Education and technology.
A near perfect combination throughout the ages, and yet still in contestation by traditionalists. When I encountered this argument, I asked myself why. Why would some people readily see how much technology can improve understanding and knowledge creation, and others seem to stand quite decidedly against it. Education isn’t some trivial matter pursued by the young and old to simple know something. In today’s day and age education is used to explore, lead change, innovate, and challenge the status quo – just like it has always been used for these reasons in the past.
It is based on this existing dilemma in the modern world, I decided to understand it myself using the available technology in order to so, ironic as it is. As it stands, modern technology of consisting of computers along with various relevant apps and programmes are assisting learning in nearly every subject. Online learning has revolutionised traditional education in terms of access, reaching millions of people, and relevance, whereby the information is updated as it occurs rather than having to wait for a new textbook to be published and printed. This is where Screenboard comes in. I’m about to venture into the great known-but-not-quite-well-understood realm of niches in this particular combination, and with each blog post I get to share my new found knowledge with you all.
Screenboard brings you the latest advances of the education and technology combination. Be it in schools, homes, or universities the technological revolution advancing learning is on. Drawing from news, journal articles, and sites specialising in “edutech” this blog will portray a strong case for and against incorporating technology into education. This balanced approach stems from the fact that both education practices and technological advances come with pros and cons, and this blogging journey will take in account both these aspects when understanding what’s going on in the world of education.
Although the focus will be on South Africa, it will also present writing that bridges South African examples to that within the rest of the world. From teaching teachers to them teaching the students, or homeschooling students self-pacing their learning to leading examples of lifelong learning where older and wiser students add to their knowledge – all of which are modern examples of technology assisted learning.
Now the question remains: so what?
I think of this as both a personal development exercise as well as way to share my understanding of the world, and with you.