Digital Transformation in the Classroom

You, me and everybody older than the age of 12 remembers their primary school as sitting in a classroom with a book and pencil in front of you, watching the teacher writing down a mathematical equation or a sentence on the chalkboard. The next generation of children will remember their school days vastly different. 

Businesses today undergo digital transformations, reconsidering what it is what customers want and how they can create competitive advantage by making use of the newest technologies. This trend hasn’t just reached the business world – classrooms are affected by the drill as well. The challenge for the educational system is not if, but how to use technology as a learning tool.

Technology can be an incredible learning tool. It can help students with working through difficult subjects and skill sets. It can provide support to students at their own level, so that both struggling and skillful students can learn at their own pace. Students’ papers have never contained such a diverse content. Moreover, programs are developed which assist students in understanding difficult topics and problems. Technology allows for these positive developments, only with a couple of clicks away.  

However, in the latest rush to bring technology into the classroom, it is often only used at a fraction of its potential. The most common undesirable technological habit is that it is predominantly used as a source of information. Rather than learning with technology as described above, it is now merely employed as a research tool, purely replacing books.

Where does this lack of technology integration come from? It might be a lack of resources, or teachers who are simply not aware of the opportunities which can be offered to their students through technology. Perhaps the teachers are hesitant and feel uncomfortable with using technology themselves. What is more, the fear might exist that student lose their attention during the class, being distracted by their iPads. 

Whatever the reason for this lack of integration is, walking into a classroom and seeing every pupil working on a computer does not straightaway indicate that learning is taking place. I believe that much more research is needed on how to effectively use technology in the classroom for it to live up to its potential.

 

References used:

http://kathycassidy.com/2013/01/05/the-use-and-abuse-of-technology-in-the-classroom/
http://edutechintegration.com/some-great-sites-for-learning-online/
http://theeducatorsroom.com/2013/04/how-technology-is-misused-in-classrooms/
http://www.thethinkingstick.com/evaluating-technology-use-in-the-classroom/