Education and Technology

We live in a world where nearly everything is ‘tech.’ We are glued to our mobile phones from morning to night - gaining knowledge through social media and websites. We download apps to learn new languages and watch YouTube videos to learn how to play musical instruments. Yet, when it comes to learning in the classroom, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible; many universities still require students to purchase print textbooks and we lecture at students as they sit passively. I’m encouraged by the innovative approaches I’ve seen some professors take, as they adopt more technology in the classroom and I think that will only accelerate as they learn and gain access to new and helpful tools.

Of course, what technology looks like in ten years may change pretty dramatically. Innovation in AI, for instance, is happening at a rapid pace. While I don’t think AI tutors and teaching assistants will ever replace teachers, I do think that machine learning algorithms will help educators on non-priority tasks - like reading directions out loud, grading standardized tests, taking attendance - so educators can focus on more 1-on-1 time with students and on the more thoughtful activities only a human can do, like forming arguments, writing critically, and initiating more interesting and compelling discussions.

Instructors have been working to create a more dynamic classroom experience for decades. This has taken shape in experiments with flipped classrooms, as well as a heavy emphasis on group work and peer collaboration.

At the same time, by incorporating digital quizzes and assessments, videos, simulations, and gamification elements into course content, educators can create a dynamic learning experience for each student on an individual level. By capitalizing on the digital habits of students, the classroom can be filled with interactivity regardless of the class size or topic.

However, in many ways, technology has profoundly changed education. For one, technology has greatly expanded access to education. In medieval times, books were rare and only an elite few had access to educational opportunities. Individuals had to travel to centers of learning to get an education. Today, massive amounts of information (books, audio, images, videos) are available at one’s fingertips through the Internet, and opportunities for formal learning are available online worldwide through the Khan Academy, MOOCs, podcasts, traditional online degree programs, and more. Access to learning opportunities today is unprecedented in scope thanks to technology.

Sugata Mitra shared his wish at TED2013. In November 2013, the first School in the Cloud learning lab — located inside a high school in Killingworth, England — opened its doors to students. Since then, six more learning labs have been built — one more in the UK and five across India.

Sugata Mitra has also launched the School in the Cloud platform which ensures that anyone, anywhere, can experiment with self-organized learning. As of 2016, more than 16,000 SOLE sessions have taken place globally, with partner learning labs and programs scatted across the world — including in Pakistan, Colombia and Greece. The platform debuted at TED2014, with Microsoft and their Skype Social Good team stepping in to provide core technology and connect a global community. Made By Many, the product design partners, and IDEO, the research design partners, co-created the experience. Newcastle University opened SOLE Central in 2014, as a global hub for research on self-organized learning. The platform is managed at the university's Culture Lab.

David Crystal has talked about the changes in English language after arriving of certain technologies. He has given example of printing, Telephone, broadcasting, and internet. He says that every time with new technology, new language also introduced to suit that technology. He also talked about the text messages and twitter. He refers to the short length of messages and tweet and says that has bring the abbreviation of the words in use. People tend to think that this abbreviation will ruin the English language but he says that it is not so. These abbreviation of is only 10 percent in the text. Other 90 percent remain the standard English or any English which is used by people. So he basically throws the light on how with the arrival of new technology, people also think and write in new way. Technology bring the new aspect of language, or new way of writing language.

No doubt, all education will continue to be valuable and necessary. Students and people will need to continue to adapt to technology, continue to want to learn, and continue to stay motivated in their own self-development.