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technology and education improvement

Do computers and technology help improve education? There are numerous other studies that back up the fact that technology is not improving education. Are there instances where technology is improving education? The answer lies in how the technology is used. Guns protect a nation, and yet they may be used to do evil. This article offers ten pieces of technology, and more importantly, it explains “How” the technology “May” be used to improve education.

1 – The Digital Library That A College Or University Offers

This list is in no particular order, but the digital libraries that colleges and Universities offer has to be the best thing that technology has done for our education system. Compare it to the old days with this quote from comedian Ron White, “In my day, we had to go to a library, which was a building, and we had to sort through the knowledge with instructions that some ass Dewey came up with, cross referencing author name, year, title, only to get to the section where your book is, only to discover that somebody has borrowed the knowledge you need.

2 – Vibration Plate Exercisers For College Athletes

Modern fitness technology may be put to good use when training athletes. There are many examples of such technology, which includes vibration plate exercising machines. The student’s bodies react to the vibrations by tensing and un-tensing muscles automatically as their brain tries to compensate for being unbalanced. In addition, the vibrations help to release the lactic acid from their muscles so that the students are not as sore in the morning.

3 – Simulation Models And Simulation Computing Software

We are not talking about VR headsets, we are talking about software that can take hundreds of thousands of variable calculations and come up with plausible simulations and simulation models. This type of software is used all the time from space exploration companies to companies growing plants; car testers use them all the time. Giving student access to these types of simulation programs is expensive, and it often requires a lot of computing power, but they can help University and college students score more heavily when conducting real-world experiments. The image below is actually a screenshot from electromagnetic simulation software.

4 – Probes And Sensors For Environmental Science Classes

Nobody is denying that splashing around in streams is very useful and shouldn’t be overlooked as a learning exercise, but better testing equipment helps students research and reach conclusions quicker. This is especially true with today’s technology that can produce results in real-time on location rather than having to wait six weeks for lab tests to complete.

5 – Cloud Computing For Game Developers

Game developers spend more time testing than they do creating, and it can take a massive amount of time if a student has to wait hours for a piece of code to compile and/or render. Cloud computer processing power can slash the time a student has to spend testing games. Cloud storage and cloud computing may also allow students to upload segments of their games for other people to test and maybe for other people to alter.

In the past, colleges and Universities needed their own servers with rooms full of processors in order to do what students are now able to do via cloud computing. In fact, if a college or University has a budget that is big enough to buy large chunks of cloud computing services, then students may have even more computing power than some smaller Silicon Valley companies.

6 – Faster Assessments Due To Tech Testing

Multiple choice questions are now answered more quickly and efficiently thanks to updated computerization in the classroom. A teacher can run a test at the beginning of a lesson and have the results on file by the end of it.

7 – Computers For Programmers And Web Designers/Developers

Obviously, students need computers in order to learn how to program, how to develop websites, and for many other communicating and IT lessons. Up-to-date computers help to keep students up to date so that they leave college or University with up-to-date knowledge on current software and hardware. If you use Mac, this easy guide on how to authorize your laptop in iTunes might come handy http://topfunnyfacts.com/how-to-authorize-a-computer-on-itunes/.

8 – Handing In Your College Or University Work Digitally

Along with digital libraries, the ability to hand in work digitally is truly brilliant. Students can hand in their work from home if they wish, and they are able to do it at all times of the day. In addition, the whole, “I forgot it” excuse just doesn’t fly anymore because of the ability to hand in work digitally. This is especially true for colleges and Universities that insist a student writes his or her essays and saves them on the University/college cloud/servers so that the student cannot claim he or she left his or her work on his or her computer at home.

9 – Cloud Storage For Collaborative Pieces

Students are now able to work on the same project remotely because of collaborative cloud systems and their associated software. The quality of the service and its software depends upon the company chosen to host the cloud service and its software.

For example, if some cases, the project and its various elements are saved in one place online, and that location is accessible by all team members. There are systems where students may set up permissions so that each may affect the whole, but no single student may mess up the work of another student. In addition, students are able to communicate with each other through these cloud system, each is able to see what has been said to the other, and each is able to see the progress of other team members.

10 – Computers For Security Testers

It goes without saying that if you are training hacker and security testers that they need computers. It is also one of the occasions where keeping up with the latest technology is a big plus for students. For example, computers with faster processors, and the computing power behind cloud computing, allows security testers to use cracking (brute force) programs. The more powerful the technology is, then the higher the chances are that the student will crack a system before it is able to react and block their attempts.

 

Conclusion – Over-Reliance On Technology Makes Students Slower

Take a simple calculator. Why both ever learning your times tables, how to add, subtract, or do percentages if you can have your calculator do it for you? Relying too much on technology is allowing students to forgo actually thinking about a problem. Rely on technology to teach students, and your students become excellent researchers and terrible thinkers.