The best thing about technology is that, it helps support both teaching and learning. No matter, where ever one is, technology assists learning 24 hours a day and most importantly builds 21st Century skills.
For the teachers, technology is a potent, as it helps them increase student’ engagement level, motivation and accelerates their learning. There are many other benefits of the use of technology in education, which is why its usage is becoming widespread across the sector.
As per various studies, it has been found that with technology coming into education, teaching practices have received a positive boost in many ways. Let’s therefore give a quick glance at how technology is changing teaching practices and what various research findings say about new teaching practices due to the integration of technology.
Key changes observed in New Teaching Practices
- Today’s redefined teaching practices focus upon engaging students in their own learning process, enabling for individual learning to take place within the context of a course and in a larger group of students.
- The transformed teaching practices aim at encouraging self-reflection in the entire process and this supports learning progress thereby.
- It also establishes learning outcomes on a regular basis in order to evaluate the program’s success and for remodelling of the courses design and structure to enhance the learning outcome level.
What Do Research Findings Say?
The best thing about technology is that it has the power to transform teaching and usher in a new model of connected teaching. This model actually helps to link teachers to their students and to professional content, resources and systems to help them improve their own instruction and personalize learning.
1. In a research, titled ‘Teaching and Learning with Mobile Technology: A Qualitative Explorative Study about the Introduction of Tablet Devices in Secondary Education’, findings suggest the use of tablet devices in the classroom settings impacts both teaching and learning practices. Innovative teachers are quick at shifting their teaching practice from being a teacher-centered to a learning-centered approach. The teaching style they adopt transform lessons in accordance with the advantages of tablet computers that it offers.
2. As per research findings obtained through Meta analyses, blending technology with face-to-face teacher time, it has been found that it generally produces better outcomes than face-to-face or just online learning alone.
3. In another study- entitled ‘The Positive Effects of Technology on Teaching and Student Learning’ there has been a clear mention of the fact that, the focus of teachers today, has changed. Teachers now focus on raising student achievement while integrating technology as a tool. Now with the onset of the Common Core Standards, it includes many standards that require technology use by students, beginning at the kindergarten level, in order for standards to be met.
4. In another Research- ITL Research Findings 2011, there has not been a clear mention of technology amplifying teaching but by ‘ecosystem’ they do indicate the influence of technology in modern education. There is a clear mention of innovation and how Innovative teaching practices is a modern day is a guiding force in making student learning stimulating and skill rich. There is a lot of interaction and the dynamic spheres of influence are shaping teaching practices and student outcomes at multiple levels of the education system. However, it also clearly mentions on the fact that for innovative teaching practices to flourish adequate supportive conditions need to be in place.
Summing Up
That, technology supports teaching and learning has been mentioned in each of the research findings discussed above and it clearly indicates use of edtech is not just important to qualify 21st century education goals but also because it takes up the level of teaching and learning at the end of the day.
Technology infuses classrooms with digital learning tools such like computers and hand held devices: expands course offerings, experiences and learning materials. Technology has the power to transform teaching by ushering in a new model of connected teaching. It is technology that helping stakeholders in making fundamental structural changes to improve the entire ecosystem of education sector.
Concepts such as blended learning have become popular because it provide opportunities to incorporate both face-to-face and online learning opportunities and the degree to which it is used. It can be delivered through the technology integration and factors moulding the process. These strategies can be particularly useful in the rural areas where blended or online learning can help teachers and students in remote areas overcome the problem of far distance.
Teachers’ today focus more on designing and guiding students towards the content through engaged learning opportunities. And such is possible because of the power of technology in education.
It has to be noted that technology is not only potent it is empowering in nature. Teaching with the help of technology helps in making the practice worthy and worthwhile for the students. It also helps deepen student learning by supporting them in the most critical areas they are in need of the teacher’s support.
Further with data technology coming in, students’ fine grained data are extracted and this rich resource helps in offering personalized learning to each student understanding their areas of strengths and weaknesses. And surely, the rich data is also helpful for the teachers too, because referring it, they can easily modify the course content and design of the program to increase student’s productivity levels.
So, what are your views on it? Do you think, edtech really helps in amplifying teaching practices? Do share your valuable inputs on this and help teachers across the world adopt new teaching styles that boost the level of learning in the 21st Century.
