The importance of technology in education
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What are educational technologies?
In general terms it is simple, it refers to all technologies, software, hardware, applications, and platforms, designed to improve the experience in the teaching-learning process in educational institutions.
This process of technification in education is not new. Throughout the history of mankind, there have always been different revolutions that have changed the way of teaching and learning, always going hand in hand with the evolution of societies.
In the last months, many people around the world have been forced to work from home. The "stay at home" phenomenon has given people the opportunity to organise their time between work and leisure in a way they could not do before, because of their day-to-day pace of activities. For many, this period at home has also become an opportunity for educating themselves.
Characteristics of educational technologies
The global health crisis caused by COVID-19 has hastened the process of digitalization and incorporation of information and communication technologies (ICT) into the daily routine of schools.
This abrupt transition brought with it the emergence of multiple products. However, not all of them meet the necessary characteristics to be considered for implementation in classrooms.
- In this process of incorporating technologies into education, multimedia must be accessible, to take advantage of everything from documents to video conferences. This allows students to choose the best method for self-management of their own learning.
- Educational technologies seek to embrace diverse learning styles to encourage self-directed learning.
- These technologies focus on the identification and development of target competencies according to the characteristics of each student.
- Educational technologies do not seek to replace traditional forms of learning but to complement them, since it is the teacher who manages what content should be reinforced in the traditional way and what content will be reviewed through these technologies.
- In the case of students, the aim of these technologies is to develop their autonomy. In the case of teachers, the aim is to make their work more efficient. In both cases, the aim is to achieve these objectives through proper time management, at their own work pace.
Reasons for the use of educational technologies
- One of the main reasons for the use of educational technology is the fact that students already demand it since, nowadays, individuals are already correlated with the use of technological devices from an early age.
- Practically no activity is exempt from the use of technological tools, so that by incorporating educational technologies in the daily school routine, they are indirectly prepared for their future work-professional activities.
- The flexibility that these technologies provide allows students to carry out their studies at their own pace, using their time as they see fit.
- These technologies can substantially improve the experience of the teaching-learning process, making it more dynamic, interesting, and fun.
- It simplifies access to educational resources, since these technologies democratize access, both to specialized knowledge and to the materials required to acquire skills and competencies, significantly reducing costs and in many cases obtaining the materials free of charge.
The importance of educational technologies
Today’s students are already digital people, hence the importance of providing these students with adaptable tools and resources to improve the quality of the teaching and learning process.
These technologies have the potential to improve the relationship between students and teachers, encourage collaboration between students and promote the habit of time organization.
In addition, it virtually erases any limitations in terms of both content and space to obtain a greater amount of knowledge and effective learning.
There is still a long way to go to fully adapt to the adoption of these technologies. However, they will gradually become even more incorporated into our daily lives on a par with other phenomena such as Big Data, the internet of things, the 5G network, or artificial intelligence. We are heading towards the future, and we need to learn to live in it.
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