Friday, 5 December 2014

What are the barriers to using technology in education


One major issue in schools is the cost to the individual student of IT resources. There is a risk of disadvantaging students from poorer backgrounds with limited resources to spend on IT resources (home broadband connection, for example). Students are also liable to become distracted by other online activities (personal email, social media, for example). This may limit the time and attention given to coursework and research when compared to "traditional" teaching. 

Delivering pre-prepared notes for in-school or online lectures may lead to lack of attention / interaction in lesson time.
There is a steep learning curve for both students and teachers when introduced to new technologies – this may reduce the priority from the course subject matter, to the detriment of the students. 
The assumption that technology is the best way of teaching every subject and every level of aptitude within a given group of students. Students should not be penalised in comparison  with their peers for having difficulty with technology, whilst at the same time being more than competent at their core coursework.

One-to-one teaching becomes far more time-consuming when an extra layer of complexity is involved.
The website www.useoftechnology.com discusses this subject in far more depth. Here are two selected articles as a starting point:

1 comment:

  1. I'm not sure that there is "The assumption that technology is the best way of teaching every subject and every level of aptitude within a given group of students." but what we do need to address is that many students utilise technology to enhance their knowledge and understanding, it is our job to ensure that they are equipped with the skills they need to do this safely and effectively, and as you say fairly.

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