Impact of Technology on Education

G.V.S.Dheeraj
201330167

Abstract:
We are living in hi-tech world with all kinds new technologies coming into the
market every day. Students are the first to come to know about any technology related news.
Technology is being used by the institutions to provide better education to the students.
Students are both benefited and at the same time face some problems due to technology. The
paper explains the development in the usage of technology by educational institutions and
results of this development.

Usage of Technology in Education:

From the side of Educational Institutions:
The use of technology in education is very common these days. Lecture from
professors are being made virtual to avoid the limitation of number of students to a single
classroom. Projectors are being used to telecast the same lecture in different classes at the
same time.
Describing about a topic with the use of images makes it easier for the students
to understand, even books have images for the same purpose. Presentations make it easier to
add images and relevant text together according to the choice of the teacher. This is basic
usage of technology prevalent in almost all educational institutions. Internet has become a
means of communication between the teacher and students after the class. Teachers use
course hub on which they post the schedule they are going to follow, syllabus for examinations.
assignments and any reading material they think would be helpful. Students check these hubs
regularly for updates and also post their doubts.
Teachers also use video lectures or any talk on the topic under discussion in
classes to provide a different view on the topic. All announcements related to the
school/college are being given to students through internet. Mobiles have become equal to

computers in the modern world. Everything starting from searching for information to making
presentations can be done in mobiles. Mobiles are being allowed by the institutions as a
security measure in elementary school and as a resource to be used for searching in higher
levels of education.

Usage by Students:
Internet has become a part of education in the view of students. Almost every
course taught in school has unlimited number of resources available for free on the internet.
Students may have issues with language of the teacher which often could cause students to get
distracted and ultimately lose interest in the course. Some may also fail to keep up the pace of
the teacher. Students who are unable to focus in the class due to these reasons may find the
video lectures on the internet very helpful. Not only video lectures but e-books are also an
important resource. Everyone cannot afford buying all course related content so its always
better option to download e-books which are available for free or at least for a lower price.
Students who are interested in a certain topic also can dig a little deeper in the topic with the
use of internet resources.
Forums are also great aspect of internet where students can ask doubts regarding
the course which are answered by experts all over the world. They can also start a discussion
and improve their knowledge with the various inputs from other users. Obviously mobiles and
computers are of great use when it comes to calculation. Students use these for help with
assignments. Most of the Assignments/Projects involve making presentation or a word doc so
students need to get familiarised with the corresponding tools

Impact of the usage:

Usage of the technology obviously has both positive and negative effects on the
students. There have been many surveys to know the view of both students and teachers on
role of technology in education. Some of them are as below:

Change in Role of Teachers:

Teacher does is not the centre of the attention as he is not the only source of
information in the class. He becomes an organizer who decides some deadlines for the work to
be done and also an advisor to suggest any extra reading material. He also needs to be familiar
with the technological devices being used in the class to be able to help the students in getting

used to these things.This is where the modern world faces few problems. Most of the lectures
prefer the old fashioned way of using blackboard and avoid using technology due to their
resistance to change. Some institutes are pushing them to use technology resulting non-optimal
usage of these resources. The professors must be given adequate training before expecting
them to actually teach using these new technologies.

Change in Role of Student:

Inmostofthenormalwaysstudentsroleremainspassiveasjustarecipientof
theinformation.Butwiththeusageoftechnologytherolebecomesmoreactive.Studentscan
choosewhathewantstolearnandatwhatpaceaccordingtohiscapabilities.Helearnstotake
decisionsonhisownandalsoimprovesmanyskillsinthelearningprocess.Asthemodern
worldisfulloftechnologyitisalwaysagoodchoicetolearnthemalongwitheducation.

Usage of Digital Tools in Teaching:

Nearly all (99 percent) of teachers surveyed agreed that the vast range of
resources technology puts at students fingertips is a major benefit, and 65 percent said
technology helps make students more self-sufficient researchers."
Through the usage of Video lectures with captions the problems students face
due to language and pronunciation can be overcomed. This also helps the student to go
through the lecture when it is revisited at some other point or before examinations.

