Last Updated on December 16, 2021 by

Some of the impacts of new technologies in education are the change in the teaching model, the change in the role of the teacher and student, the possibility of self-learning, the greater availability of information …

Technology has changed the way we live today and have become commonplace in our daily lives. Society evolves progressively over time incorporating them and not for that reason, the educational field was going to be different.

The incorporation of new information and communication technologies (ICT) was only a matter of time in education. These allow access to information in a completely new and faster way than in years ago, it also allows generating and transmitting it.

Positive Impact of Technology on Education

In order to make use of these new tools in education in general, a trained and qualified teaching staff is needed since they will have to use totally different strategies and methodologies to achieve a more effective teaching-learning process, as well as a more active teaching , participative and constructive. Given the multitude of benefits posed by its use in the classroom, a quality school should not leave behind the opportunity to use them.

What is the impact of these new technologies on education?

1- Change in the teaching model and in education in general

The incorporation of new technologies in the classroom has changed the way traditionally understood by education. Years ago, both teacher and student had to be in person in the same place, that is, they had to interact directly.

The teacher taught his classes masterfully while the students received and abstracted the ideas transmitted by the teacher. So it is a model characterized by the synchronicity between student and teacher, that is, it is necessary that both coincide in time so that this teaching can be effectively (Requerey, 2009).

New technologies have eliminated geographical barriers, thus changing the traditional teaching-learning model. They have also allowed to adapt schedules and schedules, allowing the student to work at their own pace from home. That is, the teaching has improved, also creating another dynamic and greater participation in the learning process by the students.

But in what has transformed the new technologies to education? According to Martín-Laborda (2005) this incorporation has involved the following transformations:

• In the educational process . Currently a good professional has to continually recycle, so ICTs favor continuous training by offering tools that allow the emergence of virtual learning fields either through online courses or more informally.
• Changes in educational objectives. Educators must prepare students to live in the Information Society and the Knowledge Society. To do this, they must soon develop the skills necessary for students to make the most of the possibilities of ICT.
• In schools. The centers need to have the necessary equipment, such as computers and the Internet. Despite this, many are equipped with few devices or even computers that are not of adequate quality.
• Change in pedagogical forms . The incorporation of new technologies in education has changed the level and educational roles of all its agents: teachers and students, as we will see later.
• In the didactic contents. The new educational contents created become more interactive, more attractive and more varied. In addition, students can even find information about the lesson they are giving in class. Teachers have the opportunity to generate educational content in accordance with the interests or needs that their students may have.
• Change in the speed of work. Finally, it has allowed work to be created quickly and effectively to support students who have learning difficulties.

2- Role of teachers and students

The implementation of new technologies, as indicated above, has changed the roles played by both teachers and students in the classroom. Below we explain some of these changes and how they have modified the teaching-learning process.

Role of the teaching staff

Everything will depend on the pedagogical and technological training that the teacher has, in addition to their creativity, added to this change of roles and educational models. The teacher remains an indispensable piece in teaching to become more than ever essential in the teaching process.

The teacher as a result of this new implementation leaves his traditional figure of speaker to become an advisor, counselor and facilitator who must be able to know the ability of their students, to evaluate resources and existing materials as well as create their own ( Martín-Laborda, 2005).

As a result of the above, the environment that must create must encourage criticism, motivation to learn, curiosity, dialogue … Well, it must be a knowledge manager and guide learning both group and individual level.

But even today, there are some difficulties for the full implementation of new technologies in the classroom, because in addition to many teachers do not give importance to others however are more than 40 years according to an OECD study (2001), so that already at this stage of their professional career, they will not be trained in new technologies to use them in class.

Despite the fact that the incorporation of ICTs in the classroom is an action that most teachers agree with, according to an experimental study conducted by González (2005), if the teaching staff does not feel enough motivation, or does not give the The importance that the implantation in the classrooms deserves can not have the necessary impact, so it would not cause the expected results or benefits.

As a result of the above, even today we still see teachers who are not able to handle these types of technologies neither in their personal nor professional lives. On many occasions, in addition to the advanced age or the lack of importance given to it, other factors such as the lack of time or the lack of programs dedicated to new technologies in their university education are added.

Role of the student body

The student needs a multitude of skills and competences to develop in the society of the future, so he has to know how to adapt to a changing environment, which evolves rapidly.

He also has to work as a team, be creative, know how to solve problems, make decisions, etc. That is to say, it must have the capacity and ability to act and solve all the problems that arise, because current society requires it (Cabero, 2007).

