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Was there ever a time before technology took over our daily lives? It is hard to imagine a world without smartphones and smart devices that help us do all our work in a matter of minutes, that too with minimal effort on our part. Technology has impacted all of the industries and working sectors that we know, and has revolutionized them greatly.
One avenue where technology has had the most impact is education, and it has reshaped the way people learn now. Earlier, learning was restricted to the classroom, or through home tuitions. However, nowadays, the student has become the master because they have access to a dearth of valuable information and skills that they can easily obtain by going online.
Consider piano lessons, for example. A seemingly impossible skill to learn without a physical piano is now possible thanks to the help of Technology. You don’t have to go to an academy to learn how to play piano, or a tutor doesn’t have to come to your house. Rather, it is now possible for you to take online lessons on the go that you can access from anywhere and can also take at your own pace, with just the help of your phone or tablet. You can learn everything you need to know about playing piano, as well as choosing the right instrument or accessories, such as piano pedals.
With that said, let’s have a look at how technology is changing the way we learn.
1. Technology Facilitates Collaborative Learning
Before technology made its way into education, the focus was mostly on individual-based courses. Although peers used to study together, collaborative learning was at a minimum. Thanks to the integration of technological learning methods, learning has become a collaborative activity. This refers to a learning environment where two or more people learn together through an online course or training program.
Collaborative learning helps students to solve problems together by working together and discussion, thus giving each student an active part in the learning process. In today’s world, collaboration is a necessity that is made possible through a number of tools and resources that enable students to share documents, notes, and much more.
Therefore, technology has greatly enhanced the learning process, and it has also made it easier for students who have trouble learning on their own. Now they can learn along with their peers and also make use of learning tools to facilitate their learning.
2. Transition to Active Learning
Earlier, education was largely passive and highly dependent on the teacher and the methods they used to communicate the course content to their students. However, technology has caused a paradigm shift from traditional or passive learning to active learning, where students have a more important role to play in how and what they learn, as well as the pace at which they can conduct their learning process.
Students are no longer empty containers that can be filled by teachers through hours and hours of lectures, and now their expectations have also changed with the integration of technology into learning. They are more receptive when they have a say in how they should be taught, and have more control over their lessons.
Active learning is made possible through a series of mobile and desktop applications that students have unrestricted access to. Whenever they want, they can simply open up their lectures and start listening to them. Moreover, they can repeat a certain part of the lecture, or the whole lecture countless times if they need to understand something in greater depth. This is something they couldn’t do in a passive learning environment.
3. The Increase in Personalized Learning
As mentioned above, education and learning has become largely active due to the development of learning platforms and mobile apps that make learning on the go a possibility. Moreover, through technology, there has also been a major increase in personalized learning, where each student gets complete control over how much they want to learn over a certain period of time, and they can also tailor their learning according to certain factors, such as schedule, abilities, priorities, etc.
The need for personalized learning has increased over the years, because educators have finally realized that there is no predefined formula or template that works for every student in the same way. Therefore, a flexible approach works best to fulfill the learning requirements of every student in a group.
Not only does technology help individual students, but it also helps teachers understand each student’s needs separately, something that they weren’t able to do in a traditional classroom setup. Most of the time, students are also unable to open up about their learning difficulties due to a certain pressure that they feel from their peers. Through technology, such students have an avenue to control their learning.
4. Technology Makes Multi-Tasking Easier
Another way in which technology has brought innovation into learning is in the way that students can now multitask along with their education. The era of smartphones and other devices has made it easier for students to multitask and give equal priority to all aspects of their life. Students are now able to train their minds to handle different tasks, projects, assignments, lessons, and much more during the day, so that they don’t feel overloaded or exhausted by it.
However, multitasking can be quite challenging for some students, especially those who find it difficult to focus on different things at the same time. Their brain isn’t equipped to deal with multiple tasks at the same time, and this can become a focal point of stress for them. Generally, dealing with multiple tasks has become easier due to technology.
In a nutshell, technology has completely transformed learning for the better, and with the presence of learning platforms and mobile apps, students have more control over how and what they want to learn. Not only can they learn at their own pace, but they can also tailor their courses according to their schedule and other tasks. Along with students, teachers are also coming round to the idea of technology-based active learning, which enables them to teach in a modern and efficient manner.
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