I recently
posted a video (Bloomberg, 2015) in which Sal Khan discussed the future of
education and stated that he hopes, and believes, that technology will not take
over traditional classrooms with teachers.
I personally
agree with Khan in saying that technology will not replace teachers in the
future. Despite there being evidence of some institutions using technology
instead of teachers for some modules (Quillen, 2012), it is also shown here
that there has been some discomfort and unhappiness from teachers because of
this decision, suggesting further implementations could cause widespread
issues. Quillen goes on to explain that an arising problem with teachers and
parents alike, is the lack of quality coming from online learning compared to
interactive learning with a teacher. This is an area I also believe would cause
problems for schools and you don’t get the quality of personal work or
attention you may require when working with technology. Milliken and Barnes
(2002) highlight how teaching can be personal in their study which shows
personal surveys for students which were appreciated and teachers were mostly
found approachable which is also valued and is something mobile technology
cannot be for a learner.
References
Bloomberg (2015) Online Learning Won’t Replace Traditional Education: Khan. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-07-30/online-learning-won-t-replace-traditional-education-khan (Accessed: 9 January 2017).
Milliken, J., and Barnes, L.P. (2002) ‘Teaching and technology in higher education: Student perceptions and
personal reflections’, Computers & Education, 39(3), pp. 223-235.
Quillen, I.
(2012) ‘Can Technology Replace Teachers? Quality Debated as Districts Tap Tech
over Teachers’, Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 78(4), pp. 4-10.
i completely agree with Quillen (2012) that mobile technology should not replace teachers in the future. Having looked at Younie, Leask and Burden's (2014) 'Teaching and Learning with ICT in the primary school' they ask the question, why should we assume that every child is brought up with technology and has the access outside of school to use it.
ReplyDeleteFor children that do not have access to ICT outside of school they may feel more confident to have the support of a teacher. Younie et al (2014) suggests that instead of teaching children new skills we should be getting to know each child's existing skills and helping them develop. I strongly agree with this and it supports my view that teachers should not be replaced by mobile technology.
Reference:
Younie, S., Leask, M., & Burden, K. (2014). Teaching and Learning with ICT in the Primary School (2nd ed.). Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.