Gan, Chin Lay, and Vimala Balakrishnan. "An Empirical Study of Factors Affecting Mobile Wireless Technology Adoption for Promoting Interactive Lectures in Higher Education." EbscoHost. N.p., Jan. 2016. Web. 2 Mar. 2016. <http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=81b8682f-d8a5-40a1-87a1-e5aabcf4f724%40sessionmgr4004&vid=4&hid=4110>.
What are the benefits of technology in the face-to-face classroom and what would we be losing if they were eliminated?
The previous sources I have searched through have implied that while the traditional classroom is great, and was great before technology was integrated in higher education, online and hybrid classrooms are more effective for students. The technology used in traditional lecture classes is more of a distraction than beneficial to the minds of the students. I want to explore, however, the true benefits of technology in a traditional classroom. There must be some reason they keep it around.
This source really made me think about the opposite side of the argument. It pointed out that in a traditional lecture setting, time does not allow for students to ask questions or give feedback. A source points out on page 215 that the most common cause for inattentiveness is when they lack understanding of a subject and do not have the opportunity to ask questions and clear up their misunderstanding. The students then feel helpless and begin to doze off, check social media, etc. which contributes to the high percentage of distracted students shown in the previous sources. Lecture halls can also be intimidating. I know I never feel comfortable asking a question, and I'm not shy. I fear that I will say something stupid, or interrupt the lecture for something that isn't that important. Interaction is highly important in traditional classrooms, as it is one of its benefits to online and hybrid classrooms. Many uses of technology are used to better the student experience such as twitter for feedback, and classroom response tools such as the clicker to increase student interaction and participation throughout the class. Along with the interaction implemented in lectures, technology increases student interaction whilst outside the classroom. At Mizzou, teachers in every class post assignments, readings, group discussions, maybe even some blogs. Also, notes are usually posted in advance as powerpoint slides so even if a student misses a class or gets distracted from technology, the technology is also there to save them. Clickers help the professor benefit in real time because they get immediate feedback to what the students are or are not understanding. Their lecture can work around the concepts student fail to grasp and help move past the ones they understand. In the study from this source, students' interaction was said to increase with the implementation of these interaction devices. Students were more motivated when they were encouraged to participate. However, the source does not fail to mention that some students may find technology distracting.
In conversation with my first two sources, most claims between the two would support the claims made in this source. However, implied in the first two sources is that online and hybrid classes are superior to the traditional. This source takes the traditional and shows the benefits of technology within instead of comparing it to the online and hybrid, giving me less bias in my argument. Before reading this article, I saw no benefits in traditional classrooms on paper. I still would rather go to a lecture three days a week instead of being required to watch lectures on my own time for a hybrid class, but is that for convenience sake or academic sake?
This source has ended my exploration for the technology in the traditional classroom. Through this source, my research question was answered. If we eliminated the technology in the traditional classroom as my first two sources implied as a solution and the future of higher education, we would be losing interaction between students and other students, and students and professors. I will now proceed with my exploration to find what new technology in the classroom is being invented, and how technology in education plays a part after graduation.
No comments:
Post a Comment