Digital Education @ cannot be in the absence of teachers
TEACHERS, UNLIKE DIGITALONLY LEARNING, CAN SPEAK TO STUDENTS ABOUT THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF A SUBJECT AND SHOW HOW IT APPLIES TO THE WORLD
The education industry today fails to treat students like individuals. Classes, sections, and batches ensure that students are accustomed to being treated as a collective, long before they enter into the adult world. In the past, when education systems were just being set up, teachers outnumbered students and this was a necessary evil.
The revolutionary proliferation of smartphones and other digital technologies in the market is poised to transform this state of affairs.
Digital technologies and tools can help teachers provide a personalised experience, which is more in tune with a student’s individual learning needs.
However, the beating hear t of the education remains the teacher. With all the opportunity, there is a risk that the human element in education, the teacher, might be supplanted or even replaced by technology. This would be a mistake.
The ancient philosopher Seneca recounted the story of a merchant who wanted to become an intellectual and thus hired several servants to constantly read from the works of the greatest thinkers of the time.
He hoped to use these to become more educated and appear as a well-read man but found himself the object of some ridicule. Using this story, Daisy Christodoulou – a prominent educator and author of books on education – stressed that even if devices can make knowledge accessible, this doesn’t complete someone’s education.
It in fact hampers it as it fosters a dependency that makes people more stupid. Clearly, comprehensive education requires human intervention, to help process the information available.
This is one of the reasons why educational institutions throughout the world use the student-teacher ratio as a reliable metric of quality of education. With fewer students, teachers will have more time and attention to devote to each student, leading to better outcomes.
EDUCATION IS ABOUT PROBLEM-SOLVING But where does that leave e-learning? Today, a large number of companies and organisations are offering educational opportunities that rely on the internet and digital media for content delivery.
Using computers and smartphones, these entities aim to proinspired vide an interactive learning experience which facilitates understanding of complex subjects through visual aids, games, and exercises.
Many claim to impart criticalthinking and problem-solving skills through data-driven and technology-enabled solutions. However, in the absence of the human element and a comprehensive framework, these rely far too much on a student’s motivation and moods.
For instance, teachers and classes can’t be ‘switched off’. However, if educators and technology combine resources, it may result in an optimal educational process.
There is no denying the fact that an artfully designed, interactive and visual lesson would far outweigh chalk marks on a blackboard while explaining to students how an engine or the integral calculus works.
However, if a student has any doubt regarding the video, there’s no person to turn to for insight and explanation. This is a gap which the teacher can fill.
IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION Further, teachers can conversationally draw out a student’s understanding of a subject and show how it applies to the world in ways that can’t be visually defined.
If a teacher knows a student is interested in art, they can use Renaissance art to explain the importance of angles and perspectives in geometry and physics. This takes the impact of personalised attention to the next level in terms of making education engaging and fun for students. This ability to open a student’s mind to concepts and ideas through language and dialogue is also something that a digital-only learning environment cannot replicate.
Finally, there are some things that will probably just never be replicated in digital education. Teachers are more than the function they perform; they are role models and mentors, providing answers to different sorts of questions.
Anyone who has been by a great teacher in the past would know the importance of having those individuals as someone to look up to. What technology can provide is a way to enhance a teacher’s capacity, and give her or him the ability to combine the best of the human and the digital in education.
Source | Hindustan Times | 25th April 2018
Regards
Mr. Pralhad Jadhav
Master of Library & Information Science (NET Qualified)
Senior Manager @ Knowledge Repository
Khaitan & Co
Twitter Handle | @Pralhad161978
Mobile @ 9665911593
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