Impact of Technology on the Learning Environment

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Today technology plays a significant role in almost every aspect of our lives. Technology brings about fundamental changes that improve our effectiveness and productivity. Similarly, just as technology has been used to benefit most other industries, it has also improved education quality. Technology has proven to be an essential tool in supporting both learning and teaching, as it imbues the learning environment with a wide array of digital tools, such as hand-held devices, i.e., tablets and smartphones, computers, etc. The incorporation of technology into education has brought about quite a several benefits. They include:

  • Facilitated better access to learning materials
  • Increase in course offerings
  • Accelerates the rate of learning
  • Motivates students to participate in the learning process
  • Round-the clock learning
  • Better utilization of the teacher’s time
  • Reduced cost of learning
  • Prepare students with 21st-century skills
  • Increased engagement in the learning process

On the other hand, technology has also transformed the teaching process by introducing a new era of connected learning. Technology provides a link between students and their respective teachers and easy access to academic content to improve the learning process and thus personalize the learning environment.

However, just as there are benefits to introducing technology, some disadvantages are often overlooked and could prove to be detrimental to the learning process. For instance, as you progress to higher education levels, you will likely face some challenging assignments. As such, you will likely be inclined to try out custom writings from any one of the online writing companies around.

Negative Effect of the Incorporation of Technology in Education

Today, learning institutions have realized the significance of technology in education, however, from an illustration by Laurentius de Voltolina of a lecture in Italy during the medieval era. The illustration is all too familiar as it shows a teacher offering a lecture to students. Most of the students seem to be following the lesson. However, a good number look bored, conversing among themselves, sleeping, among many other distractions.

Today the learning environment has not changed all that much, whereby the distractions are caused by technology such as laptops, smartphones, personal data assistants, etc. For this reason, a good number of people would argue that technology has done little to improve the quality of education. Below are a few more negative effects of the use of technology in education. They include:

  • Provides avenues for students to cheat

With the advancement of technology, students become lazier because the information is readily available on their smartphones or laptops in just a few clicks. Besides, technology has made cheating so easy that students opt for that option rather than do the required hard work. For instance, technology has contributed to various forms of cheating, such as sneaking a smartphone into an examination hall or paying for assignments online, among many others.

In this modern era, though students are not reliant on pen and paper, other alternatives such as computers and other hand-held devices are significantly more expensive. Besides, the maintenance of these devices is also an added cost for students and the learning institution. Therefore, they might not be a feasible solution for students with financial constraints.

  • Lack of adequate training for teachers

Teachers are already familiar with the traditional methods of teaching due to years of practice. However, they often lack the training to effectively use the various technologies at their disposal to improve the learning environment.

  • Possibility of time wastage

People make educational technologies; as such, they are subject to human error. Therefore, they are prone to having faults, breaking down, connection failure, among many other challenges. Such problems often waste a lot of time to fix and ensure they do not happen again. Thus, reducing the effectiveness of using such technologies in education.

  • Availability of a lot of misguided information

Today, many website owners are concerned about rankings rather than the information posted on their sites. As such, most of these sites often contain unverified information that is likely to misguide the readers. Evidently, with many students already exposed to various forms of technology, both at home and in school, they are likely to be ill-advised with information readily available to them via the internet.

These are just a few of the negative effects of the incorporation of technology into education. However, it is undeniable that technology has transformed the education system for the better, provided it is incorporated to best suit the learning process.

Tech Digest Correspondent