What are the Benefits of Using Technology?

Using technology can develop students’ abilities, revolutionize the way they work and think, and provide them with new opportunities.

How would students’ knowledge and skills differ if all computers were removed from schools tomorrow? I don’t think so. Would it be possible to remove all computers from businesses tomorrow? The majority of businesses would be unable to continue operating.

Why do schools continue to operate virtually unchanged by the presence of computers? D’Ignazio (1993) describes how businesses are building electronic highways while education is building electronic dirt roads. Sometimes it’s just as easy to walk on dirt roads.

Computers and other technologies offer educators fewer benefits than they do to businesses? There are many educators who would answer yes, feeling that computers and other technologies are less valuable because education is a humanistic endeavor. As technology becomes more prevalent, more educators are taking advantage of its potential.

Technology includes two components, even though computers and other high-tech electronic tools are often used to define it: a product, which acts as the tool that embodies the technology, and a process, which serves as the information base. Technology and technological processes have a great deal to offer schools.

New technologies pass through three stages, according to John Naisbitt’s Megatrends (1982). A new technology follows the “line of least resistance” into a ready market in the first stage of its development. A new technology is then improved or replaced with a previous technology at the second stage. Lastly, users discover new uses for the technology based on its potentials in the third stage. “What can we do now that wasn’t possible before?” Education is just entering the third stage of the use of modern electronic technologies.

The Top 10 Reasons to Use Technology

1. Different students learn and develop at different rates. It is possible to individualize instruction using technology. Students can follow individual learning paths through computer networks called integrated learning systems. There are thousands of lessons available on such systems that cover the same basic skills that are taught in textbooks to groups of students with a wide range of backgrounds, interests, and motivations. A calendar-based learning system tends to create shaky foundations of basic skills since students move at a slower pace in a non-threatening setting. An integrated learning system allows students to move at their own pace in a non-threatening environment.
2. Graduates must be able to access, evaluate, and communicate information effectively. Education technologies can, by design, encourage students to raise questions, engage in debates, formulate opinions, solve problems, and engage in critical thinking. Students can gather and evaluate information online and communicate their thoughts and findings using online tools and resources. Depending on the nature of the communication, reading, thinking, writing, creating charts, graphs, or other images may be required, as well as organizing and creating information using spreadsheets and databases.
3. Technology can improve the quality and quantity of students’ thinking and writing. The development of students’ writing is perhaps one of the best documented successes of computers in education. There are a number of features of word processors that seem to reduce the phobia associated with writing. It is easier to take creative and grammatical risks when writing on a computer because it has a temporary feel. Having trouble with handwriting does not translate to a difficult time using a word processor because fine motor skills are not required. The editing and revising process can be completed almost as quickly as one thinks, and the product printed from a word processor has a professional quality that gives it a sense of accomplishment.
   
4. Graduates must be able to solve complex problems. A higher-level process skill can’t be “taught” in the traditional sense; it can’t be passed from teacher to student directly. These skills must be developed by students themselves, with appropriate guidance. It is essential that students struggle with the questions they have posed and search for their own answers. The introduction of productivity tools in the classroom could revolutionize the way students work and think. Students can independently organize, analyze, interpret, develop, and evaluate their own work using databases, spreadsheets, computer-aided design, graphics programs, and multimedia authoring programs (programs for creating computer-based presentations or lessons). In addition to engaging students in focused problem solving, these tools allow them to test and retest solution strategies and display results immediately.
5. The use of technology can nurture artistic expression. The use of modern technology in art forms like video production, digital photography, animation, and the like has great appeal, allowing students from diverse backgrounds to express themselves. As students evaluate the many possible ways to communicate ideas, these tools provide forms of artistic communication for students who have been restricted by traditional verbal and written communication. They increase motivation and foster creative problem-solving skills as they evaluate these many possibilities.
6. A graduate must be able to utilize resources available outside of the school and be globally aware. The classroom and school are the only places children can discover during the school day. Students can reach around the world inexpensively and instantly with technological tools, learning about other cultures first-hand. Computer-based wire services can bring a newsroom-quality stream of current events into the classroom, and a variety of technologies can provide up-to-date maps and demographic statistics.
7. The use of technology creates opportunities for students to do meaningful work. It is important that students produce products that have value outside of the classroom, receive feedback on their work, and participate in exhibitions or publications. The use of technology can provide students with a wider audience for their work. Computers provide new opportunities for students to write, provide new reasons to write, and provide new feedback sources. Video products produced by students and shown on local cable stations can motivate and inspire students.
8. The education system must provide high-quality, high-interest courses for all students. Using electronic media in the classroom can provide students with experiences and information they had not previously imagined. Through instructional television, students can view and discuss events that they might otherwise not be able to attend. There are thousands of images and topics available to students through laserdiscs and CD-ROMs. The technology of distance education can provide students with important learning opportunities, even in areas with small student populations.
9. It is important for students to feel comfortable using the tools of the Information Age. Students live in a world where computers and other technologies are becoming increasingly important. Today’s information producers are converting their knowledge bases to digital formats and constructing new technologies to speed up, expand, and improve dissemination. A combination of telephones, computers, televisions, and other media will create an incredible amount of information. Students will not be able to take advantage of these resources if their education is based on the “I tell you, you tell me, I grade you” model.
10. The productivity and efficiency of schools must be increased. The teacher can be replaced (not replaced) by technology. Teachers can be elevated to a higher level of responsibility when stage-three educators determine what students should do and how they can be supported by technology.

