best method for improving educational standards is to utilize every tool
available, including state-of-the-art technology. Computers and the Internet
have expanded the way in which information can be delivered to the students of
today. Today's networking technologies provide a valuable opportunity to
practice new learning techniques. Educators are discovering that computers are
facilitating learning. Computer based communications, or Telecommunications, can
offer many educational opportunities; therefore, educators will need to adapt
current teaching methods to incorporate this new media into the classroom.
Computers have made a fundamental impact in most industries, providing a
competitive advantage that has come to be essential to many businesses.
Therefore, schools must also use technology to improve the educational process.
School systems often consider purchasing a computer network, and justify its
purchase by applying it to routine administrative tasks, such as attendance
records and grading. While these tasks are very important, they only show a
small part of what technology can do for a school. Technology must go further
than simply keeping attendance; it must focus on keeping students interested and
productive. Since computers and the Internet have expanded in such a way in
which education can be delivered to students, it is currently possible to engage
in "distance education through the Internet. Distance education involves
audio and video links between teachers and students in remote areas. Video
conferencing allows groups to communicate with each other. Desktop video
conferencing promises to bring students together from geographic and cultural
distances, face to face via computer. Not only will the teacher talk to the
students, but the students will be able to interact with each other. This will
make students more interested and fascinated with learning. Not only does the
Internet and video conferencing help education, but new programs designed for
educational purposes are being developed. Dictionaries, encyclopedias and
atlases that a student can access from his own computer can be a definite
advantage. For example, instead of looking for a particular country and simply
finding out where it is in a regular atlas, that can type in the name of that
country, and not only will they find out where it is faster, but they will
obtain more information about that particular country. Instead of having volumes
and volumes of heavy encyclopedias, technology has enabled companies to place
all of these massive books onto one small CD. This CD is much simpler than the
unpleasant job of flipping page by page just to read about an uninteresting
topic, such as history. Writing reports on a type-writer was a displeasing
method to write term papers; especially if that student runs out of white-out.
Certain programs offer a spell-checker, thesaurus, and other helpful features,
which make writing that term-paper easier. These particular programs are only a
few of the educational resources available to students. Most educational boards
should be open to any new idea that technology has to offer. It would not be
fair for a student in a particular city to receive a better education than
another student in a different city. Technology is not meant to replace
teachers, but is there to serve students to make tedious tasks easier.
Therefore, this technology should be available to every student, wherever they
may live. In doing this, it not only needs the support of teachers and
educators, but it also requires support from communities. However, technology
can not work by itself. Teachers must take a position in designing a
tech-powered classroom curriculum, devoting time to become familiar with the new
available resources. Technology can also improve writing with the use of new
word processing programs that provide easy to use tools that are not normally
available in the classroom. Technology is able to help students in a variety of
ways. By making learning more enjoyable, students will want to learn and will
not see education as such a difficult responsibility.