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Is Technology Changing How We Learn?

Technology is touching practically every single area of our daily lives. One of the more profound areas of impact is in learning. Here are several ways in which technology is changing the way people learn and how education is delivered.

Modern Tech in the Classroom

A number of tech trends are currently redefining education. Modern technology is making education more interesting and accessible to those who learn. Tablets and learning apps are common in classrooms. This has the effect of helping make learning into a game for students, which can help increase their attention level. Much of the success of education depends on how much those learning want to proactively obtain the necessary knowledge. Technology acts as a motivating factor to encourage people to make an effort to learn. In some ways, the prevalence of these technologies can help turn learning into a game, which further encourages students to put forth an effort to learn.

Bringing Learning to You

Technology often takes learning out of the classroom and can bring it to your home or job. Many students hesitate to sign up for a class because of the effort that is needed to reach the classroom. However, when students can learn at their own pace in their own surroundings, they are more likely to elect to engage in a learning endeavor. In addition, by not requiring a classroom and physical facilities, technology can lower the cost of education, making it even more attractive. In fact, Ben McNeely of North Carolina State University asserts that in some ways, technology is bringing about the democratization of learning.

Becoming More Asynchronous

Traditionally humans had a very structured learning environment, but technology is changing all of that. According to The George Washington University, asynchronous learning is very common with online learning, depending on the student to make time themselves when they can. This is very different from a traditional classroom which has a much more rigid structure and feels closer to the shape of a natural conversation or lifestyle. In other words, a classroom is ordinarily a stilted environment, which may discourage some from fully participating in the academic exercise. With asynchronous learning, students have time to distill their thoughts and more effectively participate in the discourse, thereby making it richer.

Technology has made learning a deeper and richer experience at the same time that it has made it more widely available. This has changed nearly every assumption and traditional notion of the way that learning is viewed.

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