As technology advances, the use of laptops, smartphones, tablets and online presentations has drastically changed the way many people learn. While there are some educators who do not encourage the use of technology within a classroom, the prevalence of technology is too great to be ignored.
Phones and laptops in classrooms are still a heavily-contested topic among students and teachers. Many students do not see their cell phone or laptop as a distraction. Other students heavily disagree and say that even seeing someone else use a phone or laptop is distracting to them. Despite the constant debate over technology in the classroom, technology use creates incredible benefits.
Canvas and BlackBoard are sites that can be reached from any smart phone or laptop by a student who may need to access class materials. It helps keep both students and teachers organized because of their user-friendly interfaces.
Gone are the days of thousands of sheets of paper assignments and readings. All of these can be found online through whatever educational program a school may elect to use. An idea similar to this is Google Drive or OneNote by Microsoft. These allow students to collaborate, whether it be on lecture notes or group projects, these websites allow students the ability to work together without having to be in the same room.
Teachers have noticed an “... increased frequency of students helping each other when they’re using technology in the classroom,” according to Walden University.
With students’ busy schedules, it can often be difficult to coordinate a time to work on a group project together. Since group projects are an important part of learning to work with others, it is incredible that these websites allow students to still get the experience of working in groups without having to finagle their schedules around one another — something that rarely happens seamlessly.
Lectures and review sessions have also become significantly easier for students to attend as well because they are not always in person. Kahoot is an online, interactive game teachers can use to create review questions for their students.
Because it’s in the format of a game, students are more likely to be engaged in the activity compared to a traditional review session.
In the case of lectures, missing class due to illness or other personal reasons is less of a burden than before because of technology.
Using an online format like Canvas or BlackBoard, teachers can share lecture notes with students that may have missed class.However, this is not meant to replace attending lectures. It is up to the teacher to determine whether to share lecture notes with all students or just those who miss them.
Technology has made classrooms more accessible to the world of students. Whether it be the need for recorded lectures, written lecture notes from professors or peers or any other form of accommodation, technology has put education at the tips of students’ fingers at all times.