The Benefits of Information Technology in Education

The Benefits of Information Technology in instructionThe present period is an era of applied science. Ein truthwhere we be surrounded with technological devices and every iodine is some(a)how beaten(prenominal) with engine room. The foundation of all types of technology is laid down in rearingal institutions. The command in secondary level plays an essential role since it is liable for the development of society. Therefore, secondary education groundwork be knead much(prenominal) than powerful by the phthisis of technology and all visions made operable through technology.This introduces us to the term Educational Technology. The word was recognised in 1967 with the establishment of National Council for Educational Technology in the United Kingdom.1N. Venkataiah in his book Educational Technology noted that For different reasons educational technology perhaps will perform emb elderen or enriching role congener to classroom teaching in college and University rath er than serving a backup man for much(prenominal) instruction.2Every technology has its merits and limitations and no one technology is hard-hitting for all types of erudition.2.2 Benefits of exploitation technology in the learning contextWe crowd out(a) talk of many benefits and criticism related to the exercising of technology in education. First we argon going to deal with few reinforcements of do engagement of technology in the learning context.Technology in the learning summons ignore incr slackening students motivation. Computer based education faecal matter pret subvert immediate feedback to student and the right answers. Moreover a data processor keep prevail student motivation to continue learning, since a data processor is longanimous and non-judgemental. agree to James Kulik, who studies the effectiveness of computers utilise for leaning, students usually gain more in less period when receiving computer-based instructions and they build up more po sitive approach to the subject learned.3The Ameri quite a little educator, Cassandra B. Whyte thought that successful academic performance in the future will depend on how computer usage and information technology would become important in the education experience of the future.4Educational technology provides the way for students to be active participants in their learning and to present differentiated enquirying approaches. It expands individualized education and encourages the achieve of personalized learning plans. Students are encouraged to use multimedia components and to conflate the knowledge they achieved in innovative ways.52.3 Criticism to Learning TechnologyAlthough technology in the classroom does devour many benefits, on that point are draw in shortcomings as well. Not having proper training, limited access to enough quantities of a technology, and the additional time required for many running of technology are just a few reasons that technology is often not u tilise widely in the classroom.Similar to learning a new task, spare training is vital to ensure effectiveness when apply things like technology. develop is a must when dealing with technology and education. Since technology is not the end goal of technology, but a means to be more effective in learning, educators must having a good grasp of the technology they throne use or they are exploitation and its advantages over the traditional means. If on that point is a lack of training, the use of technology will not give the all the good results that are given when technology is organism used correctly.Another difficulty that which might arose when using technology for teaching/learning is the access to an enough core of resources. some(prenominal) teachers use technology by using a projector or screen, to show picture or videos, since in that respect are not enough computers available for the students in holy order to be used by them and create or use it during the lesson. Th is withal occurs when there is limited amount of access to technology because of high cost of technology and the fear of damages. There other cases when there the inconvenience of resources in such cases, such as having to transport the whole class to a computer lab or media room.6One of the disadvantages of using technology in education is that it is time consuming. Teachers had to prepare not only their lesson plans but had to prepare these resources using technology, which for teachers not familiar with technology can be a spotlight of headache.Another major issue which arise is that technology is too truehearted evolving. New resources have to be designed whenever the technological platform is changed. ever-changing for many times is not possible because of expenses and therefore there is the hold to train teachers in order to know how to use new technologies.7 provided even there are all these disadvantages, one had to continue support the use of technology while investing in training of teachers, creating resources and made them available.2.4 Technologies of information and their implementation in learningIn this part we are going to deal with some of the technologies of information available that can be used in education. While observing their strengths and weaknesses, we are going to esteem their implementation in the teaching/learning context. synergistic WhiteboardAn synergetic whiteboard is a large display connected to a projector and a laptop/computer. By using a pen, stylus or finger users can function what is seen on the display through these shits. So, by touching the screen one manages and controls the computer.Through a pen/stylus the user can fine-tune the system of rules if incumbent, activate programs, buttons and menus found on the computer which is connected to the interactive whiteboard. If the user wants to enter text, can either make use of on-screen keyboard or else can utilize handwriting by using the pen/stylus.As techno logy and parcel programs are continuing to develop, there is an increase in interactivity, since interactive whiteboards are being supplied with software package programs that provide all necessary tools and functions which can give the capacity to produce virtual edition of wallpaper flipcharts with pen and highlighter options. Such softwares also include tools like protractors, rulers and compasses to make use of traditional teaching tools, since students are more familiar with and more available to use.8Interactive whiteboards are being used in many schools as a replacement for the traditional whiteboards or flipcharts or video/media systems. Interactive whiteboards can be used to connect to online shared annotations and drawing environments. The software helps teacher to keep electronic records of their note for later use. Also, teacher can record their instruction which they had done during the lesson on the interactive whiteboard, which can be saved as a digital video forma t and thusly can post this material for review and revision by the students. This is an advantage for the students to see a revision of what had been done in school, especially when something was not understood well, when they are absent or when they want to revise for examination. somewhat software programs used with interactive whiteboards allow also the recording of the teachers voice.9 patently the main advantage of this technology is interactivity as the name reflects. Students also by the help of the teacher can make use of the interactive whiteboard during the lesson, to spot picture, drawing, write and more.Research by Glover and Miller on the impact of interactive whiteboards in secondary schools, shows that even interactive whiteboards are a technology more than a computer, their use in schools and by