How Technology Effects Education Essay, Research Paper

The best method for improving educational standards is to utilize every tool available,including state-of-the-art technology. Computers and the Internet have expanded the way inwhich information can be delivered to the students of today. Today’s networking technologiesprovide a valuable opportunity to practice new learning techniques. Educators are discoveringthat computers are facilitating learning. Computer based communications, or Telecommunications,can offer many educational opportunities; therefore, educators will need to adapt currentteaching methods to incorporate this new media into the classroom. Computers have made a fundamental impact in most industries, providing a competitive advantagethat has come to be essential to many businesses. Therefore, schools must also use technologyto improve the educational process. School systems often consider purchasing a computernetwork, and justify its purchase by applying it to routine administrative tasks, such asattendance records and grading. While these tasks are very important, they only show a smallpart of what technology can do for a school. Technology must go further than simply keepingattendance; it must focus on keeping students interested and productive. Since computers and the Internet have expanded in such a way in which education can bedelivered to students, it is currently possible to engage in “distance education through theInternet. Distance education involves audio and video links between teachers and students inremote areas. Video conferencing allows groups to communicate with each other. Desktop videoconferencing promises to bring students together from geographic and cultural distances, faceto face via computer. Not only will the teacher talk to the students, but the students will beable to interact with each other. This will make students more interested and fascinated withlearning. Not only does the Internet and video conferencing help education, but new programs designed for

educational purposes are being developed. Dictionaries, encyclopedias and atlases that astudent can access from his own computer can be a definite advantage. For example, instead oflooking for a particular country and simply finding out where it is in a regular atlas, thatcan type in the name of that country, and not only will they find out where it is faster, butthey will obtain more information about that particular country. Instead of having volumes andvolumes of heavy encyclopedias, technology has enabled companies to place all of these massivebooks onto one small CD. This CD is much simpler than the unpleasant job of flipping page bypage just to read about an uninteresting topic, such as history. Writing reports on atype-writer was a displeasing method to write term papers; especially if that student runs outof white-out. Certain programs offer a spell-checker, thesaurus, and other helpful features,which make writing that term-paper easier. These particular programs are only a few of theeducational resources available to students. Most educational boards should be open to any new idea that technology has to offer. It wouldnot be fair for a student in a particular city to receive a better education than anotherstudent in a different city. Technology is not meant to replace teachers, but is there to servestudents to make tedious tasks easier. Therefore, this technology should be available to everystudent, wherever they may live. In doing this, it not only needs the support of teachers andeducators, but it also requires support from communities. However, technology can not work by itself. Teachers must take a position in designing atech-powered classroom curriculum, devoting time to become familiar with the new availableresources. Technology can also improve writing with the use of new word processing programsthat provide easy to use tools that are not normally available in the classroom. Technology isable to help students in a variety of ways. By making learning more enjoyable, students willwant to learn and will not see education as such a difficult responsibility.