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