IT Advancements in Education
Information technology has impacted almost every aspect of life today, and education is no exception. IT advancements has greatly changed the education sector. Information technology has simplified the way teachers reach their students and it has also helped students learn from anywhere as well as enable them access academic information at anytime from anywhere. Nowadays, both student and teacher can used advanced technologies for education to make research on subjects of interests. Some of the popular IT advances which have changed the face of education are briefly described below.
As part of educational IT advancements, the internet plays a vital role in the educational system. Student have access to websites which provide them useful data related to their studies. Today, massive amount of information in the form of books, audios, images, videos are available at one’s fingertips through internet. Use of internet by schools, colleges, universities, vocational institutes and technical education institutes has made education accessible to all people. You can submit admission form online, pay fee online, and have online lessons and so on.
Use of cellular phone has reduced the communication gap between teacher and student. With the invention of smart phones and some wonderful recently introduced smart phone apps has connected students among themselves and with teacher. As everyone cannot afford a computer or laptop, smart phone can be really useful for one to remain updated about anything new related to his/her studies.
With the recent advancements in the field of IT, teachers have become able to use multimedia in classrooms to convey ideas effectively.
Technological advancements have replaced blackboard with whiteboard. The classroom lessons could be more enhanced by the use of streamed video websites. Online study tools are used to motivate students to study, making it more fun for student. The teacher is using blackboard and chalk to explain mathematical equations, this is the type of education most of us had, but some students could fail to learn because of its lack of real time visual illustrations. But the use of smart whiteboards for visual illustrations in the classroom had overcame this difficulty.
We cannot overlook the importance of social media in today’s educational system. Students can form online study groups using these social media apps. It is very easy for students to learn through group or peer discussions. Many teachers find social networking a great way to expand their personal learning network and to discover resources.
It is also suitable for students to change their written work on word processor, they can use word processing apps to write notes and they can even use clip art or graphics in their notes. As the word processing apps has auto-correct functionality which suggests correct terms as students take notes in the class and hence these apps improve their vocabulary. Teachers can easily teach their students on how to use these applications while in the classrooms.
Information Technology is helping in transforming educationat present time and it will continue its work in coming future. Technology’s increasing access to education is really changing the way, students learn and educational institutes in general, with expanding revenue opportunities and providing new market for universities.