How can technology change the way we learn

In a greater or lesser extent, all teachers and schools have begun to incorporate the technology to plan their classes or study programs, or to equip classrooms with the latest innovations in computers, printers and monitors … Do these actions imply a real introduction of Technology in education ? Or do they only represent the inclusion of electronic devices in classrooms?

To truly say that Technology and Education are united by a common goal, we must talk about the so – called ed-tech initiatives , which through different means intend to create and facilitate educational processes using appropriate technological resources. These initiatives seek to improve students’ performance and learning by combining knowledge from both areas.

The most common when we talk about the incidence of Technology in Education is to think of the combination of educational theory with the use of physical hardware in the classroom (incorporating screens in which to display multimedia content or individual computers for students), or Outside it (computer-aided training, online learning, distance learning, etc.).

Experts of all kinds and color point out that allowing the passage of technology to the classroom is beneficial for schools, teachers and especially for students. But … To what extent? How can technology truly transform education? What would this transformation entail?

Everything seems to indicate that, in the next 100 years, education will no longer be the same and will even be completely different from how we know it now. Among the changes that stand out most, and which represent the major transformations that technology has caused so far or will cause as soon as possible, we can identify:

1) Ability to follow students at every step

By using a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system you will be able to know exactly where the students are, when they do it and what they are doing. This system serves to somehow trace the activities of these in an open classroom, allowing them to offer them a greater orientation at each step. In this way, the students would feel more accompanied in their educational process, what is estimated could improve their learning.

2) Cooperative working groups

Children today know how to handle various electronic devices, so it will not be difficult to implement strategies that require the collaboration of different users of the same platform to perform a task. In this way, integration is encouraged, cooperation is strengthened and the importance of teamwork is strengthened to achieve concrete goals.

3) Interactive Surfaces

In place of the old shared tables, some schools in the world have set out to install interactive surfaces or computers that the members of the table must share to launch collective tasks. With this method and an appropriate multi-touch interface there will no longer be digital illiterates or problems of integration or bullying at school, as it will reinforce the idea of ​​the group and the collaboration among its members.

4) Pupils as teachers

The role of teacher will be modified in such a way that it will be seen as a facilitator, responsible for guiding its students towards their own path of knowledge, allowing students to take a more active role in the construction of their lessons. It will be the students themselves who advise and in a way teach their peers.

Some of these initiatives have already begun to be implemented, others are only assumptions of the experts derived from the analysis of the course currently taken by education, which can only be verified or rejected completely over time. However, the mere possibility that these changes are generated invites us to rethink the way we approach and understand Education .

Faced with the imminent arrival of these and many other changes, it is essential to rethink education and its application in today’s society .