From an early age, our next generation is now living on electronic devices. Mobile devices are indispensable in our lives. They provide comfort and improve the quality of our living. However, some situations are better than the old ways, just like teaching in front of a classroom full of students.
Changes like using a projector for a more futuristic image of the object, use of websites for blogging, enrollment online, and even online teaching in front of a computer or mobile device have been the method nowadays. Mainly, the reason is to catch the attention of students and to prolong their attention span. However, even with significant changes, can mobile devices innovate the education system?
Pros
In social media and other applications, blogs are now increasing. It benefits the internet by not just providing traffic, but it helps the community to be aware. Same with our students, they are very fond of blogging to help awareness in school topics. Blogging allows students to bridge their ideas. It accepts a wide variety of students to share their knowledge on a specific topic or subject.
Data sharing of students can become digital artifacts. They can be taken and used for research and further better management. With mobile devices always available in their hands, they can share their thoughts and ideas about the topics in school. That is when data is shared and expanded by the group.
An expression can be done in many forms. The use of mobile devices breaks the generation gap between students and teachers. Some older adults find younger people to have been very skeptical with policy implementations. However, with digital learning, subjects allow their students to be more expressive. For example, a silent student during the classroom can post her emotion on social media. She expresses her feeling better in the digital world, unlike the real world we live in.
Digital learning allows students to explore their learning styles. Unlike in schools, where teachers will read texts from books and discuss the lesson. Students with audio and visual learning will catch student’s attention. The audio and visual learning through projectors allows students to see realistic lessons learned taught in the classroom.
Like culture and artifacts from the previous dynasty, students can see virtually images and videos from that period, and they need not go to the museum. It ticks the student’s interest and provides a better understanding.
Transparency is better in online learning. Teachers can do quizzes using quiz maker applications. These applications offer quizzes in a fun method. They also have a timer for each question that prevents students from cheating. The applications can readily give the results of students. With students knowing their immediate score, they will try to achieve more in the future.
Another thing that can greatly help is the student-friendly applications. Some of these applications have mnemonics that allow students to memorize lessons per subject in a very interesting manner. Applications like e-books work as a paperless book, which allows students to read the lesson anywhere and anytime. Another is, e-books are usually free. Which, therefore, students need not buy books.
Cons
Simulation of activities done with digital learning. The problem with simulation, though, is it limits students to individual performances. A group cannot do projects like singing, dancing, or painting. It is done individually in digital learning.
Real-world processing is difficult to achieve. Real-world activities like on-the-job training and some subjects like laboratory experiments, kinetic assessments, and others can never be taught in the digital world. These activities are essential with some related topics. An example is for medical students that need to practice CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). But without real-world scenarios, one can never get the correct process. Those were community-based activities that need practical output.
With helping tools like e-books, more students will engage with mobile device usage. There had been a theory that books will be replaced. There is no problem with having a paperless community. Besides the waste management it offers, it can help poor students to limit expenses in school. However, the good thing about books is the editing of facts. Books are more reliable with information since they went through processes of proper investigation. Unlike with e-books that anyone can edit the information without having validity.
Conclusion
Technology offers convenience in human lives. It does not offer communication only but improves the quality of our education system. Besides, it develops students with multiple learning styles.