The Ups and Downs of Learning Through Technology

Most schools in the United States will resume in-person learning during the 2021-2022 school year. However, that does not mean that learning through technology has to stop.

The Covid pandemic in 2020, brought a sharp increase in the use of technology in education. For more than a year, many students have had to transition to online learning for some or all of their courses. That has certainly not been an ideal situation, but it has brought new opportunities along with it. In fact, technology has proven that, if used wisely, it can be a useful tool in education to enhance students’ learning and to close learning gaps.

Learning Through Technology in the Classroom

For example, educators can use technology to help keep content and resources organized and accessible for students. This can be done by creating folders on a drive that students have access to view in and out of school anytime, even from their phones. Students also benefit from the opportunity to upload their assignments to a drive or folder for greater flexibility and without the risk of losing it on the way to school.

Better yet, teachers can use programs online that allow students the opportunity to participate in a lesson and express their thoughts, views, and responses in spoken or written form, such as through a chat or comments feature, while still working collaboratively with their classmates no matter where they are.

This can relieve the anxiety of those students who are shy or reluctant to speak out in class without having to show their faces on camera or speak on a microphone.

Furthermore, using technology provides students access to content and resources that they may not encounter in a classroom, such as virtual reality activities to see places around the world that they may not get the chance to visit or videos that provide review and practice for concepts that might be difficult to grasp in the class.

Funding for Technology

It is important to note, however, that lack of access to equipment and broadband, along with imbalance in the funding for technology, still exists in many parts of the U.S and the world. As a result, many students are not being able to access quality resources and are at a greater risk of failing or, at the very least, expanding the learning gap.
The better school districts budget for technology use, the more beneficial technology will be for students in the long run.

Click here for important information about government funding available for technology and ELL resources.