Strength of Technology for Learning

 

My Milieu

The roots of technology are deepening, and the spread is widening. However, I believe that to measure its impact, we need to first define the milieu, or the social and cultural environment, in which the impact is expected. This is because the role and outcome of any strategy would vary depending on whom it is for.

I work for an edtech company for teaching math to K8 kids in a 1 teacher to 1 student or 1 teacher to many students’ classrooms across few countries. My milieu consists of female Indian teachers recruited to teach the kids. They have a minimal guaranteed income per month and are paid per child per class. In my opinion they are teachers cum businesswomen for their focus is not just teaching but also ensuring that the kids and parents, clients, are happy enough to recommend them to others. For each recommendation that turns into conversion, they are paid a bonus.

The teachers are ambitious, yet their skills in teaching kids from developed countries, exposed to technology much more than us, are varied as they have not been exposed. There is a skill gap to be covered and I am taking this as the base for the persuasive paper. This is because it is not technology but how it is used that makes an impact (Higgins et.al, 2012, pp.3) and hence the teachers need to focus on fluidity in their usage of technology to teach.

Impact of Technology on Teaching & Learning

1. Students learn better

Technology allows teachers to play around with multiple tools (Brown, 2020) as against a textbook. Students learn in different ways and a teacher needs time and tools to modify her teaching accordingly. Online tools create a flexible learning experience as some students use a video to better understand a concept while others prefer a visual explanation. Students are accelerating find difficult problems to supplement their thinking, while those who need more practice can use repetition from the online question bank. Hence, technology offers variety to students in a way that a typical textbook cannot.

Technology also motivates students to learn they look forward to having time on their devices to explore and learn things through various tools. This makes learning fun, and they are engaged.

2. Communication with parents

When I was working in schools without technology, we met parents once a quarter, each for about 5 minutes. With the help of technology, parents are available to our teachers on day-to-day basis. Through tech tools, parents are able to play a stronger role in education. Hence students are more likely to succeed and be motivated to learn. I remember when teaching in an IB school with attendance visible to the parents, a girl who was generally late for the class had her mum watch over attendance on daily basis. This turned us into a team and eventually helped the girl build better time management skills. 

Parents also have access to real-time updates on their children’s grades. And if a parent needs to reach out to a teacher or administrator, they can do so quickly via an email or the school’s LMS (Learning Management System).

3. Working at Home

If a child is unable to grasp all concepts in the class, or has taken a leave of absence, sites such as Khan Academy can provide step-by-step tutorials. For example, the site helps students practice different math concepts of varying difficulty, from basic arithmetic to calculus. In online classes, there are recordings of the class to refer to and practice sheets that can be downloaded for the child to work on the problems. Teachers also have their own space on the portal full of helpful resources. Parents can easily access these and help their children.

4. International Community

Internet has broken the walls separating the countries. Teachers and students from different parts of the world can meet via platforms such as Zoom or Google meet. This has made our lives more enriching as we discover slowly the common ground under the overt disparity. I met teachers from the USA yesterday to understand how they teach and in turn discovered how same our social structures are. Today we can learn anything from anywhere via internet and this is the best part of having technology for me.

5. Continuous Assessment

Through embedded assessments, educators can see evidence of students’ thinking during the learning process via learning dashboards. This helps assessment to turn into ‘Assessment for Learning’ (Getting started with assessment for learning, n.d.), as the inputs of the assessment can further drive the learning in a granular manner.  It also keeps the schools, districts, states, and the nation informed to support continuous improvement and innovations in learning. Continued advances in technology will expand the use of ongoing, formative, and embedded assessments that are less disruptive and more useful for improving learning (US Dept of Education, 2017).

6. Professional Development

Teachers can videos tape their classes and use the recordings for reflection and team coaching. Online coaching ensures that a large group can be coached by experts from anywhere in the world. Strategic use of online thinking boards, breakout rooms, sticky notes and scratch pad makes the sessions fun and lively. Today I can develop myself with just a phone and internet using apps such as Coarsera.

Conclusion

While tools are at our disposal, at the same time we also need a parallel unlearning of our conditioned ways to learn. It is not technology that would impact education but the way it is used (Higgins et.al, 2012, pp.3). There is one more element and that is the human element. Human beings’ desire to grow or be resistant. Along with bringing in new technology tools and showcasing their impact on education, we need to also consistently develop the teachers’ skills and attitude towards learning new skills. Then the impact would be powerful!

 References

Brown, C. (2020, November 13). How technology can help improve education - classcraft blog. Resource hub for schools and districts. Retrieved February 21, 2022, from https://www.classcraft.com/blog/how-has-technology-improved-education/

Getting started with assessment for learning. Welcome. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2022, from https://cambridge-community.org.uk/professional-development/gswafl/index.html

Higgins, S., Xiao, Z., & Katsipataki, M. (2012, November). The impact of digital technology on learning: A summary for the Education Endowment Foundation [PDF]. Educational Endowment Foundation.

US Dept of Education. (2017). Reimaging the role of technology in education: 2017 National education technology plan update. Retrieved from: https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf