Essay Example on Educational Technology

Introduction

For the past two decades, the world has undergone tremendous changes in various ways. One of the main changes that the world has seen is the shift from analog to digital. The shift from analog to digital means that technology has taken over the world by storm and it has been introduced in different areas. There have been a lot of improvements that have been done to ensure that technology has been adopted and implemented in various areas. Many people have resorted to adopting technology because of several advantages that come along with it. Technology has made work easier since it has the speed that allows task to be completed within the shortest time possible. Since technology is associated with all these benefits, it has been adopted in many areas. One of the areas were technology has been adopted and it has been important is in education (Selwyn, 2013).

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Technology in education has helped to ensure that learning is conducted effectively through the use of digital devices as well as the online learning materials. As much as technology has been important in education, there have been several situations that have emerged and have affected the use of technology. One such issue that is experienced while using technology is inequitable use of technology, whereby other student does not enjoy the same privileges while using technology as others (Ferster, 2014). With this problem in place, there is need to ensure that there is equitable use of technology in learning institutions. Therefore, this paper will look at the background data related to this situation, the kind of problems and the solutions that can be employed to deal with such situations.

Background Data

In education, there are many challenges that have been experienced and these challenges have affected learning in various institutions. However, one of the major challenges that are being experienced in the contemporary society is technology. Technology has been introduced in learning institutions with the main purpose of ensuring that learning takes place effectively (Conde, García & Rodríguez-Conde, 2014). In some cases, technology has been incorporated in learning to ensure that education is made possible even situations whereby the tutor and the student cannot be able to meet physically.

Certain features have been developed in technology to ensure that learning remotely is effective. For example, there has been the development of Zoom which has enabled the learners and teachers to interact and conduct classroom activities via the platform (Gonzalez & Kuenzi, 2012). Also, technology in education has been important in the sense that it has made it easy for learners and tutors to access the online resources that are available on the internet. These resources have made learning effective in the sense that research can be easily conducted and that students can be able to complete their assignments in the shorts time possible. As much as technology has greatly helped in learning there have been certain negative issues associated with its use in education.

Every student in a learning institution has to be treated equally so that they can all benefit from the learning programs being conducted (Friesen, 2013). However, with the onset of technology, there have been instances whereby inequality has been experienced in these classrooms. Technology has resulted in the inequitable use in education and these other students affected. As they cannot get proper education as their colleagues. There are various situations that have occurred which show that there is inequitable use of technology in various learning institutions.

One of the situations that has occurred for instance, is the presence of pandemic. Currently, the world is going through a tough situation due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected a lot of activities globally because it is highly contagious and it has killed a lot of people. Currently, the number of people who have contracted the diseases is 62 million while those who have died from it are 1.46 million. Since the disease is highly infectious, and especially through human contact, people have been forced to stay indoors so that human contact can be reduced. In this case, learning had to be suspended to reduce the spread of the diseases. However, several learning institutions have come up with measures to ensure that their students continue with learning even when they are on lockdown.

Main Measure

The main measure that has bene undertaken is online learning whereby children can be able to learn through online platform. Online learning has been aided by the presence of technology but it has resulted in some inequitable situations. In this case, there are learners who come from less privileged backgrounds and they do not have access to some of the digital devices that are needed for learning. Therefore, other students will be able to learnt and others will not.

The other situation that has affected the inequitable use of technology is that some learners in classrooms are bright that others. Most of these learners who are bright are favored by their teachers in most cases. Therefore, these students will always be given the first chance to be able to use various digital devices that are present in the classroom. As these students use these devices, they gain more knowledge that their classmates.

The third situation that has resulted in the inequitable use of technology is the homework that students are given most of the times. As part of the learning programs, students are expected to be given homework so that when they are at home they are kept busy from idling and not doing anything that is constructive. Most of these students are given homework on a daily basis and in most cases, the work demand them to have access to various technological devices so that they can conduct their research effectively and be able to submit their work on time.

The forth situation that has contributed to the inequitable use of technology in education is the shift to digital resources. For many years, education has been relying on analog resources to help learners. However, the advancements in technology have resulted in the shift from analog to digital. In this case, there are more materials that are available in online platform compared to the ones that are physically available. Therefore, for education to be conducted effectively, learners have to ensure that they be able to access these material. The only way that these materials need to be accessed is through the digital devices that every student should have.

Kind of Problems

The above situations that have been mentioned, can be experienced in a classroom where resulting in the inequitable use of technology. These situations have led to several problems that are currently being experienced or they can be experienced in the future. One of the problems that the situation has brought along is discrimination. Discrimination occurs in various forms and it is most likely to be experienced in classroom. Due to technology, discrimination has become one of the main problems. For example, when students are going through online classes, it is most likely that there will be discrimination. For instance, a teacher may give white students more attention compared to other students. With technology, there has been various discussion forums where students can post certain issues and then wait for the response of their teacher. At this point, discrimination is likely to occur since the teacher will chose whom to reply to depending on various factors such as age and race.

The second problem that the situation has brought along is that it is increasing the digital divide. For the past few years, the have been several soft wares and computers that have been developed to help the students to learn. Since instructors have been at the center of ensuring inequitable use of technology, it is most likely that the students will not be able to learn effectively. For instance, since the students that have various digital devices will be at ease to learn using the devices that have been adopted in their schools. This element affects the students in the sense that they will not be able to learn effectively because they do not have access to the devices. Therefore, these students are likely to have a poor outcome especially with the grades that they offer.

The third problem that can be experienced in that some students may opt to drop out of school. The rise of technology has resulted in the development of various digital devices. These digital devices have to be acquired so that they can be used for learning. However, some of them are expensive hence some of the students cannot be able to acquire them for purpose such as online learning. Most of these students that cannot be able to access these devices belong to less privileged backgrounds. This issue means that the students will not be able to attend the online classes as their classmates. Without attending the classes, most of these students will not be able to proceed with their education and this means that they will have to drop until they acquire some of these digital devices that are needed.

The fourth problem is that the situation on inequality of technology in education has resulted in is that it leads to self esteem among the students. Self esteem among the students is one of the most important elements in that it helps them to believe in themselves and be able to pursue their education with the desire to succeed. Students want to be treated well so that they can be happy with their education. However, when they are not treated the same as others, they will not be happy and this can be evident with the use of technology.

There has been inequality in the use of technology in the sense that some of the children have been affected to an extent that they cannot learn the same way as their classmates. This issue affects them psychologically and it is likely going to damage their self-esteem. Such students will be affected to an extent whereby they will not be able to learn effectively and this may result to poor outcomes in their education.

The fifth problem that has been caused by the situation is that home cannot be completed on time. Since technology has changed a lot of aspects and that most of the activities have to be done digitally, instructors have resorted to the option of giving homework online. Most of the students are now required to accomplish and finish their homework and then submit through the available online platform. In order for the students to complete the homework, they need to make sure that they can access these devices. However, there are some students that belong to less privilege backgrounds and they cannot be able to access these devices. Therefore, these students will be affected in the sense that they will not be able to complete their homework on time. Only the students who have these digital devices are the ones who will be able to complete the assignments.

Conclusion

The situation that has been identified above, are likely to result in poor education outcomes for the students. With these issues in places, it is important to develop measures that will solve the matter and ensure that all the students are receiving the same level of education using the technological devices introduced for learning.