Advantages of Technology in Education
In the classroom, technology provides students with a way to expand their knowledge and understanding of subjects. It can also enhance students’ motivation to learn, allowing them to explore new interests and develop new learning strategies. It can also improve classroom morale by providing students with ways to express themselves.
Using technology in the classroom allows teachers to increase productivity and student engagement. Teachers can use digital tools to enhance student learning opportunities, improve instruction methods, and personalize learning experiences. Additionally, schools can save time and money by implementing useful digital tools to support students and teachers. It can be beneficial for students and teachers, but educators need to find a balance.
Using technology in the classroom allows teachers to combine useful student information, including attendance records and mathematics proficiency. Teachers can use this information to identify students who need additional assistance or intervention. They can also use technology to group students together and provide additional support to them. This is more effective than having the students learn separately. Technology in the classroom also allows teachers to pay close attention to individual students.
Aside from improving student performance, technology can also allow students with disabilities to participate in the classroom. With the help of software, they can learn how to spell, read, and perform math computation. Adaptive readers and word processors can also assist students with disabilities in doing research using websites.
5 Advantages of Technology in Education
Before engaging in any new data collection exercise, school systems should take full advantage of existing administrative data that could shed light on these three main questions. This could be in the form of internal evaluations but also international learner assessments, such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and/or the Progress in International Literacy Study (PIRLS), and the Teaching and Learning International Study (TALIS).
But if school systems lack information on their preparedness for ed-tech reforms or if they seek to complement existing data with a richer set of indicators, we developed a set of surveys for learners, educators, and school leaders. Download the full report to see how we map out the main aspects covered by these surveys, in hopes of highlighting how they could be used to inform decisions around the adoption of ed-tech interventions.
There is no single “ed-tech” initiative that will achieve the same results everywhere, simply because school systems differ in learners and educators, as well as in the availability and quality of materials and technologies. Instead, to realize the potential of education technology to accelerate student learning, decisionmakers should focus on four potential uses of technology that play to its comparative advantages and complement the work of educators to accelerate student learning (Figure 2). These comparative advantages include:
Technology seems to be well placed to amplify the impact of effective educators by disseminating their lessons. Evidence on the impact of prerecorded lessons is encouraging, but not conclusive. Some initiatives that have used short instructional videos to complement regular instruction, in conjunction with other learning materials, have raised student learning on independent assessments.
