How Can Technology Benefit Education?
Technology is progressing each day. The population is more tech-savvy and reliant on technology than ever before. If it’s used the right way and with appropriate internal quality assurance management in place technology can enhance the learning experience. Not just for students, but for educators, too. However, technology should never replace real-life teachers, but more develop into a blended way of learning (much like what we do at Brooks and Kirk). It provides new opportunities to make learning more enjoyable by teaching the same thing in different ways. So if technology can enhance a learning experience, shouldn’t we all be embracing it?
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) has so much potential in the world of Education. Take this as an example:
A school has a fundraiser to go towards buying some VR headsets for the classrooms. The idea behind this is that each lesson can become much more interactive. For example, instead of reading about History, students can use the VR headset to go back in time and see it for themselves. Geography students can now stand at the top of Mount Everest, without even leaving the comfort of the classroom. These aren’t supposed to stop real-life class trips; they just make the impossible ones a lot more possible.
Devices
Learners of all ages can use different devices to help them with their work. From personal experience, we know that our learners are able to complete and submit their work on a PC, Tablet or Mobile. Whilst the experience may not be as fulfilling on a Mobile, we know that tablets especially have developed a significant amount over the years. They more or less used to be larger smartphones (without the ability of an actual smartphone to call someone). Nowadays, they are closer to PCs and Laptops than ever before, with some actually having the ability to turn itself into a Notebook (Laptop). This has made learning on-the-go in Further Education more accessible, especially to those who do not have a PC.
Assistive Technology
People don’t learn in the same way, because of different learning styles and abilities. Assistive technology helps learners with many types of disabilities, from cognitive to physical impairment. Students of all ages with learning difficulties often experience greater success when they are allowed to use their strengths to work around their challenges.
There are pieces of software out there that are designed to help those with specific learning needs. The purpose of them is to help students get the best out of their learning experience. One example of this is ‘Dragon Speak‘. Dragon Speak allows students of any age to write via voice, giving them the ability to write and spell without the added pressure of their learning difficulty. There are also millions of Audiobooks out there that can help learners who struggle to read, whether from a condition or from it not being their learning style. Then, there are tools that can help people who have difficulty processing and remembering spoken language. These devices can be used in various settings such as lectures or meetings.
Online Courses
There are a variety of online courses available for free, from places such as MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) that can give people who are struggling for money the chance to take a valuable course at no cost. These courses are a flexible (and affordable!) way to learn new skills. The new skills you gain can help you to advance in your career. Anyone can enrol onto a free course for subjects from Business and Management to Artificial Intelligence! Online courses are giving a massive range of students the opportunity to shine.
Has technology benefitted your education in some way? Let us know!