Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Pros and cons of technology

In the first IT session, we discussed how technology can be a great asset in the classroom, as long as it works correctly and the teacher and the learners know how to use it and utilise it properly.  

There are many good and bad points of technology:

Good points

- Technology limits the needs for people to be in one location. For example, if there is a meeting or lesson where people are in different locations, they can use technology such as web cams or TED talks, where they can still participate in the sessions and not miss anything.

- Technology also aids with spelling and grammar as software such as Microsoft Word has auto correction within the document or selected text.    

- Another benefit to technology is that it makes information portable.  Pembrokeshire College and other educational establishments, use a recourse is called ‘MOODLE’.  MOODLE allows lecturers to upload various types of information and other useful resources onto it, which then can be accessed through any computer or portable device that has an internet connection, whether in the College or at home.

- As there are many different types of technology, it can accommodate the different learning styles of the learners. 

- Learners or teachers can also modify work easily, without wasting paper.

- The behaviour and attendance records of all learners can be tracked easily, with the use of online registers and a resource that Pembrokeshire College use on NEXUS called the e-ILP, where different information such as the behaviour concerns can be noted. 

Bad points

Although technology has many benefits, it also has some bad points.

- With all the different components and software’s that computers rely on, there is always a possibility that it will malfunction or break. 

- Technology can also be unreliable, for example, it may disconnect from the Wi-Fi internet, as mentioned above it may malfunction or break or some software’s may not work.    

- All the different technology that is used in Colleges and other establishments can be expensive.  With nearly all classrooms and workshops within Pembrokeshire College have electronic whiteboards that cost a few hundred pounds each, those alone are expensive.  If any of the technology needs repairs then more money will have to be spent to fix the issues. 

- In recent years technology has greatly developed and most schools and colleges are adapting in the way they are teaching, although many teachers are not computer literate and may be intimidated by all the technology, which may cause the lecture to not utilise it, or simply they cannot use it. 

- If there is a classroom task that involves smart phones, this may cause the students to get distracted and will make it hard to get them to put their phones away when that task is complete. 

- Another bad point about technology is that the work that is used may be outdated if the work is shared between staff. 

- Technology in the classroom can be a good thing, but it has to be used in the correct ways to ensure that we are getting the most out of it.

There is more information about the use of technology in the classrooms on the following site.    
 
 
 
References
YUPPEE Mag. 'Could you live without technology?' 2013.
[Accessed: 21st October 2014]  (Picture)

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