Modern Technology in Education & Tools for a new generation

Modern technology and digital mediums have a lot to offer to the world of education. Through creating more interactive learning experiences, digital technology is already furthering the potential for new and innovative teaching methods. Students are able to learn from anywhere in the world, (provided they have Internet access), and tools such as virtual museum tours, 3D topographic maps, or virtual dissection allow students to extend their learning beyond the classroom. Furthermore, tools such as simulators, real-time live feeds, and video blogs allow students to connect the curriculum to real life problems, this sort of application on knowledge provides a far more meaningful understanding.

Ok, so we’ve established that technology can further learning; now lets consider why students are more responsive to it. Daily exposure to interactive technology, such as computers, smart phones, and video games stimulates brain cell alteration and neurotransmitter release, gradually strengthening new neural pathways and weakening others. Basically the students are adapting to the influx of technology of modern technology into the day-to-day life. There has even been some debate about whether this is affecting the way in which children move through their cognitive development.

Student are quickly becoming visual and/or kinaesthetic learners, rather than auditory or text based. This could have serious implications for their education. For example, most traditional teaching methods are centred on a textbook or teacher, this means that visual learners will suffer. Most digital mediums however rely on visual cues and ‘learning through doing’ approaches. By allowing these types of approaches into the classroom students are engaged in ways that are responsive to their changing cognitive development.

The influx of modern technology into our daily lives has not only affected our brains but has also affected the business world too. Modern workers often collaborate and communicate through electronic mediums. The working world today is far faster paced than in the past, and it is continually shifting and changing. For this reason it has never been more important for students to develop the necessary cognitive skills to succeed. Those who can be creative, collaborate, and be versatile are far more likely to be successful. Unfortunately the traditional classroom does not support the application of such skills.

In addition to the cognitive skills it helps develop, technology also helps to prepare students for the working world in other ways. Computer literacy is vital in the 21st century for so many jobs, and without an understanding of technology students could experience a very limited career choice.