A survey was conducted with 36 students attending a course divided into two
groups with the same instructor and provided with same reading material.The only different
variable was the method of teaching. One set of students were taught using both online lecture
and normal classes. The other set were given only normal classes.The results were as following:

Comparisonofperformanceandstudentinteractions

Condition1

Condition2

Gradesonfirstexam(04scale,4
representinggreaterperformance)

3.42(0.79)

2.4(.91)

604.25(51.96)

399.47(221.34)

(t(25)=3.05,p<.05)

Studentnumberofinteractionswith
coursecontentonaCourseHub
(t(34)=2.22,p<.05)

Interactionwithotherstudentsand
instructorviaCourseHub
(t(38)=1.72,p<.05)

51.24(25.56)
93.52(51.96)

The results clearly show that the set of students focussed to both online and
traditional classes showed development in all possible tests.
Presentations help in making the student to gain better understanding. Teachers
are also giving assignments as writing a word doc or making a presentations . This is valid use of
technology as long as the student actually uses his own knowledge to make complete the
assignment. Making a word doc is as easy as copy pasting date from relevant sources without
actually going through them. And also presentations spoil the assignments because students
tend to focus making the presentation look more beautiful forgetting the original use of
completing the assignments.

Mobiles/Laptops(Technological Tools) in Classes:

89 percent of high schools students have access to Internet-connected smart phones,
while 50 percent of students in grades 3 through 5 have access to the same type of devices.
High school student access to tablets tops out at 50 percent and laptops come in at 60 percent
Students find classes/assignments involving technology more interesting than
other things. Students with previous knowledge or who get used to things quicker feel proud
and derive joy in explaining these things to other friends,thus improving interaction among the
students.Students also tend to pay more attention on things which are publicly posted as part
of assignment rather than to avoid looking foolish in front of friends.
According to one survey, 72 percent of teachers said they or their students use
cell phones in class or for assignments, and 42 percent said looking up information during class
was the most common school-related use of phones by students.About 92 percent of these
colleges/schools use internet filters
Putting a computer/mobile in front of a student and expecting them not to go on
Social Media or any other distracting non-school related site is kind of a joke
. Keeping the
students focussed and excited about the lesson at hand is most hard task for a teacher.That is
why many schools have internet filters and some acceptable use policies for the internet.
Eg:
https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/technology_use.html
60 percent of students using laptops as a gaming device. Cell phones and game
consoles tied with 54 percent use, while tablets clocked in at 44 percent

Social Development in Student:

Since Most of the institutions provide technological tools to group of students
due to insufficient quantity,students tend to interact with others more often than normal. Even
when they are given separate devices their frequency of interaction is more. This is because
some students when faced with some problems with the technology find their neighbour as a
convenient source of knowledge rather than asking the teacher every time.
Teachers and students are sometimes surprised at the level of technology-based
accomplishment displayed by students who have shown much less initiative or facility with

more conventional academic tasks.Students clearly take pride in mastering technological tools
used by professionals. Thus they spend more time on assignments based on these rather than
the conventional assignments and also try mastering these technologies even their leisure
time.They also improve communication skills while involving in groups of students.

Suggestions:

Studentsbenefitfromonlinelecturesbutonlywhentheydointeractwiththeprofessoror
studentselseitcouldbejustabarrierfurtherincreasingthedistancebetweenteacher
andstudent.
Technologyshouldbeusedoptimally.Extendedexposuretotechnologyhasshown
manysideeffects.Eg:Studentsalwaysusesearchenginetheytendtobecomegoodat
usingsearchengineratherthanrememberingthethingstheylearnt.
Guidanceisrequiredforchildrenhandlingtechnologicalproducts.Technologies
(especiallysocialmedia)canputprivacyatrisk.

Conclusion:

Eventhoughtechnologyhasmanysignificantdisadvantagesitisdefinitelygoingto
developfurtherinthefutureandthisdevelopmentcannotbepreventedbutcanbemouldedto
avoidstudentsfromgettingintothewrongpath.

References:
1.Surveypercentagesweretakenfrom:
https://thejournal.com/Articles/2012/11/02/DigitalTechnologiesHaveMixedEffectonStudents
ResearchHabits.aspx?Page=1
https://thejournal.com/Articles/2012/11/02/DigitalTechnologiesHaveMixedEffectonStudents
ResearchHabits.aspx?Page=1
2.TableValuesfrom:
http://usabilitynews.org/technologyintheclassroominvestigatingtheeffectonthestudentteac
herinteraction/
3.
http://edtechtimes.com/2013/11/06/top5problemstechnologyeducationtoday/