William Cope
Helen Repp
Gbadebo Temitope Ekunola
Joanne EndorfUbiquitous Learning and Instructional Technologies MOOC’s Updates
Learning Anywhere, Anytime - Bill Cope
Comment: In what ways does technology mediated learning change both learning in person and learning at a distance? Discuss other participants' comments by mentioning them @name.
Make an Upate: Find an example of a learning technology which genuine makes a difference to the dynamics of learning. Describe it, and analyze the ways in which it makes a difference.
The pandemic introduced distance learning in a very short period of time, where many students and even professors were not ready for this change. Many did not have computers or the Internet, and learning was very difficult for them. Due to the more difficult access to computers and the Internet, it was difficult for them to learn, and this certainly had consequences for them. This situation was common in Croatia.
@Liliana Loureiro, mentioned a similar issue in Brazil.
I think of two major impacts: access and collaborative experience.
As @Lilliana mentioned and @Syeda mentioned technology has bridged the gap to sharing of contents among students through virtual meeting tools and devices. And this is important, especially, for students in countries and regions where high educational standards are yet to be achieved due to, for instance, economic reasons, corruption in leadership, etc. Personally, by utilizing technology I have accessed some of the practical experiments, simulation results of concepts and theories highly relevant to building a foundation for a research in my field of interest.
I'm sure technology is a powerful tool for sharing knowledge! I belive we are moving to better structure this distribution by ensuring a quality and targeted access to the interests and needs of each one! Also, social and public policy differences play a key role in this. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
I see technological advances as part of human evolution itself and, yes, some technologies and historical contexts have driven these changes more radically. It is impossible to talk about the impact of technology on learning without mentioning the pandemic. As commented by @syedaAliyaFatima , the emergency scenario has caused an acceleration of technological solutions for many purposes, including for learning.
However, beyond technology itself (and here I am looking at the resources and tools) what actually impacted educational institutions and transformed learning in many ways were the possibilities that this technology presented.
What I mean is that the tools of virtual meetings, of presentation, of content sharing, of collaborative activities,... they were already there! But the imminent need to create learning environment keeping people apart and safe, boosted teachers and students to seek these resources and learn new ways to build new learning spaces!
Today, many professionals and students are appropriating technology in a much more autonomous and proactive way. Looking for new resources that support the learning paths with a more personalized but also collaborative approach.
This completely changed the way we think about education here in Brazil. With no doubt, it has taken a lot of people out of their comfort zone!
On the other hand, it exposed the huge social gap and deficiencies in the country's public education. Many students have been out of school for months! And even though some communities have committed themselves to collaborate, donating equipment, most of these students are still suffering the impact of this gap.
Technology has created a lot of bridges between the old school and the new school. Although in many countries it was already in use for decades, but globally the evident increase in the technological usage in learning was observed during and after pandemic, I can agree with @Riko Febrialdo. Technology has given extensive rise in self-learning activities for learners belonging to different levels of education.
This is somehow a revolution in learning. As the things which people 50 years back were only able to know with the help of available written text, now young leaners can observe those structures virtually by means of technology. The exposure of knowledge to young leaners is more easy and impactful as compare to that of prior times.
One example of a learning technology that has significantly transformed the dynamics of learning is Virtual Reality (VR). VR is an immersive technology that simulates real-world environments or situations, allowing learners to interact with and experience them in a controlled virtual space. Here's an analysis of how VR makes a difference in learning:
Engagement and Immersion: VR provides a highly immersive learning experience. Learners are no longer passive recipients of information but active participants in the virtual environment. This high level of engagement enhances motivation and concentration.
Experiential Learning: VR enables experiential learning, where learners can practice and apply knowledge and skills in a risk-free environment. For example, medical students can perform virtual surgeries, enhancing their surgical skills before operating on real patients.
Accessibility: VR makes learning accessible to a broader audience. Learners from different geographical locations can access the same virtual experiences, overcoming physical barriers to education.
Complex Concepts Visualization: Abstract or complex concepts can be visualized in VR, making them easier to understand. For instance, in chemistry, learners can explore molecular structures in three dimensions, improving their comprehension.
Interactivity and Collaboration: VR can support collaborative learning experiences. Multiple learners can inhabit the same virtual space, interact with each other, and solve problems together, fostering teamwork and communication skills.
Safety and Risk Reduction: Industries like aviation and construction use VR for training, allowing learners to practice dangerous tasks safely. This reduces the risk of accidents and enhances workplace safety.
Feedback and Assessment: VR systems can provide real-time feedback to learners. In language learning, for instance, pronunciation can be assessed, and immediate corrections can be made.
In summary, VR is a transformative learning technology that enhances engagement, facilitates experiential learning, increases accessibility, simplifies complex concepts, supports collaboration, ensures safety, and provides valuable feedback. Its ability to create immersive and interactive learning experiences has the potential to revolutionize education and training across various domains.
The ongoing deployment of software powered by self-learning algorithms, capable of becoming better and better at whatever task it is assigned to, will have far-reaching consequences; as well as automating repetitive aspects of educators’ work such as grading papers, it will be used to provide more personalised forms of education or remote learning. One example is the Altitude Learning system founded by a Google engineer and part-funded by Facebook, which uses AI to suggest personalized learning pathways for school-age children. A similar concept is adaptive learning, in which the course adapts to meet learners’ needs as they progress through it. Schools in China have even implemented a system that uses facial recognition to check whether students are paying attention in class by scanning their faces with cameras equipped with computer vision algorithms.
another example of AI-powered personal assistants similar to Amazon’s Alexa have also been deployed in schools – one device, called Merlyn, is designed to help teachers with classroom management and in presenting their lessons.
The introduction of learning through technology has brought about significant changes in both traditional face-to-face education and remote education. This essay examines the impact of technology on the transformation of learning in a succinct manner.
Initially, it is noteworthy that technology has effectively dismantled geographical barriers, hence facilitating the accessibility of education from any location. Distance education has become increasingly adaptable and convenient, catering to a wide range of schedules.
The integration of technology in educational settings has resulted in increased interactivity and engagement during classroom instruction. This is evident through the utilization of smartboards, educational applications, and multimedia resources, which have effectively enhanced students' comprehension and retention abilities.
As we can see now, the knowledge in technology is so important toward student or teacher. Everyone have their own experience gaining the knowledge with the technology. Nowaday, people start studying by face to face in the classroom or there's a way to learning within far distance and time. For example, lectures on e learning that provided different time and place for student especially.
Technology has been developing and been practically a primary method of educating both students and teachers. The evolution of internet or world wide web have profoundly developed not just the experience of its users and interconnect the globe from diverse composition of education and information. Everyone can easily provide information whether its accurate or not. But, for the most part technology-based learning system is integrated into the modern curriculum and the main pedagogy. Due to its accessibility and availability, distance is no longer a distance or privilege to learn and educate. Course era for example, because of its availability and accessibility, and that its cost-optional is a great advantage to those to want to learn and be educated.
In this pandemic, technology is a powerful tool that can support and transform education in many ways. The teacher lectures at the front of physiccal classroom change become virtual classroom. So the teacher can lectures from anywhere and student can access from anywhere too. Technology allows students to learn in a variety of ways and find what best suits their needs. Technology can allow students to learn through direct instruction, video streaming, podcasting, project-based learning, and many more.
I totally agree with @Ika Ariesta, there is still many challenge to fully adopt Ubiquitous Learning method in Indonesia, especially internet network problems.