Technology In Education: Innovative Resources To Improve Educational Quality

Educational technology is a set of Information and Communication resources, processes, and tools applied to the educational system’s structure and activities in its various fields and levels.

The digital age has revolutionized every aspect of our daily lives, and in education, it was no different.

The computer age is replacing the industrial age, so new challenges and needs are anticipated in the educational field.

This phenomenon is part of the digital transformation that the participation of technology in education, also known as “educational technology”, has introduced.

The incorporation of new technologies within schools has changed educational methods to such a degree that spaces are opened for digital culture in classrooms.

However, this explanation is insufficient to understand its impact today, so we must expose its role today.

This article will see some of the main advances achieved in this segment and future educational technology projections. Join us!

What role does technology have in education?

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When educational problems find a solution in using information technology, using computers and more telecommunication equipment to store, transmit, and manipulate data, we speak of technology in education.

In other words, we understand that educational technology is about the use of technological devices for educational purposes.

Currently, educational centers staff can acquire the internet, computers, digital boards, mobile phones and tablets to share their knowledge or organize classes and assignments.

These facilities have managed to adapt educational methods to the digital age, where there is a greater number of teaching and learning resources for both teachers and students.

Students can access much more information by implementing new technologies that, incidentally, open up new spaces for fun and expression, such as games and blogs.

Technology In Education: Innovative Resources To Improve Educational Quality

What are the pillars of educational technology?

The new educational models have been created under the awareness that our society’s future depends on three technological areas: programming, robotics, and 3D printing.

These areas are the pillars of educational technology:

Programming

Teaching programming goes beyond preparing students for a technological job field. Students solve self-correction processes as they learn to locate errors in complex problems.

Programming works by promoting the learning of logic, creativity, finding solutions and entrepreneurship.

Robotics

 

Robotics is the subject that allows a device or robot to be programmed, teaching it a set of instructions so that it can execute them autonomously.

Programming a robot allows students to see programming errors and their limits physically and learn to handle precise language.

Learning this subject provides a solution to the growing demand for science and engineering in future jobs. Thanks to the advances of the digital age, people capable of programming said devices would be needed.

3d printing

 

3D printing is gaining tremendous importance for designing models or prototypes in various areas of our lives.

Medicine, engineering, the textile industry and more use this technology successfully; it can also be used for geography and art.

Thanks to 3D printing, students learn about new technologies and their use, but it also helps them understand complex theories since it exemplifies them.

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What changes has technology brought to education?

Some years ago, students could only access education in person. They had large quantities of books and notebooks, and searching for information manually was much more time-consuming. Information on paper was indispensable.

Technology brought the ability to study online, which simplifies access to education in terms of time and place, finding information is much easier, and massive databases can be accessed quickly.

Today people can access information from any smart device and even attend conferences through video calls.

The creation of projects is much easier since technology brought new tools that supplant the paper. In short, technology in education has made learning easier, more comfortable, and even affordable.

The digital age does not stop, so teachers and specialists must be aware of new technologies to prepare their students.

 

What are the advantages of technology in education?

The advantages of educational technology are numerous.

Students can interact, play and learn from various platforms, fostering a climate of participation during classes. They can also learn at a distance and at flexible times and customize their lessons to suit their needs.

Teachers have excellent organizational, planning and teaching tools, saving a great deal of time to review or move forward faster.

Technology platforms can integrate all school staff, as students share concerns, teachers manage their groups, and administrators monitor class achievements.

Thanks to educational technology, school personnel can be aware of their students and attend to their needs. There is an educational software to identify early the risk of dropping out, providing support to students.

We will also mention that betting on educational technology implies, in the long run, significant economic savings and even ecological care, since class materials and even transportation to attend a lesson may not be necessary.

 

What are the challenges of educational technology?

The implementation of technological tools and solutions in the educational field faces challenges that must be overcome.

The benefits of using technology are apparent, but there are also responsibilities. Adapting to change is the main task of any educational institution.

The education methodology has changed since the student, instead of memorizing, focuses on searching, analyzing, and interpreting information.

