Technologies are becoming more and more popular in every field of human life. You cannot imagine modern business, entertainment and mass media without technologies. Technology has become an integral part of education too. However, technological innovations in education are very debatable. Some experts claim that students cannot study well because of the intensive flow of information caused by the Internet. On the contrary, many professionals say that new gadgets, ebooks, computers, smartphones and the entire World Wide Web improve our knowledge and broaden our horizons. For that reason, it is impossible to say whether technology is good or bad for education. There are both positive and negative sides of this issue.
The majority of advantages of technology is provided by the Internet. The Internet is a powerful source of information that opens new perspectives in education. The primary strong side of the web is the opportunity for online education. Modern people are very busy and they cannot devote their whole time to attending colleges or universities. They make money and receive their academic degrees taking advantage of distance learning. The Internet enables educational institutions to implement brand new programs aimed at such students. When one lives too far from his college, he can apply for online or distance learning. Many prominent universities support this option and develop it intensively. Teachers are ready to conduct lectures in front of a web camera to the student’s audience. Years ago, no one would imagine this approach but nowadays, it has become a regular thing. Of course, the value of online learning is strongly questioned. Many professors say that such students do not possess enough knowledge to compete with the regular full-time students. Moreover, they are less disciplined and demonstrate less respect to the educational process. I guess it is easy to find a compromise. It is possible to create a program that will combine face-to-face and online classes.
The second paramount advantage of the Internet is the access to the open educational resources. Nearly every reputable university possesses its own library. Teachers and students work hard to make their valuable and unique sources available in the digital form in the web. It is much easier to find the required book in the Internet than to spend time on the route to the library. Furthermore, it is very helpful for those people who require the book that can be found 7000 miles away. Digitalization of the common paper books in the enormous contribution into the development of science and international education. Unique and inaccessible books become available at a moment’s notice. What is more, online catalogues make the work in the library easier, faster and more successful. You can find the required sources according to the author’s name, title, keywords, etc. You would have spent hours to find the book in the regular but already ‘old-fashioned’ paper catalogue.
A lot of college / university students have not enough time for writing essays. They use academic writing services for buying custom papers assigned by teachers and professors.
Computers, smartphones, tablets, interactive boards and other devices make educational process easier, faster and multidimensional. When you learn a foreign language, you require technology to master it. You should listen to the native speakers of this language, get to know about their culture and lifestyle and train you language skills intensively. Computers enable students to listen to the authentic monologues, dialogues and songs. Years ago, it was impossible to train student’s listening skills adequately inasmuch as there were not any records of conversations of the native speakers. Students had to listen to their teachers whose linguistic competence was very disputable and subjective. Now, you can join YouTube and watch videos with exercises, listen to the conversations of the native speakers or watch movies in the original. Everything is available for free. Students can use computers to create presentations and colorful reports that visualize what they are learning about. Next, there are a lot of digital and online dictionaries that help students find unknown words and phrases at once. What is more, they can learn synonyms and enrich their vocabulary.
Technologies enable teachers to prepare interactive and amusing lessons. They no longer need to spend long hours making various handouts for the younger students. Everything can be done on your computer. When you are history teacher, you can use a computer to illustrate the details of the peculiar battle or any other historic event. Students will see what you are speaking about and they will remember more facts about the definite topic. This advantage touches upon geography, physics, chemistry any other discipline taught at school and higher educational institutions. As a result, technologies help both teachers and students participate in the educational process intensively.
Many people mistakenly say that gadgets interfere with the educational process. In fact, modern gadgets possess very useful apps that can improve one’s knowledge a lot. For instance, there are online dictionaries and specific programs that help people learn foreign languages during a short but intensive course.
Technology and education are two interconnected fields nowadays. Education cannot exist without technologies and vice versa. Technologies visualize the presented material and make it more acceptable and understandable for students, especially the younger ones. In brief, technologies broaden our opportunities in the field of education considerably.