Improving Education through Technology Essay
The best ways to utilize technology to improve the delivery of education to the students of the present are the following:Access to Technology First of all is to make technology available to students (Lane et. al.
, 2004, pp. 1 – 54). For instance, in Maine, a school provided portable computers for its students to take be able to take home (Lane et.
al., 2004, pp. 1 – 54). According to the information gathered in the aforementioned school, those who were given the chance to bring home one of those portable computers were: 1) lively in class; 2) highly motivated in participating in academic activities; and 3) accomplish excellent assignments or projects (Lane et. al., 2004, pp. 1 – 54).
Meanwhile, those who were no longer taking home the school’s computers experienced accomplishing school works that are of low quality (Lane et. al., 2004, pp. 1 – 54). This evidently shows that in order to improve the delivery of education, technology has to be provided to students and it has to be extended at the convenience of their homes where they have to do more school works (Lane et. al., 2004, pp. 1 – 54).
Distance Mode of Education Nowadays, distance mode of education has become a trend because: 1) more students prefer to work and at the same time finish school; and 2) that there are students who are intellectually capable but physically challenged (Setzer, et. al., 2005, pp. 1 – 97). Technology comes into play here because offering the non-traditional way of education primarily involves online materials (Setzer, et. al., 2005, pp.
1 – 97). For instance, electronic books may be provided to its students; here, the power of technology is utilized to convert traditional books to online or electronic ones (Setzer, et. al.
, 2005, pp. 1 – 97). In addition to that, online “blackboards” are also created for the teacher and students to communicate regularly and effectively with each other; here, instructions may be posted by the teacher for the students to check out and at the same time, through the innovativeness of technology, students may also leave their comments through it (Setzer, et. al., 2005, pp. 1 – 97). Technology, not only saves time here, it also allows students who work to carry out multitasking since they can study at the same time (Setzer, et.
al., 2005, pp. 1 – 97). In addition to that, those who may be sick and cannot go attend regular/traditional classes also have the chance to acquire education (Setzer, et. al., 2005, pp. 1 – 97). Finally, education is delivered in a non-traditional mode without having to compromise the quality of education that students deserve (Setzer, et.
al., 2005, pp. 1 – 97).Learning on a Higher Level Last but not least, education is delivered better and learning is more extensive through technology (Goldenberg et. al.
, 2003, pp. 1 – 85). For instance, schools should offer “a multimedia science curriculum” wherein students will be given the opportunity to experience the following: “live satellite broadcasts”; online chats with scientists or expert; electronic laboratories (Goldenberg et. al.
, 2003, pp. 1 – 85). Technology plays a large role in making this possible since it involves live feeds (Goldenberg et. al.
, 2003, pp. 1 – 85). When the aforementioned is attained then scientific ideas and technological concepts will not just register to the minds of students as simple words or ideas; instead, students will have a more extensive understanding and therefore, they will be able to easily relate to it and even apply it in the future (Goldenberg et. al., 2003, pp.
1 – 85).Conclusion Indeed, the best ways to utilize technology to deliver better education to students are the following: first of all is to ensure that it is made available or accessible, for instance, allowing students to bring home computers; second is to utilize it to offer distance mode of education; and finally, by not sticking on the traditional way of teaching and lecturing based on books instead by allowing students to experience first hand information through actual laboratories and live interactions with the experts.ReferencesGoldenberg, L.
B., Ba, H., Heinze, J. & Hess, A. (2003). Jason Multimedia ScienceCurriculum’s Impact on Student Learning: Final Evaluation Report Year Three.Retrieved January 28, 2009 fromhttp://cct.edc.
org/admin/publications/report/JASON_03_FinalReport.pdfLane, D.M.M. & Silvernail, D.L. (2004).
The Impact of Maine’s One-to-One LaptopProgram on Middle School Teachers and Students: Phase One Summary Evidence.Retrieved January 28, 2009 fromhttp://mainegov-images.informe.org/mlte/articles/research/MLTIPhaseOneEvaluationReport2004.
pdfSetzer, J.C. and Lewis, L. (2005). Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary andSecondary School Students: 2002 – 03 (NCES 2005 – 010). US Department ofEducation. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
