How technology has changed the way we learn

There is nowhere to hide from technology; it is everywhere. It's in our homes, in our work and in our classrooms. The advancements in technology are designed to improve our lives, and we should embrace this. Especially as teachers. 

Some of the strongest pressure comes from students asking ‘this tutor puts stuff online for us – why don’t you?’(Hill, 2008)

 Hill discusses how students expect technology to be used in their education, and they have the right too. I am still a student myself and I expect to use computers through my learning. I expect to be able to go onto my universities virtual learning enviroment (VLE) and have access to all the resources. The use of technology through education should improve the way we learn. 

(Petty 2009) Poses the question, nevermind the dazzle of the technology, the glittering images, and the clever graphics and funny animations – what about the learning? If you don't know how to use the technology to improve learning, then it can just look like a gimic to get students involed, but it's not. The use of virtual learning enviroments allow students to have access to their academic resources whenever they need it. Students no longer need to be in a classroom enviroment to learn. Technology should improve the learning, but it should be a tool that aids the learning, and it's a powerful one. It becomes the question of selecting the appropiate tool for a praticular aspect of the learning. Sometimes this is an e-learning tool, sometimes it's not. (Hill 2008)

If we don’t teach our students how to find trustworthy computer resources, and how to learn from these, then we are not preparing them for real life, or for ‘lifelong learning’, or for progression on to their next course. 

(Petty 2009) 

Petty is telling us that learning doesn't stop in the classroom, or after education. People learn everyday, and as teachers we are supposed to encourage 'lifelong learning'. How can our students become lifelong learners if they are not equipment with the right tools for the job. People learn everyday; using Youtube tutorials to learn how to cook a meal, or reading resources for a new software package that has been installed at work. Students need to know how to progress with the developing technology, and they need to know how to use it for their own benefit. 

 

Hill, Chris  Teaching with e-learning in the Lifelong Learning Sector, 2008 Accessed at: http://www.uk.sagepub.com/books/Book238394?siteId  Accessed on: 24/11/2014

  Geoff, Petty ‘Students learning with computers: e-learning, ICT and ILT’ in Teaching Today: A Practical Guide (Nelson Thornes 4^th Ed, 2009)