By introducing technology to classrooms, school staff and students learn to work collaboratively.

There is a need to train teachers to use new technologies to incorporate them into their classes. Teachers must be updated continuously in technological advances to provide quality education.

Let’s not forget that the digital age requires a paradigm shift in which students are no longer preparing for an industrial world but a computer world.

The homework and evaluation systems must be adapted to technologies so that students can face the challenges of today’s reality.

Technology In Education: Innovative Resources To Improve Educational Quality

What examples of educational technology tools are there?

We have already seen the pillars supporting educational technology; it is time to discuss the most used tools in force today.

The first is LMS (Learning Management System), a tool that manages study and online learning.

The various activities can be administered, distributed and evaluated in virtual training. The idea is that learning is accessible, flexible and friendly and involves all school personnel, from administrators to students.

Another tool is virtual reality, which is the visual perception of a specific moment or environment. This is the educational field that provides the opportunity to recreate scenarios that were only found in books.

The human body, historical landscapes, and places in the world, extinct animals … The student will have access to a virtual collection that will allow them to learn from experience.

Students and teachers also have access to educational video games where memory, logical reasoning, concentration, spatial orientation and coordination are exercised.

Such experiences will help students develop competencies useful for careers in engineering, arts, and even architecture.

Finally, in higher grades, students are expected to manage curricular value tools, organizational tools capable of instantly sharing files, communication and debate platforms, and programs they will find in future jobs.

 

What can we expect from educational technology in the future?

The digital age is going by leaps and bounds; technology-focused education cannot and should not be left behind.

One of the most important aspects to focus on is controlling student learning. The students’ monitoring and review is an important factor for the incorporation of technologies within any class.

In the end, the technological tools are focusing on providing a solution for the monitoring of the students and, above all, so that they can learn and adapt to the constant changes in technology.

Another aspect is that students no longer have to follow the teacher’s rhythm, eliminating part of their tension towards learning.

In this way, the student develops skills and aptitudes in his own time, form and taste in a personalized way.

Simplicity, monitoring and user adaptation are the main aspects in which educational technology can focus on innovating new tools and new working methods in the future.

Education technology tools are predicted to find space in mobile telephony in a much better way than they do today.

Banning these devices in classrooms will be a thing of the past. The training of teachers capable of creating educational content for the cell phone will be necessary.

Another area of ​​opportunity for education technology is artificial intelligence. The development of this technology has proliferated, but its implementation in the classrooms will take a little longer.

Your drive can focus on better smart tutoring systems. We can imagine cognitive tutors who mimic teachers’ roles to guide the lessons in different disciplines.

Let’s think about virtual teaching that will offer solutions when students have learning problems.

We know that there are already platforms or programs that practice a teacher’s role; however, the development of artificial intelligence will reach new levels.

The prognosis is clear: these kinds of tools will be a central axis in teaching methods.

The benefits will be numerous, but educational institutions will have to complement advanced artificial intelligence in their face-to-face learning models and interaction with other people.

How? It is our task to find out.

 

The educational environment is in the process of transition. Society is evolving from an industrial mindset to a fully computerized approach.

People’s daily lives are changing. They are facing new tools that manage to make old methods of exercising an activity disappear.

An example of this is the success of shopping online and companies’ approach through social networks. Such everyday interactions with technology have changed the world and, therefore, educational methods.

Schools have to leave behind the old paradigms that prepare people for a world that is ceasing to exist, that is, for an industrial society.

The way schools manage time, the division of subjects, the school’s bureaucracy, and the hierarchy between administration, teachers, and students is a preview of what would await the student in an industrial world.

Technological development brought a change in mentality and a transition to the educational field’s structure itself. People are already preparing for the digital age, and some jobs could not be dreamed of before.

It is essential to have an educational system based on Educational Technologies, which encompasses and provides a solution to human needs for the challenges of the present.

Education that does not focus on memorization but analysis, concentration and decision making. Education technology presents versatile and intuitive tools to the needs of students and the society where they develop.