In order to address the learning challenges that are present in contemporary society
It was decided to conduct research on the subject of digital technology and its effects on learning. I now know that there are many issues and problems with digital technology, particularly those that relate to performance development. The technologies and apps created for the education industry have merely served as catalysts for raising educational standards. In addition, there is an aspect of digital divide that I realized during the exploratory research in that many learning institutions do not have the technology infrastructure to adopt these digital learning innovations.
My work during the research
My work during the research was an in-depth research on the positive outcomes on student learning experience and the common criticisms that are launched against the digital learning software. During the analysis of the literature I accessed, I realized that there is a great need to develop digital learning technologies that focus on the teacher and the learner. The software developed into the future should be customized to address the specific challenges that a learner or the instructor faces under the traditional setting of a classroom. This is the best way that positive outcomes will be realized through the application of digital technology as a motivating factor to the students.
The difficulties I encountered during the research exploration
The difficulties I encountered during the research exploration in this subject matter include the unavailability of reliable data on the application of technologies on specific reputable institutions. This lead to a change in the methodology used for this project resulting to analysis of the existing literature on the subject. I overcame the obstacles by delving on the specific issues of interest that would help in generating conclusive information of the impacts of digital technology on learning.
Impacts of digital technology on education
Introduction
The technology age has affected every sector of the society as it is embraced by the people to help them deal with challenges that face them. Digital technology has been applied in the learning environment in contemporary times to aid students in learning. The major advantage of this technology is that it makes the student have curiosity and the necessary skills to be innovative to exploit the opportunities brought digital media. Notably, learning technologies helps significantly in the delivery of the learning curriculum without improving the individual capability in terms of improvement of grades by the students. The learning content is made clearer and the method of teaching becomes more lively and engaging.
Purpose of the study
This study is an exploratory research on the influences of the digital technology in the learning environment. Technology matters a lot in the modern education curriculum because its adoption has affected the learning environment leading to a lot of improvements and challenges as well. This has led to extensive research studies to establish whether technology adds educational value to the institutions or it is just an enabling factor. This subject matter is intellectually engaging because of the existent public debates among the educators challenging the contribution of technology to better learning methods. The quality of education is at stake in this case, and deployment of enabling technology is crucial to realize better delivery of the curriculum to the student.
Thesis
Research findings over time have confirmed that digital technologies play a significant role in improving the learning by a student. However, there are major difficulties in identifying the direct benefits of adopting the technologies as they act as enablers. The major challenge that the education practitioners with regard to the application of the learning technologies is on ensuring that these innovation leads to efficiency and effective processes for the students. This research project will investigate major issues that have emerged from the operationalization of digital technology in the learning environment and the benefits that have been realized among the students.
Literature Review
The facts that have been realized with the deployment of technology in learning environment are that the technology is more effective when applied collaboratively. The main benefit of technology when used over a long time is the ability to improve the learning environment. Tutorial and remedial application of technology can lead to significant improvement for the students who are poor performers. Notably, technology can never be a perfect replacement to the normal teaching process where teachers engage the students more socially and emotionally. There should a lot of precautions in the practical use of technology to ensure that the role of a teacher is not weakened by the technology. The use of technology is education curriculums have led to better learning outcomes because of the improvement in the teaching skills and more significantly the concentration on the aims of the learning exercise.
The implication from the use of technology is that it effectuates change in the learning environment. The big question that must be answered by the proponents of technology for leaners is whether it leads to positive improvement in the delivery of the curriculum and the understanding of the concepts being taught by the educators. The realization of the potential of proper operationalization of the computer technology has necessitated that young people are prepared to have skills in order for them to exploit the possibilities achievable by use of these devices. Furthermore, technology has a direct impact on the emotional and social development of the students.
Embracing digital technologies to aid in education has created enthusiasm for more innovations in this areas making the student major stakeholders in technological advancements. However, allowing the children to access the internet has led to an accompaniment of negative consequences as there is no control on the content they access, especially, relating to its relevance to their studies. The use of the internet as an educational resource has been challenged by scholars because of lack of credibility and the proliferation of information. Additionally, there is no tangible benefit that has been realized due to the adoption of e-learning among the pupils. Some of the motivators employed by the educators to woe the children to embrace digital technologies in learning are through computer games but there is no finding that this would lead to positive reception of the e-learning innovations. Detrimental impacts on the children's health over prolonged use of computers in learning have introduced challenges not envisaged during the adoption of these educational adjustments (Gillen & Barton, 2010).
The digital technologies applied in the education sector have led to convincing concerns on emergent social issues that have not been addressed. This includes such things as addiction to the computer devices and isolation from the social life that is necessary for the school-going children. The pedagogical change and the innovations in technology are growing at different rates making it impossible for the digitalization of learning to be sustainable. The important factor that makes the educator embrace technology is the cost-effectiveness of deploying technology in learning institutions and making the learning environment friendly, together with the ease of access to online learning materials.
