#1 : Digital technologies: where are we now?
#1 : Digital technologies: where are we now?
Did you know that on average 2250 Android mobile applications are created every day? (MindSea, 2018). New technologies can be overwhelming for educators. Where technology evolves, education adapts and keeps evolving. However, this could be challenging and even risky.
Technology must be understood as a tool and we need to know how to use it. Particularly, during COVID-19 pandemic, when a quick shift occurred in education. The transition to a digital and online learning was already happening, but not as fast as these last two years. The online learning global market has been growing pre-COVID19 and it is projected to reach US$350 billion by 2025. Some of the factors are more technological accessibility (like better broadband); flexibility; and the need to a continuous, faster and cheaper job upskilling (CIPD, 2021).
What are some of the challenges? 1. Not everyone has a reliable internet connection or WiFi. 2. If you are studying at home you may have minimum or no tech support. 3. Have you heard about data protection? Yes, a scary risk! 4. Not every instructor has been trained with a high standard in online learning; and fifth, students might feel isolated from colleagues, not time, etc. (CIPD, 2021).
It is not enough to have the technological tool and transfer it from its original purpose to educational grounds. We must understand the sociocultural context of where this learning experience will happen (Anon, 2018); keep an eye on the barriers and plan strategies on how to overcome them. The pandemic may have ended on some places, but online learning has come to stay.
References
Anon, (2018). Twenty Years of Edtech. [online] Available at: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/7/twenty-years-of-edtech.
CIPD (2021). DIGITAL LEARNING IN A POST-COVID-19 ECONOMY. [online] Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/digital-learning-literature-review-report-2_tcm18-89290.pdf.
In-text citation: (CIPD, 2021)
MindSea (2018). 25 Mobile App Usage Statistics To Know In 2019. [online] MindSea Development. Available at: https://mindsea.com/app-stats/.