Education Part 2

(Note: this post about education concerns life in the information age. My other post shows education as an online service).

The information age also had an effect on education and learning. With the advance in computer technology and computer programs, most forms of education involve a computer and ICT, IT and computing subjects are now taught in schools. However, there are disadvantages to computer technology in schools and the increase in popularity does cause problems for teachers and examiners.

One example of technology used in education would be the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) program. VLE programs are web based programs that provide resources for teachers and schools to use. The VLE program features all aspects of school including revision, assessments and set classwork/homework. A VLE system used by a school can easily be accessed from other computers allowing students to locate any learning materials necessary. Many different VLE systems exist although Frog VLE is one example of a secondary school based VLE.

A screenshot showing homework set using the frog VLE system

The interactive whiteboard is a different example of how the info age has effected education today. The board consists of a board and a projector which are connected to the teacher’s classroom computer. This allows the teacher to give lessons whilst showing the computer screen via the projector onto the board. The board is also interactive with a stylus pen or finger, allowing students interact with the lesson activity. Statistics also show the success of the whiteboard in classrooms with high percentages of schools owning interactive whiteboards.

Another form of electronic education would be registration. Registration was previously done on paper records of the students present in a class. Now, programs such as SIMS allow teachers to use a register database to record the students present. When taking a SIMS register, teachers press certain keys to mark the attendance status of a student. SIMS also acts as a database for student information, especially about attendance. 

The logo of the SIMS registration system

Other forms of electronic registration are also being used in schools. Swipe cards and barcodes also register student attendance. Scanners identify a unique code for each student that records their overall attendance.

Schools also look to keep ‘up to date’ with current technology available in the world. One example of this would be Apple’s Ipad for student use. Despite the fact the idea is fairly new, it seems to be a success in areas such as Europe and America. This is because of the ease of use and accessibility that the Ipad is capable of. However, some argue that desktop PCs are better for typing documents and homework as programs such as JavaScript and Flash cannot be used on an Ipad. Some people would also prefer keeping to more traditional ways of teaching students in class.

Overall, the possibility of Ipad tablets in schools is divided in opinion. While some schools take the opportunity to keep with modern times, other schools wouldn’t see student Ipads as a success and prefer to stay as normal in terms of teaching.

In some cases, the advance in computer technology has been so popular that subjects based around ICT are taught even in primary schools. The lessons teach students the basics of programs such as word and publisher. Students are also taught to use the internet and online research.

A screenshot showing a homework report using Microsoft Word

After primary education, ICT and other forms of the subject become even more important as in many schools, as IT is sometimes a compulsory subject at GCSE level. Other types of IT such as Applied ICT are also available at secondary schools for students. The availability of the IT subjects is due to many jobs requiring IT skills from their employees.

Some of these jobs are also looking for computing skills instead. This causes a problem for some schools as students are only taught the basics of computing. This is because ICT, IT and Applied ICT all focus on other aspects of computers and IT. To solve this problem, some schools have bought back the computing subject as part of the school curriculum.

The Raspberry Pi single board computer can be used to teach computing and computer science in schools

However, the increasing use of computer technology has caused some problems for schools and education. One example of these disadvantages would be the increase of plagiarism used in some students work. When asked to complete a classwork/homework task, some students used ‘copy and paste’ to move sections of information from websites to a document. However, the accessibility of the internet today allows student to copy information without permission.

Another problem with computer technology would be handwriting. Some people say that the use of computers in schools has decreased the quality in student handwriting. Because of this, some examiners are looking towards an increase in online exams in which handwriting would not be an issue. This would also benefit the students as some might prefer to type instead of write in their exams.

An example of students taking an online exam

Computers and the effects on employment

The computer device has existed since the beginning of the 20^th century as a machine that calculates mathematical problems. Since then, the computer has developed to solve more complex problems using a processing unit as well as a memory system. This significant change began when the first digital computers were used during the 1940’s. These computers were a lot bigger and used more power to run. The computer unit has since become more common and more advanced.

ENIAC, (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) is considered one of the first computers ever made in 1943.

How computers have effected employment

One area affected by the increase of computer usage would be the workplace. Before the computer device, the workplace was very different. The main difference was that information was handwritten or typed using a typewriter. Filing cabinets were used for storage instead of vast computer memory. Communication involved telephoning and letter writing instead of e-mail services.

Today, most forms of office work involve a computer. Examples of this would be communication using E-mail, document writing using a keyboard and storage using computer memory. Overall, the computer has meant that office work is quicker than before.

An example of an office in the 1970’s without computers and typewriters instead.

The effect of tablets on employment

The increasing popularity in tablet computers would also have an effect on employment and the workplace. As tablets become more common, their usage in the workplace would also increase. One example would be Microsoft giving each of their employees a free tablet computer to increase public knowledge of the windows 8 service. A link to the article is available here: http://www.webpronews.com/microsoft-gives-its-90000-employees-free-surface-tablets-2012-09

The Windows 8 tablet with keyboard and stand. This type of tablet would have been given to each Microsoft employee as mentioned in the news article above.

Advantages and disadvantages of computers

The introduction of computers to the workplace also brought advantages and disadvantages as well. One advantage would be the ability to calculate mathematical and logical problems. Many of these problems would be impossible for humans to calculate by themselves. The computer memory also means that many problems can be solved at once. Another advantage of the computer would be the computer’s memory itself. The amount of space available on a computer means that many documents and other forms of information can be stored safely. Before the computer, other types of storage were needed such as filing cabinets. The amount of information on the internet also means that the computer is a useful form of research material. This type of research is ideal for schools and data collection.

An example of a computer memory chip which is responsible for remembering all actions made by the computer.

However, there are also a number of disadvantages of computers in the workplace. One of these disadvantages is the possibility of a computer crash or failure. Examples of computer failures would be a power cut or a virus attack. If a computer failure such as these did occur, information and money could be lost, whereas previous methods would be safe from these problems. The increase in computer usage meant that many workers and financial calculators would have lost their jobs to computers. These computers could perform more calculations and it would be cheaper and quicker to run them overall. Another disadvantage would be that in some cases, previous methods would work better than computers. Today, some of these methods are still used for data backup.

One of the last typewriters used in offices before computers.