Research shows that there are little outcomes from the application of technology but where great efficiency is existent in the deployment then the learning environment changes significantly. Furthermore, modern students are different and some of them are tech-savvy hence technology aids them is a necessity. The internet has revolutionized learning as students are aware of the wide information databases in online platforms that can aid them in their studies. Technology has also been identified as one of the motivating factors, and thus, the students spend more time in learning that it would have happened without the use of technology (Squire, 2011).
Digital technology impact on students that have special needs
Disability hinders the active participation of students in the learning process, making them seem intellectually incapable of competing with other students. The challenge, however, is on teachers who are not conversant with the modern learning technologies that make disabled students participate fully in the learning environment. Communication technologies are effective in the sense that they expand the learning environment beyond the confines of the classroom. The problems of stigmatization are reduced because these students are able to compete within the regular classrooms as digital technology enhances their social life. These students can participate in class assignments that are instructional with other peers who are not disabled through the aid of learning digital technologies (Thompson, 2013).
Solutions from the adoption of the digital learning technologies
Digital technology has the ability to personalize learning, providing curriculum materials that are tailor-made for students with specific needs. Essentially, the educational experience of the student is customized for the specific learning that the student requires. Another important aspect that is associated with digital learning is the accessibility of the learning materials and classrooms over a wide geographical area for a better learning experience and environment. This gives the student a leveled ground with regard to opportunities to access learning materials and classwork from peers in other schools. Digital learning creates a new aspect of connecting the students to the job market hence helping them in choosing their career paths (Beetham & Sharpe, 2013).
The efficiency in learning as a result of proper implementation of digital technology makes it easy for the students to understand and practically apply the knowledge gained in the classroom. Other advantages of applying e-learning are the ease of research and access to information from other peers using a different curriculum to ensure the students are competitively trained. Children who employ technology in their education are more motivated and interested in expanding their knowledge (Buckingham, 2013).
Methodology
An explorative analysis of the literature available on the internet platforms on successful deployment of learning technologies will help in understanding this research topic. Basing the argument on the necessity of technologies to improve the learning environments, a meta-analysis of the data from various studies will be relevant in understanding the transformation of education curriculums in this digital era. These studies from the UK and the USA have illustrated that there is a very insignificant relationship between the technologies and the performance of the students. The synthesis from the combined analysis of the findings on studies on the application of digital technologies in different education curriculums informs the method used to survey these two countries for the purposes of understanding the research topic better.
Making inferences from meta-analysis has helped in establishing the most effective and defective technologies and how each of them has contributed to the learning experience (Collins & Halverson, 2009). Additionally, with meta-analysis, delving into the most recent technologies is necessary as investigation into the developments in the learning technologies is also a priority. This has led to the realization that some of the technologies lead to more positive outcomes for the students than the others. A meta-analysis of various studies leads to the conclusion that focused application of technology leads to a measurable outcome on the students, and group digital learning is more effective compared to individual interaction with the learning technology. The positive impacts of technology are more observable in science and mathematics subjects, and for successful curriculum development based on technology, there is a need for continuous training of the teachers.
Findings and conclusions
Education practice in learning institutions has been revolutionized by digital technology, and this will continue as more innovations are launched in the world. Essentially, on dialogic practice, learning has been enhanced as a result of digital technology, in the sense that students are active and empowered participants in the classroom. Furthermore, students can create avenues for understanding concepts developed from the classroom by citing examples researched from the internet. Connection and augmenting of content from different learning backgrounds are helpful in fostering the understanding of complex topics by the students with the assistance of digital technology. Digital learning gives the students alternatives with regard to their areas of interest, and a lot of investment should be done to ensure that there is equality of access among the students. The teachers and the students are able to get immediate feedback on information necessary for learning, reducing time wastage that is common in accessing learning sources using textbooks.
References
Collins, A., & Halverson, R. (2009). Rethinking education in the age of technology: The digital revolution and schooling in America. Teachers College Press.
Squire, K. (2011). Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age. Technology, Education--Connections (the TEC Series). Teachers College Press. 1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027.
Beetham, H., & Sharpe, R. (Eds.). (2013). Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age: Designing for 21st century learning. routledge.
Buckingham, D. (2013). Beyond technology: Children's learning in the age of digital culture. John Wiley & Sons.
Thompson, P. (2013). The digital natives as learners: Technology use patterns and approaches to learning. Computers & Education, 65, 12-33.
Gillen, J., & Barton, D. (2010). Digital literacies: A research briefing by the technology enhanced learning phase of the teaching and learning research programme. Technology Enhanced Learning Programme.
