How does Technology Facilitate the Learning Process for Students
Technology plays a remarkable role in many spheres of life nowadays. They have easily penetrated into politics, economy, culture, health care, engineering, metallurgy, and so on. Education is no exception. It is important to study how technology facilitates the learning process for students.According to Saomya Saxena (2013), technology is used to modify and strengthen one of the traditional methods applied in education, that is – a teacher-centered method. However, the focus of attention has been shifted to students. It is students who play a significant role in the learning process. Teachers are facilitators and consultants who support students during the process of learning. Technology is one of the most important instruments that facilitate the learning process.
There are different ways in which it can be used to help students achieve better results. First of all, technology empowers a student. To be more precise, online assignments, including discussion boards and online quizzes, help learners assess their process of learning. Second, technology helps students organize their activities. Thus, mobile notifications concerning deadlines, emails, and other options can serve as good examples of this function of technologies. Third, technologies are adopted actually for teaching. Additional help in teaching usually results in enhancing students’ achievements. Technological tools help guide students quickly and effectively. Fourth, the use of new technologies makes students feel responsibility for their learning. For example, blogs and various online activities allow building connections with the information of a course. Finally, regular evaluation of the process of learning can be reached by means of new technologies. Evaluation is one of the forms of motivation, which encourages students to learn better.
Online platforms are a good technological tool used for evaluation.A different approach to the role of technologies in facilitating the learning process for students is presented by the group of authors in their material “How does technology facilitate learning” (Jonassen, Howland, Marra, and Crismond, 2010). Thus, technologies can perform different roles in fostering the process of learning. First, technology as instruments supports the construction of knowledge for presenting students’ ideas and understandings. Apart from this, technology as information vehicle supports the learning process in order to evaluate necessary information. This role of technology coincides with one of the ways technology fosters learning presented by Saomya Saxena. More than that, technology can facilitate the learning process being authentic context. For example, it is used to represent meaningful problems, situations, perspectives, and arguments. Besides, technology can perform the role of social medium for communication and discussion. Finally, technology can be used as intellectual partner to facilitate learning by means of assisting students in articulation of their knowledge, reflecting the material they have learned, creating personal representations of meaning, and fostering mindful thinking.According to Heather Grinager (2006), technology is an effective instrument for learning that provides students with new solutions to various problems, including professional development and time management.
Thus, modern technologies give an opportunity to use different materials in shortened volumes and more quickly. It influences the …
