Technology has made is possible for teaching and learning to continue beyond the classroom. It is necessary for learning to be possible in any environment because sadly, learning with technology in the classroom is rare and one of the last places for innovative technology can be reached and adopted.
Fortunately, students and youth are very curious about innovations around them and seem to find technology rather fascinating, therefore can learn to use them effortlessly without the help of a teacher or monitor.
Beyond learning in classrooms, some of the avenues through with students can keep up learning with technology helping include:
1. Social media: usually used for connecting with friends and family, social media is the unconventional learning environment. however, it is a community of technology experts, companies, news etc. and with the use of their phones, tablets or computers, students can find information in relevant fields. They can also poll users and can use results for research purposes.
2.Collaboration tools: use of applications like google drive allows students to share their projects and presentations among themselves. Students can work in groups from different locations, contribute to the same document and give feedback without sending emails back and forth.
3.Conferencing tools: the use of google hangouts and Skype allows students to collaborate but by speaking face-to-face online. They can share real-time updates and make demonstrations by sharing their screens and can be very efficient in holding group meetings.
4. Online educational content providers: Khan academy, Udemy, TED and YouTube are few of the many educational content providers online. Students have access to all these content by searching for all kinds of tutorials. The websites contain content numerous topics in different fields (art, math, sciences, gaming, sports, computing, law, etc) made available by teachers and others with expertise in relevant fields. While tutorials can be watched for free on YouTube and TED, academies like Udemy require payment for very short courses.
Learning can take place beyond the classroom and technology has not only made it possible, but also made it easy and within reach. Smart kids can pick up both academic and non academic related information or skills easily because it has been made available. Students can research, share ideas, collaborate and contribute to creating content, all done virtually. This confirms that technology is not exactly harmful to students as there are numerous to use it to their advantage.
