Introduction
I am going to write about technology making education more accessible to all. First of all, I am going to write about what technology is in today’s world, and then I am going to write a definition of education. I am also going to write about the advantages of technology making education more accessible to all, but also the down falls of technology and then I am going to conclude this article by writing what I think about using technology for making education more accessible to all.
But a few points need to be raised:
1- Understanding what technology is in today’s world
The definition of technology in a dictionary is “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes”. In this article, practical purposes means for education and technology in today’s world is about using technical instruments for the purpose of education.
2- A definition of education
The definition of education in a dictionary is “the process of educating or being educated, the theory and practice of teaching, information about or training in a particular subject.” Education is not only going to school and learning in books it’s also knowing history of our past, having good manners, being able to talk about the world, being able to write an article, building our personality…
3- Advantages of technology
In today’s world we use computers, i-Pads, eBooks, web cams, printers, scanners, phones, digital cameras, filming machines… Thanks to all these technical instruments communication and education have become much easier, such as applying to university or for a job, information for school work or learning a language. Everything is much faster and much more accessible. For example: I am writing this article on the computer and I am going to send it by internet, so it’s going to get to the juries much faster than if I was writing it by hand and sending it by post. Most people in rich countries own a computer or have access to one. My school gave me one.
4-Down falls of technology
The down fall of technology is that nothing is physical; you are not taking a pen for example and writing with it. Writing by hand gives a personal touch which a typed document does not have. With technology you are either typing or pressing buttons. That is technology in today’s world. People rely too much on technology; it’s becoming life and death. For example: your brother has sent you an email and is asking you how you are. In the case that you are unhappy, you have the choice to either reply that you are fine because it’s too long to explain way you are not happy and in that case he will never know it and will not hear your tone of voice and see your facial expression; or you can say that you are unhappy but the risk is that he won’t understand your feelings because you are not talking face to face. The solution of a web cam is good but only for short periods of time because you can’t stay there all day, you need to do other things and it’s not the same as meeting in person.
Conclusion
In my opinion, I don’t think that technology can help to make education accessible to all. Technology can be used for particular educational purposes like researching information or submitting an article. Poor people don’t have these instruments but they can still learn because education is also about living with people face to face. It is sad that life is going at the speed of light.
Hello Cookie!
Yes, technology has made sending and receiving information much easier. Yes, this is not as effective as communicating face-to-face. I took a couple of online courses when I was studying at university. I found these were not as effective as the in-class courses that I took. I learned a lot more from interacting with my professors and my colleagues in the classroom. I was able to build relationships with them through face-to-face communications but I couldn’t do the same through the online courses.
The teacher-student interactions in person are an essential part of formal education as students are greatly influenced by how they feel about their teacher. Teachers do not simply give information, instructions and tests. They help to build morale, motivation and character through their example, their tone, their facial expressions and their gestures which they convey in person to their students. While technology can make information more accessible to all who have access to the technology, technology cannot necessarily make the quality of face-to-face education accessible to all.
It is true that technology cannot let us reach out and cry on a brother’s shoulder or hug a friend. We are human beings, not machines, and so we need to feel connected to each other. Emoticons like sad faces, smiley faces, hearts and flowers help to express how we are feeling but that is certainly not the same as sharing our feelings in person.
On the bright side, technology allows us to reach out and communicate with people we have never met. We can share information about ourselves, our hopes and our dreams. We can discover that we all have much in common. We can use technology to stay in touch, to exchange lessons that we have learned from previous difficult experiences, to share our current challenges and find solutions together, to pool our knowledge and design projects together to create a better world…Technology opens up possibilities.
Instead of looking at technology as a poor substitute for the medium of soulful in-person communication, perhaps we can look at technology as providing us with new possibilities that complement in-person communications. Without computers and the internet, I would not have this wonderful informal learning opportunity of seeing life through your eyes. I would not be having this ‘aha’ moment right now thinking how right you are that education is also about living with people face-to-face. This is perhaps the most important part of education and we grownups forget this part so quickly. Thank you for reminding us.
Starlight
Cookie, this is such a great article – so interesting and so well written. Lots of food for thought!
God bless you cookie! 🙂
Hi Cookie,
Awesome effort, especially considering that you are only 11 years old and that english is probably not your first language. You are very mature and open- minded for your age. I can see your writings going from strength to strength in the future.
Keep on writing and hone your skills.
Regards
Eshlin (17) from South Africa
Great blog post – thank you, Cookie!
look at technology, i had just clicked the button, without typing who i was.
I am Vijayashree. I am only, just learning, how best, to use, technology, and I feel so old and outdated, when compared, to the rest.
You live in better times, cookie, where you are having choices. When we were educated, there was no choice and boy, did i get thrashed,by the teachers. I used to have welts on my arms, when i came back home, from school and i was, all, of five,
If technology, had been available then, may be I could have avoided seeing the faces of those wicked teachers, for whom children were only good for whipping.
You live in better times, thankfully, and I am glad to know, that you love that face to face teaching, glad that you will never know the trauma called corporal punishment, which can make a psychological wreck of anyone.
I also feel, that children like you must be rare, these days, where i see everyone glued to their gadgets,rather than be out,playing in the outdoors.