Advantages and disadvantages of technology in teaching and learning

ADVANTAGES OF USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

  1. Creates a More Engaged Environment
    It helps encourage active participation in your classroom. Using devices like a computer, tablet, or other type of technology in your classroom can help turn traditionally dull subjects into interactive and fun activities.
  2. Incorporates Different Learning Styles
    Helps modify your lessons and incorporates the different personalities of the class.
  3. Improves Collaboration
    It has been observed that an increased frequency of students helping each other when they’re using technology in the classroom
  4. Prepares Children for the Future
    According to study, nine out of 10 students indicated that using technology in the classroom would help prepare them for the digital future by teaching students skills like PowerPoint, you can help set your students up for success. Introducing instructional technology in the classroom at a young age can help prepare students for future digital demands.
  5. Connects You With Your Students
    Technology can help teachers form a better relationship with their students and their colleagues. For example, 84% of teachers report using the internet at least weekly to find content that will engage students.* Integrating technology into your lesson plans as well as using it to expand your own knowledge of subject matter can make a significant difference in the classroom.

DISADVANTAGES OF USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

  1. Distracting Students
    Smartphones have a bad reputation in classrooms and there have been strong cases for banning them in schools. Research suggests that during class time, when smartphones 42% of the time that students spent on their smartphones in the classroom, it was to text, tweet, or otherwise engage in social media rather than the lesson.
  2. Requires Management and Training
    Being effective in the classroom requires that teachers are effective on the screen and tech platform. Studies show that three-quarters of teachers say the internet and other digital tools have added new demands to their lives and have dramatically increased the range of content and skills about which they must be knowledgeable, with nearly half saying it has increased their workload.
  3. Leads to Tech Disparity
    Tech disparity refers to how much access students have to the necessary devices. The differences in access can be seen between school districts, with more affluent districts having greater resources, but it can also refer to differences among students in the same school, where students from wealthier families having greater access.
  4. Cost Money
    Nothing in this world is free, and buying cutting-edge electronics for a classroom is downright expensive.
  5. Less Face Time
    No amount of technology in the classroom can replace talented, inspired teachers. As the adage goes, any teacher that can be replaced with a tech device probably deserves to be replaced.