The model of education has changed from being focused on the teacher to the student. It is no longer about the learners acquiring knowledge that prepares them for the work environment, but for life. Therefore, it must be capable of self-learning, choice and means and routes of learning, and the significant search for knowledge (Esquivel, (S / F).

Like the teacher, the student is no longer a mere spectator in teaching. Thanks to the incorporation of new technologies in the teaching process, he has become the creator of his knowledge. That is to say, it will learn in a more critical and autonomous way since it must seek information and process it.

To do this, you must commit to your learning and be more autonomous and responsible, without forgetting that as there are many benefits, such as the amount of information not always the use of new technologies is appropriate (Cabero, 2007). Bartolomé and Grané (2004) present some of the competences that the student must have that learns through new technologies.

Here are some of them:

• You must know how to search properly on the internet, as well as having the skills to learn by yourself, that is, the ability to @nalyze and synthesize.
• Work in groups
• Have the ability to use what they have learned in other contexts.
• Be able to plan and manage time.
• Be educated as well as flexible in the problems that may happen.
• Know how to participate actively in the processes with a correct language.
• To have creativity.

3- Advantages and disadvantages of the use of new technologies

The use of ICTs in the classroom provides schools with a multitude of opportunities and benefits, since they favor social relationships, as well as cooperative learning and the development of new skills. Also new ways of building knowledge and of communicating and reasoning (Requerey, 2009).

Not only affect positively in the centers but also in the family. Therefore, ICT instead of becoming a reason for dispute, should be a space for family participation. Family members could increase their communication channel by talking about good use and the risks that exist with new technologies (Moya, 2009).

One of the main reasons for concern, both for educators and for the family, is the possibility that addictive behaviors may appear that could harm their personal and social development, such as cyber-addiction, sexting, grooming, among others.

For the teaching staff

Next, we will mention some advantages and disadvantages that we find in the use of ICT by teachers.

One of the advantages would be that teachers have to be continuously recycling themselves, because their role as knowledge consultants implies having to know how to solve problems that may arise with the use of new technologies. Therefore, it must also know how to take advantage of the resources available to it and know which should be the most appropriate for each situation (Sánchez, 2010).

These advantages have intrinsic disadvantages, given that it is necessary for teachers to recycle continuously, they have to invest a lot of resources such as time and money.

In addition, on many occasions teachers are very burdened with the amount of tasks involved in the use of ICT in the classroom, so in some situations they prefer to use the classical method. Finally, the use of ICT is not everything and many times it seems that they can even overcome the real experimentation that is achieved in a laboratory.

For the students

As for teachers, the use of ICT also provides benefits for students. Thanks to its use in the classroom, students can make better use of time, since it allows them to access the information they want instantly and even talk to their peers through the forums or the different tools that exist.

In addition, given that the student is the protagonist of their own learning, they can work as a team on a specific topic, which is why cooperative learning is favored. This will affect the motivation of the student positively because the classes will be more interactive and dynamic (Alfonso, 2011).

Finally, among other possible advantages, mention that the use of ICT in classrooms has favored people with intellectual, physical, visual and auditory disabilities. Because they have adapted to their needs and their pace of learning by allowing these people to integrate into ordinary classes, something that has increased their motivation and self-esteem (Moya, 2009).

Because of that large volume of information that exists on the Internet the student can be distracted and waste time browsing; and may even feel saturated so they will be limited to “cut and paste” the information without actually processing it properly.

In addition, sometimes teamwork does not work properly, because there is a possibility that there are people in the group who work more than others (Alfonso, 2011).

conclusion

The use of new technologies in the classroom has completely changed the traditional way we teach and learn. Thanks to ICT, the education we have today is more efficient, faster and more efficient.

The teacher today more than ever is a facilitator of learning and must prepare learning opportunities for students. It is very important, that stimulates the desire to learn from students, knows how to promote interest and participation and at the same time guides the learning process so that it demands an action in front of the group, that adapts to the needs that their students / as have and maintain the level of motivation. It is also essential to teach to be critical of the information that exists in new technologies.

For all of the above to be a reality, specific training of teachers in new technologies is necessary, bearing in mind the attention to people with disabilities.

Also Read: The Sociocultural Theory of Vygotsky

Students, on the other hand, are no longer receptors of knowledge or memorized. That is, they no longer have a passive role in the teaching-learning process to play an active role. So they must be able to direct their teaching-learning process, thus developing the skills and competencies that society is demanding from them in this new learning model.