You cannot get away from technology these days. It is all around us and it is becoming an intrinsic part of our lives. We use technology to work, to play and very importantly to learn. So in this article, we will answer the question “how does technology help students to learn?”
It is essential that we do everything that we can to improve the education of our children and young people. There are some people that believe that having all the answers at the tip of our fingertips by using search engines on smartphones and tablets is somehow wrong. It isn’t – we have just moved on from “parrot fashion” learning.
Everywhere you go you will see smartphones, tablets and other wireless devices used and the Internet of Things (IoT) is also becoming more widespread across our communities. So it makes perfect sense that our students should have access to technology so that they can learn more.
In some schools, colleges and universities tablets have replaced textbooks. In-depth research is possible now just using a smartphone and Google or one of the other search engines. Social media has transformed the way that we communicate with each other.
Educators Support Technology to Help Students Learn
In a recent study by the IT Trade Association – Comp TIA, it was found that 75% of educators believe that technology helps students to learn and has a positive impact on their education.
Educators also strongly believe that students must develop the necessary technical skills so that they can easily integrate into the workforce when their studies are complete. Educators view technology as an essential life skill which all students have the right to benefit from.
What the Study Revealed for Students
Nine out of ten students that participated in the study indicated that they needed to use technology in the classroom so that they would be prepared for the future. Many jobs have a digital component now where they didn’t in the past.
Using technology correctly helps students to work together to achieve a task and also to solve complex issues. The vast majority of employers will definitely require these skills in the future as the economy becomes more and more digitalized.
The study also revealed that students believe that the use of technology in the classroom makes learning more fun and interesting. Students especially like using tablets and laptops for their learning experiences. The teaching of a challenging subject is often more interesting and absorbing for students if they can watch videos about it.
The students that were interviewed firmly believed that using technology in the classroom helped them to retain what they were learning better than if they were reading from a textbook. Another study reinforced this concept where 18 second grade students were given the task to complete a project about a specific animal using Power Point.
When the presentation was completed the study revealed that 16 of the 18 students were able to recall a lot of information about the animal, demonstrating that the use of technology assists in student learning retention.
How does Technology help Students Learn?
Self Paced Learning
Using technology in the classroom helps students to learn at their pace. A student can use technology to learn in accordance with their needs and abilities and it is commonplace now for apps to provide individualized instruction.
This also benefits the teachers as they can provide assistance to individual students who are slower than the rest or who are struggling with a task. For years educators have known that children learn at their own pace and the conventional classroom approach often does not cater for this.
Those students which take a little more time to learn can use technology to go back over what they have learned to ensure that they fully understand it. At the same time, the more advanced students can forge ahead with the next task.
Increased Engagement
A lot of students will have grown up using technology and the chances are that they will know more about using it than some of the teachers. This makes technology based learning easier as they are able to engage with technological devices and they also learn to multi task at the same time.
Interactive learning will help to engage students a lot more. In a conventional classroom situation, it is likely that some students will struggle to maintain their interest and stay on track. Interactive technology helps students to learn more quickly and stay focused on what they are learning.
STEAM or STEM based education incorporates a hands-on approach to learning a variety of topics. This allows students to develop practical skills, critical thinking and problem solving. Some of the more popular STEAM exercises include the use of robots like Codey Rocky, a coding robot.
No Limits to Learning
When students use technology there is no limitation on the way that they can learn about something. They are not reliant on one textbook and have a variety of ways to research a subject. Teachers can use this to provide creative methods to ensure that they keep their students fully engaged in their learning.
Students have access to far more resources with technology in the classroom. They can use apps which teach them a different way to learn about a concept and become a lot more engaged through the features that these apps use to reinforce learning.
Enhanced Teacher / Student Relationships
The correct use of technology can enhance the relationship between a teacher and their students. If students are learning a subject through the use of technology a teacher can develop their role into one of a coach, adviser or content expert.
Up to date Information
One of the major drawbacks of using textbooks for learning is that they quickly become outdated. It is never a good idea to teach students outdated information, and teachers can prevent this with the use of technology as many learning websites are updated on a daily basis.
Conclusion
Our aim with this article was to answer the question “how does technology help students learn?” We believe that we have achieved this by providing the major benefits that the use of technology for learning brings to both students and teachers. We hope that you agree.
