e-learning: Hazy past—better future?

How much of an effect does technology have on students’ learning? A significant one, it seems, according to experts. Currently available technologies, the most important of which are computers and the Internet, apparently provide a learning environment in which problem-solving and intellectual enquiry can flourish. The process of learning in the classroom may become significantly more effective as students can deal with information on the computer. Or so the theory goes. My own viewpoint is rather different, I’m afraid.

Computers have been around for two decades as part of school equipment. There are, of course, obstacles like costs to overcome, but it’s just a matter of time and effort. This is because schools have done what every organisation does when it sees an innovation—it applies the innovation to its existing model, which adds cost but doesn’t transform the standard classroom. We have, during that period, spent over $60 billion on them, but in my view they seem to have had little or no effect on learning in schools. Content is king and the mode of delivery is irrelevant. If a teacher makes the subject matter interesting, it does not matter what, if any, equipment is used.

However, change is on the horizon. I think student-centred learning will become the norm and transform education. Computers will pave the way for far more independent learning. Students who currently don’t have access to schools or teachers are now able to get online. They can study from home thanks to the fact that more learning programmes are being written for learners who are forced by their circumstances to be self-sufficient. This would prove especially beneficial in those areas of the world where quality education is limited or extremely expensive. Therefore, in a few years’ time we could have a completely different conversation about technology and its impact on learning.

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