There are some things that only teachers can do. It is possible for teachers to build strong, productive relationships with students. It’s impossible for technology to do it. Students can be motivated to love learning by teachers. Technologies can’t. A teacher can identify a student’s emotional needs and meet those needs. Technology can’t do it. The use of technology-based solutions in education can and must free the teacher to engage in the important work of interacting with students, continuously evaluating them, and improving the learning environment.

Using technology, individualized lesson sequences can be administered that branch and remediate according to each student’s unique needs, progress can be tracked quickly and automatically, data can be analyzed, and reports can be generated. Computer-based tools allow teachers to quickly create individualized communications to parents, create lesson plans, and select instructional materials from a rich resource database. The efficiency of record keeping and communication can be greatly improved if entire schools or districts use such capabilities.

The Use of Technology in Schools

Educators have been using computers at stage two for some time now-creating puzzles, delivering instruction, assessing student progress, and producing reports. The use of computers in the classroom has actually increased rather than decreased teachers’ workload, unlike their use in business. It has been reported by many teachers that computers spend more time turned off than on, and that money spent on maintenance might have been better spent on other instructional materials.

Computers in the classroom are hard to justify for these teachers. There is no compelling need to add computers to schools, but many have done so as a result of parental demand.

In contrast, educators who have moved to stage three are asking, “How can these new tools contribute to a more powerful educational experience?” Instead of simply trying to squeeze technological tools into the existing bricks of yesterday’s educational practices, these educators seek a paradigm shift.

Technology is used to determine needs and design appropriate solutions (see Banathy 1991, Reigeluth 1991). Their graduates are evaluated based on future demands and the characteristics of their students and community. As part of their investigation, they look at what is known about the learning process and investigate the tools and techniques that can be used. Then, they design a number of alternatives based on the results of their assessment. The educators at stage three understand that the student’s performance is what counts. After determining what students must do, they determine appropriate roles for professionals and technological tools.

Technological Advancements

Educators will be encouraged to experiment with new ways of interacting with technologies when they allow students to do so for long periods of time. An innovative educator in Bellevue, Washington, Chris Held, stated in an E-mail message to us, “Technology is often the Trojan Horse through which innovation enters schools.” It will inspire educators to take more frequent and larger steps into stage three when they see students so engaged in learning that they lose track of time, when they see a level of excitement that causes them to come to school early and stay late, and to have time to build strong relationships with students and meet their individual needs.

It is now possible for educators to fulfill their age-old dreams thanks to modern technological tools. Individualizing instruction is possible. Simulations can be used to teach students important relationships and construct new knowledge. The tools can even be put into the hands of students and they can steer them to the destinations they envision. It’s also possible to lose much of the potential these tools have by using them for the same tasks we’ve been doing for years. According to George Leonard: Now … in the space age, the reformers are offering the nation an educational horse and buggy. In addition to improving the buggy, they would pay the driver more and keep the passengers in it for longer periods. The only difference would be that it would still be a horse and buggy (1984).

The use of technology tools and processes can enable us to go beyond polishing the buggy for a longer ride. Keith Geiger, president of the National Education Association, summarized the problem well: The problem is that we are too timid to reorganize our schools deeply rather than superficially. The only way to stop undermining this new technology’s educational potential is to stop being timid (1990).

Thousands of pioneers in classrooms around the world are pushing back education’s boundaries, in an effort to avoid the dirt road designed for horse and buggy travel. The new school is designed to help students learn rather than just teach, instead of starting with a systematically designed blueprint. These pioneers turn technologies into powerful tools.

Technology Should be Used by Everyone

Our lives can be made easier and more enjoyable with the help of the latest technology. Technological advancements can improve the world for mankind. People can use it to solve their problems. It is possible to save many people’s lives by using technology in the fight against deadly diseases. It is possible to accomplish more work in a shorter amount of time. By using the latest technology, we can save a lot of time. We can exchange information and communicate with people around the world.

This is one way in which technology aids us in all aspects of our lives and makes them easier and more enjoyable. Our communication has improved as a result of it. As a result, we are able to move more easily. The Internet gives us access to information about anything in the world. It is important for everyone to use technology for the following reasons.

Using it Saves us a Lot of Time

We can save time in a variety of ways with the help of technology. Online maps and GPS systems are useful when you’re traveling to a new city and you don’t know where to go. If you’re not familiar with the place and don’t know where to go, you can use them. You can reach your destination without any difficulty in no time. There is no need to ask people or use paper maps to find your way. It takes a long time to do that.

In addition to helping us in different industries and offices, it also helps us in our personal lives. With the help of technology, we can manage and store data very easily in a very short period of time. We can accomplish a great deal and save time at the same time. A simple app can also let you book a room at any hotel without leaving your home. This doesn’t require you to visit the hotel. This makes it extremely beneficial for us to make our work easy and simple by utilizing the latest technology.

Getting More Information

It is a world of technology today. Technology provides us with different methods for gaining more knowledge. The Internet allows us to get all the information we need in the world. By using it, you will be able to learn and gain knowledge in a better way. This is why it is beneficial to use the latest technologies for this purpose. Our studies are greatly aided by it in a variety of ways. Technology allows us to interact and exchange ideas with a wide range of people around the world. As a result, we gain more and more knowledge.

Our Lives are Made Easier by It

Technology simplifies and simplifies many aspects of our lives. Bills can be paid online instead of going to the bank and standing in long lines. The only thing we need to do is download an app on our mobile phones, and we will be able to pay all our bills from our homes without any problem. The GPS system can point you to the nearest gas station or gas station if you are going somewhere and your car is running low on fuel. It is very easy to find the nearest one this way.