There is no disputing that the modern world is greatly dependent on
digital technologies and the online world for the overall functionality of
everyday life. It is now near impossible to pass a day without having a
multitude of interactions with a variety of digitised technologies and more
prominently, the online interconnected world of the internet. Mobile devices
have allowed us to carry the internet in our pocket and access it at any-time
and in almost any-place. It truly is everywhere we go.
It is unequivocal that this shift in the
functionality of everyday life has had an effect on educational institutions
throughout the world. Not only does the online world provide a fundamental
platform for entertainment and connectedness, but it also allows students
throughout the world to access a database of inexhaustible information about
limitless topics, themes and subjects which is ever-expanding. However, with
this revolutionary new way of research and interconnectivity comes a range of
advantages and disadvantages for the overall mechanics of educational
institutions, including the teachers themselves. The fundamental advantage
being the breadth and accessibility of limitless information for students
whilst the detrimental disadvantage being the breaking down of the teachers
private sphere through means such as social networking and even simply
‘googling’ their name. Up until now, the privacy of a teacher was seen as a
“vital way in earning respect and keeping control” (Macgibbon, 2011). Seeing a teacher in public domain use to be a
topic of schoolyard gossip within itself but now, “thanks to social media,
teachers have to be extremely careful about their online footprints …they must
understand and use the privacy settings on the social-networking site
(Facebook) to protect themselves” (Macgibbon, 2011).
Other disadvantageous aspects of technological
implications within the classroom include the multitude of distractions that
these implements can bring. For instance, it is well known that that majority
of students access Facebook and other similar sites during class hours. Yet most
educational institutions have tried to accommodate for this distraction by
blocking these sits through network filters as Ainslie Macgibbon attests to; “86
percent of schools in Australia block Facebook, 57 percent block YouTube and 14
percent block Wikipedia” (2011). However, there are a variety of ways in which
social networking (namely Facebook) can be utilised as an educational tool.
Teachers are beginning to use it as a sort of online ‘hub’, providing “professional
development, notices of learning opportunities, livestream guests or students,
keep up to date with research and facilitate lessons should attendance at
school be distrupted by weather conditions” (Macgibbon, 2011).
On the more advantageous side of technological implications, there is
no doubt that personal computers and the online world allow for unprecedented access
to information, outside of school and within as students can “access teachers
course materials such as presentations and documents for later study” (Moule,
2011). However this begins to beg the question, how long will school as a
physical location be necessary? With the rise of internet technologies, will
physical educational institutions one day become obsolete as information can so
easily be shared and analysed through the online world? What purpose will
teachers serve rather than simply uploading information to a large web forum?
Despite these complex concerns
of the future, there is no doubt that “students are largely enthusiastic about
the growing role of technology in education” (Moule, 2011) and therefore,
teachers should become familiar and implement technologies in classroom
education to accommodate for the interests of the student body.
References:
1.
Macgibbon, A. (2011, February 28). ‘Teaching the Facebook generation’.
The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at:
2.
Moule, P. (2011, April 11). ‘Log on to Learn’. Career Development: Student Life.
No comments:
Post a Comment