limited knowledge in technological developments.
It is education that makes a citizen global and it is technology that aids the evolution. The medium is already here, we just need to work towards adopting it now.