teachers reflects that their potential is unrealized. According to the authors of this research the use of interactive whiteboards by teachers is made in triple ways as a n aid to efficiency, as an extension device, and as a transformative device.10Even if technology always is done for the benefit of benevolentity and to make life more easer, interactive whiteboards also were criticised by many for divers(prenominal) reasons. According to the Washington Post article, published in June 11, 2010Many academics question industry-backed studies linking improved test scores to their products. And some go further. They argue that the well-nigh ubiquitous device-of-the-future, the interactive whiteboard essentially a giant interactive computer screen that is usurping blackboards in classrooms across America locks teachers into a 19th-century lecture sort of instruction counter to the more collaborative small-group models that many reformers favour.11The Londons Institute of Education in a report on the interactive whiteboards says that, Although the newness of the technology was ab initio welcomed by pupils any boost in motivation seems short-lived. S tatistical compend showed no impact on pupil performance in the initial year in which departments were fully equipped.12The report also emphasize such issues such as the fact that teacher gives more importance to the innovative technology than on what scholars should be learning. It was noted that the focus on interactivity as a mechanical development can lead to everyday activities which were being overestimated and also that in lower-ability classes it would slow the pace of whole class learning since individual pupils took turns at the board.13 net incomeIn many countries and homes, the Internet and the human Wide Web in particular can be con aspectred as part of the household and as common household term. This is proven by amount of reference to internet in the daily life and the amount of time which people, especially those who are still studying in schools, leave out surfing on the internet.14The popularity of internet had made it as an important tool in education both as a great resource and as tool in class.The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer meshworks that are accessible to billions of users around the globe. It is a network of networks that is made up of so many networks which are private, public, academic, business and presidency use. The internet holds a vast range of information resources and services.15When for the first time teachers were introduced to the internet, there first reaction was about the tremendous educational potentials which dwell on the internet. Internet was seen as an instrument to answer the learning inevitably of many students since it have vast amount of resources.16The use of internet adds something new, some real value, to teaching. The internet offers a tremendous way of communication amid students themselves and with experts regarding the subject they are studying. Moreover students can join groups which discuss their positron emission tomography subject to continue enhance their informat ion regarding that particular subject.17The internet can be a support when teacher using animation, pictures, maps, images and other resources. For fount when studying the land in which Jesus lives, to which the student has never been, a virtual tour to some of the landmarks through the internet can make the lesson more attractive and interesting, since they are not only imagining what the teacher is adage about the hallowed Land but also seeing how the Holy Land impressions like.The use of internet is in contrast with the use of textbooks. Many of our textbooks can be considered outdated. The use of internet can gives us the chance to include current data in our lessons.On the other side the internet has also its weaknesses. Teaching involves human process that cannot be automatise or manufactured. One important instrument of teaching is the human touch, which cannot be replaced. The extreme use of internet and computer lead to lacking of human touch when computer replace tea chers.18Moreover there is no fast(a) confirmation that computers develop positively students performance, since stories of success are isolated cases. This may result due to time needed for teachers to develop good applications to be used in classrooms. Even if the Internet improves learning, no one is just to prove that the advantages of teaching using the Internet significantly outweigh the advantages of using other cheaper information media.Every new technology brings with it positive and banish impact. Nobody has taken time to analyze the negative impact of exposing children to the Internet may have on their social development.19Microsoft PowerPoint or other intromission softwareThe use of PowerPoint during teaching has a significant amount of potentialities for supporting(a) more visual use and more proficient demonstrations, since one can put text, audio, videos, pictures, graphs and much more. PowerPoint is a widely used presentation course of instruction which had or iginated in the business world but today had found also a very comfortable place in the world of teaching. The popularity of PowerPoint in educational technology stem directly from one of its famous features, that is, the ease of use, also by those who cannot be considered as experts on computer.20Good use of PowerPoint enhances the teaching and learning experience of both teachers and the students. This is continuously growth since the Microsoft mess which created PowerPoint is endlessly underdeveloped and adding more features to its software to make it more lucky and professional look like, such as the integration of video clips and run-in at the same time and the use of the presenters view, in order for whom is doing the presentation to see what comes next or work with other programs at the same time. As well, the templates provided can help to make simple professional look of the presentation in order to be more effective and successful.21PowerPoint software also gives th e accessibility to print what had been shown in the presentation in order for students to have a copy of the presentation shown during the lesson.Few are those disadvantages when using PowerPoint. An important element when using PowerPoint is the way how teachers should use it when they are making use of it in classrooms. Teacher should give attention to not have large amount of material on one slide which can make difficult for the students to comprehend what the teacher is actually doing in the lesson.22 television receiver clipThe use of video clips in education is developing very faster, since time has pass on static images and pictures. Today we are developing the thought of movement in pictures and in our presentations. The fact that video edit programs are now available for everyone to use on his personal computer, the apparent motion that is developing is to create videos to enhance more the attention and motivation of the students.This developing is made easier through w ebsites such as Youtube.com and Vimeo.com, where one can transfer his videos while others can see and download for personal use. This innovative idea had created a planet of video resources which can be use for teaching.2.5 deathThe use of these available technologies and others can make our teaching more effective and interesting. This use of old textbooks and methods of learning are a bit out of this world, since students are all surrounded by this new technologies which are developing very fast. This does not mean that we have to trash all old methods and textbooks but it is important to incorporate technology to make lessons more enjoyable, yeasty and effective.