example literature review

example literature review

The Impact of Technology on Education

1. Introduction

The use of the internet has taken education to a different level altogether. It will change the way we receive information; the thesaurus books have now been replaced by online synonyms, using e-books and taking notes using Tablet PCs or iPads. Online education has been possible with the invention of video conferencing and with expansive social networking tools. Online education may just be the tool to trim the education divide for students from developing countries. This would provide students with the opportunity to learn and interact with students from different countries and different cultures, thus obtaining a global knowledge of a particular topic. The epitome of the internet’s ability is when a teacher cannot be present physically but still continues to deliver lectures.

The introduction of technology into the education industry has made the learning process both interactive and easy. The technology enabled a new intelligent way of learning and grasping knowledge through games, which made the children learn the concepts of alphabets, languages, arithmetic, science, and general knowledge in an innovative and interesting manner. Through the use of educational video games and software, children are able to gain essential skills and knowledge in an interactive and entertaining way. Simulation software can bring subjects to life that are often dull or abstract in the real world. Pieces of technology can serve as a tutor for the student. This can be done through software which has been designed to help the students learn and understand a specific topic better. The best example for this would be Microsoft’s new software, it’s called Math 3.0, which has been designed to help mathematics students tackle difficult mathematical problems. The software is able to solve and explain solutions for complex math problems in a format that is simple and clear, making it the student’s personal tutor. During this process, teachers do not need to supervise, and the student will still be able to understand the problem. This is just one example of how technology will progress the way education is delivered and received. Coming away at a distance from home, technology can also connect students with learning resources from around the world, thus broadening the scope of information available to them.

The digital conversion in education has heralded a new age of learning that will alter the traditional landscape of education. The impact of technology on education has been tremendous recently and incorporating it into the classrooms of students throughout the world will make a vast difference. It will help students on their journey through education, and they will be able to cope easily as technology is now part of their daily lives. Technology and education often go their separate ways and so far have not integrated as much as it could, but with the new technological age, it will start to take the education sector by storm. The future of children’s education highly depends on the appreciation of integrated education using key concepts across various subjects with technology being the primary mode of delivery.

2. Literature Review

The biggest problem that there is in education is retaining information learned by the students. Many students quickly forget what they have learned after a short period of time. This is not good because it does not permanently get into the students’ head, and most of this information at a young age is essential to understand in the future. If it was forgotten, then it was a waste of time to learn. In the future, there are ways to prevent this from happening. Simulation and higher-end modeling software are teaching tools that can be used in place of the real thing. A study was done by Rabb Joseph Mergenthal showing the importance of real-world simulations on learning achievement. 410 high school students took a six-week course on genetics using computer simulations and software. The results showed that this group of students achieved significantly more than students the preceding year who actually used the real-world equipment. “The Image Stick” is another teaching tool that is a special effects video library. This program was used in clinical neurology at the University of Iowa, and with students using this video library instead of textbooks, produced a significantly higher score on the neurology section of national board exams. Although this tool is not available for all types of education, down the road there will be more and more of these types of tools and software available. This is the main cause of saving information learned in education. If a student can achieve significantly more learning by using these tools now, as time progresses and the tools become more advanced, more and more information will permanently be saved in the students’ head.

Many authors have tried to figure out critical issues in the world of education because the products of the system are so extremely important to the well-being of the society in which we live. The more we understand about the issues, the more we learn about the major problems that need to be dealt with in education. Many authors have taken a stab at these critical issues in the world of education and have looked to other areas of research for answers. This paper reviews various areas of research to attempt to figure out answers for some of these critical issues. Because technology has become an essential tool utilized to better an ever so struggling society, we must now look into education where this tool has taken a leading role. With technology moving ahead at an extremely rapid pace, we need to look and analyze how this will affect the world of education.

3. Benefits of Technology in Education

The use of technology has a great impact on the education of today. With the integration of more than one and various technologies to suit the different learning needs of students, achieving effective and efficient learning is now more attainable. The increasing e-learning trend provides a better alternative to study as it is more convenient and more comfortable. The enhancement in motivation and interest of students means technology has achieved its goal in education and proven it is beneficial.

A third benefit of technology is that it can increase students’ motivation towards their studies. Research shows that students have different motivations for learning (e.g., extrinsic and intrinsic), and achieving the different goals depends on the students themselves. Technology provides numerous resources for making learning more fun and interesting. Students can watch educational videos, attempt interactive games, and use simulations to understand the detailed concepts, ensuring the level of motivation is maintained in high.

Second, technology can also have a detrimental impact on students’ learning. The use of technology enables many students to take their studies outside the classroom using a laptop or handheld device. It makes learning more convenient and more comfortable. For example, students can do their revisions at home online, looking for additional resources on the internet at their own pace. Other beneficial devices include Interactive Whiteboards, such as the Promethean, which is now widely used in schools in Western Australia. This device uses software that can be applied to various subjects to ensure the learning experience is not only more efficient, but also fun.

There are many benefits associated with the integration of technology in education. A major benefit is that it has made learning more interesting and enjoyable. This is achieved through the use of various multimedia tools and the Internet, which not only capture students’ attention, but also make it easier to understand difficult concepts. An example is the Visual Schools website of Victoria, which provides science animations on the computer for children to understand the science concepts better. Another example is Primary School Art, an online painting virtual studio targeting primary school students. With this program, students can create art designs and explore various art mediums with images that are easy to manipulate, redo, and discard. Compared with normal paper and pencil, Visual Schools and Primary School Art is more enjoyable and motivating for students, giving them a heightened interest in their studies.

4. Challenges and Criticisms

New technology always presents new problems. By definition, a technological innovation is always new; therefore, it has unforeseen and unsolved problems. Different studies have tried to establish the nature of these problems, but the majority of Research and Development (R&D) data is proprietary and has never been published. This makes it very difficult to test a theory of technology assessment. A recent issue of the journal Research Policy (October 1976) provides a valuable compilation of detailed case studies in the field of R&D documenting and testing several methods to establish “the nature of unknown problems”. Anshen defines technology assessment as “the systematic study of the effects on society, the traditional goal being a recommendation to take a course of action to regulate and modify technology to the best advantage of man”. The case studies by Anshen and Porter provide an answer as to how to conduct a systemic study, using Porter’s method to decompose a system defining the components and study the intended and unintended effects of R&D outputs on them. Anshen’s article is a run with a method to test the hypothesis that there is a higher rate of R&D problems in a technological innovation that has more ill-structured and sequential problems than problems. High level of technology is usually characterized by ill-structured problems, a problem is as a situation in which someone has a goal but does not know how to achieve it. The studies provide insights into regarding the rapid increase in high technology R&D in the last two decades, but because of their private nature, the results have not been conclusive.

5. Conclusion

Though many studies on technology in education yield positive results. One study found that “53% of teachers think that the internet has been a positive enabler for expanding the range of resources available to students”. Another very positive statistic is that “98% of public schools have internet connections”. (1) Although there may not be direct correlations and concrete data on how technology has affected education. It is unquestionable that there has been a great amount of positive and negative changes in education as technology continues to evolve.

The role of technology in the classroom is often looked upon as an “additional” change. Though many educators are beginning to see the positive impact of using technology in students’ education. Through the use of computers, the internet, study aids, and multimedia, students are able to learn in a way that is tailored to their own learning styles. As technology continues to play a more influential role in our classrooms, it is clear that it is greatly affecting the quality of education that students receive.