Technology has quickly become a key part of learning in the 21st century. Modern schools are now equipped with computer labs and student laptops. Technology plays a role in every aspect of education as students, teachers and administrators use their computers to gather information, create and express themselves, communicate, work together and track learning outcomes.
Here’s how computer education helps improve student success.
Preparing for the Future
Computers make it easier for students to keep up, while helping teachers improve the way lessons are planned and taught. Students who use computers learn to use word processors for school work, learn computer jargon and strengthen grammatical skills. They can also look up lessons on websites or through email, instead of carting heavy textbooks around with them.
Computers not only improve the way students are taught, but they also prepare them for the future. Even the most basic jobs involve computers. Today’s students will be prepared to fill future job openings because they will be computer literate and classes based on computer education get even more specific. Students can learn to use office suite programs, create presentations and data sheets and learn programming languages.
Improved Student Accomplishments
Students from all grade levels, who use computers, have been shown to attend school more regularly and perform better than students who don’t use computers. They get higher marks on exams and feel more involved with lessons when they use a computer. Computer use at home also helps students to become more focused on their homework, whether collaborating on projects with other students or on their own.
Simple and Efficient
The learning process becomes a lot more simple and efficient, as computers give students access to tools and methods of communication that are unavailable offline. For instance, students can check their grades or lesson plans online, communicate directly with their teachers through email or other platforms and they can send work to their teachers from home or anywhere else.
Research
Because of computers, research is far easier than it was in the past. Many of the history books and encyclopedias found in libraries are now available online. As the Internet grows, so does the amount of research that’s available. Students can now research topics in a matter of minutes, rather than the hours it used to take.
Encyclopedias offer vast amounts of information enhanced by appealing multimedia and interactive links. E-book collections offer thousands of texts and a countless number of online articles and journals devoted to every imaginable topic make research efficient and rewarding.
An online resource encourages students to follow pathways of information according to their own interests and so, using a computer also helps to develops self-directed learning.
Teachers, too, have access to thousands of images, diagrams, videos, maps, animation, games and much more, so they can appeal to the different learning styles of individual students.
Creativity and Self-Expression
Computers also play a role in how students express themselves and reflect on their learning. Because of the digital recording functions that are integrated into tablets and other electronic devices, students are able to catalogue the world the way they see it and then add their own viewpoint to already existing collections of knowledge to make their own original creations.
Audio, photo and video editing software and the different ways to post self-created media on the Internet, allows students to contribute to the creation of information, as well as simply access it. This allows their work a broader significance and affirmation and makes students active members of the learning community, either on the small scale of a school’s social media site or in the larger context of the World Wide Web.
Communication and Teamwork
Computers provide students and teachers more opportunities to communicate and work as a team. Learning management systems, such as Blackboard and Moodle, have space to participate in discussion threads and forums, chats and video conferences.
Students and teachers can use the shared functions in office applications to view revisions and add comments in real time, which makes the process of giving feedback more efficient.
Computers also transcend the traditional brick-and-mortar school by provide working adults and parents taking care of children, geographically isolated students and the underprivileged the opportunity to connect and interact with learning communities through online schools and other educational networks.
Student Learning Outcomes
Computer technology plays a role in how administrators assess student achievements and learning outcomes. Assessment tools such as standardized tests, student portfolios, document headings and surveys, produce information that can be collectively examined by an educational institution to find areas in which a student could improve.
Charts and graphs are generated as information is entered into databases, which allows administrators to identify patterns and make decisions involving changes in the curriculum and budget