The role of technology in the classroom
Information technology in education is currently a prerequisite for the transition of society to an information civilization. Modern tools and telecommunications make it possible to change the nature of the organization of the educational process, completely immerse the student in the educational environment, improving the quality of education. New information technologies create an environment for computer and telecommunications support for organization and management in various fields of activity, including education.
Teaching systems are constantly changing, and a huge number of discoveries are taking place, however, with the help of the Internet, it is easy to always keep abreast and make your lessons as useful as possible for modern people.
Stages of technology evolution in the classroom
There are several stages in the development of IT:
The first stage
Until the second half of the 19th century, it was called “manual” information technology, the tools of which were: a pen, an inkwell, a book. The main goal of it is to present information in the required form. If students wanted to find american history essay topics, they had to sit for hours in the library and gather information on their own.
The second stage
From the end of the 19th century – are the years of “mechanical” technology, the main purpose of it is to present information in the required form by more conventional means. It is equipped with more advanced mail delivery systems, the tools of which were: a typewriter, a telephone, a dictaphone.
The 3rd stage
The 40s-60s of the XX century were the years of so-called “electrical” technology. It is characterized by large computers and the corresponding software, electric typewriters, copiers, portable dictaphones. The main goal was to move from the form of information presented to the formation of its content.
The 4th stage
From the beginning of the 70s “electronic” technology took place, the main tools of which are large computers and automated control systems (ACS) created on their basis. The centre of gravity of technology is even more shifted to the formation of the content side of information for the management environment in various spheres of public life, especially to the organization of analytical work.
The 5th stage
“Computer” technology was during the mid-80s and the main toolkit of which is a personal computer. At this stage, the process of personalization of the ACS (automotive computer systems) takes place. The goal is to create decision support systems by certain specialists.
The 6th stage
“Network technology” is just being established. The global network is its main engine that is believed to change many spheres of our life and not only education. With the development of the Internet, students have shifted from searching for information on their own to using services that allow them to choose doers for their university tasks. Therefore, most sites, such as essaysadvisor.com began to appear.
Technologies that will change education in the future
Massive open online course
One of the most revolutionary educational technologies today is the massive open online course (MOOC), which began at Stanford with Udacity and Coursera (in 2012) and the MIT edX initiative. First, universities began to publish their lectures, in particular, MIT has been making its library of lectures for many years, then other functions began to be added to them. Now a huge number of universities around the world post their lectures and courses in the public domain. If you have always dreamed of studying at Stanford or Harvard, now everyone has such an opportunity.
Gamification
Learn by playing: Another powerful new educational methodology is gamification. Everyone knows that learning through play is the best thing you can think of, this is how children learn, all this has long been proven by research. The point of gamification is to isolate game mechanics, structure, and wireframe from a game and apply them in a non-game context. It attracts and motivates the student to complete the levels. Passing the level, the student feels satisfaction and a desire to complete the game to the end.
Big data
In computer and network educational methods, you can collect and analyze data, for example, about a million clicks and see what exactly a person has problems with and advise on how to promote learning building personal trajectories. Big data itself allows us to draw a lot of interesting conclusions, and thanks to them, pedagogy turns into an exact science, which did not exist before. If earlier we received information by interviewing a thousand people, or conducted an experiment in a hundred schools, or assessed the effectiveness of teaching several times a year, now you can measure anything on an infinite number of students and determine which methodology works or not.
The bottom line
The traditional classroom-lesson system will die out, and everyone will be able to study at their own pace, according to their curriculum, as soon as they need to complete the program. This means that strong students will be able to move forward on their own, while weak ones will receive more attention and support due to quick feedback within the programs and the teacher’s time freed up especially for them. Thus, the introduction of new information technologies into the educational process significantly changes the traditional education system, introduces completely new components of the educational content necessary for competitive specialists.