It seems as though technology is taking over the world; from mobile phones to social media, poking the screen of a piece of plastic and 10 minutes later a pizza arrives at your door, it is enmeshed in our daily lives like never before.
There are so many different uses and benefits of technology, it only takes a trip to your local supermarket to discover the glorious invention of the self-checkout counter and how fast it is to buy groceries. But, can we use technology to help develop learning skills? Can technology improve our ability to retain information and understand difficult theories, which were previously taught by teachers, without the aid of technology?
There is an abundance of research dedicated to the topic of technology and learning. According to some of this research, game-based learning can develop various skills, where the interactive element of games can help students to develop cognitive (mental processes/thinking) and metacognitive (understanding your own style of learning) skills. Game-based learning has become popular over the last few years and the reason for this late development is probably because games aren’t usually associated with learning. However, some are now being produced with learning and education in mind. As well as improving cognitive functioning and metacognition, educational games are also a fantastic motivation booster for all ages. Yes, students of any age can benefit from playing educational games, so don't be afraid to try a couple yourself regardless of whether you are the knee height of a grasshopper or a graduate of the university of life approaching your twilight years :)
Amongst other things, Education City (an online, learning oriented games platform) helps students to improve their decision-making skills, by allowing them the freedom to choose a game or activity to complete…simple, yet effective!
One example of a subject area where technology has a beneficial impact on learning, is languages. With the help of the internet, people can converse with others from all over the world! No need to splash out on a trip to Spain to immerse yourself in the language… just make a friend on interactive web pages like Italki and away you go!
So, this might make you wonder.... if technology is so great, why do students need a person to teach them and talk them through concepts and theories at all? Well, it’s important for students to have human interaction whilst learning, to help to develop their social skills and absorb the rich human qualities offered by face to face interaction, which computers just can't offer. Also, educators are necessary to guide students and help them to avoid confusion amongst the seemingly endless jungle of (sometimes unhelpful) information throughout their technology enhanced educative journey.
So, whilst technology can provide a great foundation, a real life mentor can help consolidate ideas or, if a student becomes stuck at a certain point, the tutor can step in to offer appropriate personal advice, tailoring and adjusting their explanation based on what works for that student.
There you have it; technology not only helps students to improve the acquisition and learning of knowledge, but it has the ability to help students to improve life skills too… that’s why we entwine personal contact, paper-based learning and technology in our sessions here at INICIO (and why it works so perfectly) :)