Technology Archives

The advancements in technology have made a strong impact on almost all areas of our society. It is making a serious difference in the way kids and parents perceive the world and each other.

Have you ever thought about the impact of technology on family time?

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Even when one can highlight how the reach of technology is breaking barriers between parents and kids, the other side of technology is almost creating a family divide. Most of the technologies we use today have changed from the perspective of just a ‘want’ to a ‘necessity’ in one’s life.

The technology has moved forward from simple computer gaming, SMS, chatting or emails to assignment completion tools and video calling. Parenting in digital age has now become more challenging than ever before.

Here let us have a look at how technology has affected our families both positively and negatively.

First we can go through the positive impacts of technology:

Coordinate change of plans: In the early days, there was no point of informing the family members if the day’s plan got changed. One has to go directly and inform them if they can’t make for the function, movie or dinner out. Now technology is offering a good assistance to coordinate the change of plans with just a message or call. Kids can let their parents know if they are staying late at school for some extra class without getting them worried.

Reach family in trouble: The location tracking facility is now of great help to reach the family in case of any trouble. If kids come across some mishap during their way, the location tracking facility helps parents to reach them as soon as possible. This is also giving kids a lot of confidence to travel around and do things independently without the fear of being alone. Technology is helping kids to grow up as independent persons without depending on parents for each and everything.

Interaction with family groups: The new messaging apps have options to set up family groups where one can interact with all members of their family despite where they are. Even the distant family is now more connected with social media groups rather than just interacting only at some events or birthday or marriage functions.

Home security systems: The safety within home with modern security systems has added more peace within families. The emergency alarms as well as the quick response options help to bring the police or the correspondent authority to be at the place at the time of a robbery or a fire. Having a feeling that the people and home belongings are safe gives you a more peaceful sleep.

Parents engaging apps in school: Most of the parents will be busy with their work schedules and find it difficult to make a visit to the school. The parents engaging apps have come to the rescue as they can virtually be present in school during all the activities of their child in campus. They can maintain a good relationship with teachers through communication apps and school portals and learn more about how their child progresses in schools.

Virtual presence with video call: Some parents are too protective about their children and won’t allow them to stay out of their reach. However, with video call options, a person can virtually be present near you when talking. Even if it demands to stay abroad or in some distant places during your career, one can still be in close touch with the family through daily video conversations.

Now it is high time to know about the negative results of today’s technology which happens just because of the way we use them. Here are a few of them:

Too much screen time: The situation prevailing currently in almost every household- If there are four members, each of them will have a personal screen with which they spend most of the time. When parents and children come back after office and school at the end of the day, it is important to interact with each other. It helps maintain a personal bond and fosters empathy for the apprehensions of the other.

Lack of quality time: It is important to share some quality time with your family. Today’s reality is that even when parents pretend to play with children or share some family moments, the emails or chatting is taking half of their attention. It is important to switch of your devices for at least an hour or two and spend some quality time together. The habit of bringing work home is one of the main reasons for many failing relationships as this compromises time for intimacy.

Poor face-to-face interaction: Today the mode of communication has drastically changed from direct face to face communication to merely chatting. This seriously affects children as they will have poor face to face interaction skills when they grow up As they spend most of the time with screens, people will have only limited experience of proper interaction with humans which can lead to a shrink in the level of confidence. This can severely affect the professional performance of a child who is brought up in such mechanical environment.

Interrupted family time: It is good to share at least a meal together to have a good bonding with family members. The morning breakfast is used to watching everyone rush to make it in time for school and work. The dinner time too is interrupted by technology with people choosing to eat as and when they finish of chatting or working. Even if they have dinner at the same time, everybody will be giving their half focus on their personal screens.

Limited outdoor activities: The detrimental lifestyle with lack of proper exercise and unhealthy eating habits is the prime reason for most of the problems. Technology has a real impact on the way people have changed the healthy habits. As people are busy with their gadgets, they have no time for outdoor activities. The sedentary life style is seriously causing health issues for people of all ages. Kitchen and cooking is a rare sight for junk food is just a call away. Children now prefer computer games to outdoor games which add the problem of unhealthy eating.

Setting wrong example: Parents would advise children to go out and play and they sit inside the home with their screens. If Parents do not practice what they preach, the child won’t follow. It is important to teach kids by setting good examples.

The right decision would be to add the right mix of technology in your family and experience the pleasures of both. Technology was invented for the good of mankind and so it is our duty to utilize it responsibly.

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Parents can guide kids to enjoy the life rightfully by weighing the pros and cons of technology. Even schools are realizing the negative impacts of overuse of technology and taking children out of the four walls of the classroom to give them an opportunity to interact with the nature. Technologies have made life really easy for us as information to anything under the sun is available at our finger tips. However, we should understand that even when technology has made this a better place to live; we should not compromise human values while enjoying it.

As we welcome another New Year, changes are inevitable in every field and it is no different in the education sector. When you talk about modern education, what a student wants the most is a good classroom experience. With advancements in technology, there is a lot for classrooms to expect in 2018, as well. Incorporating the modern technologies in the right mix can really lift the spirit of classroom learning. With the convenience, security and flexibility offered with new technologies, students would have more interest towards learning and they would crave for more.

So, here let us look at the most modern technologies that we can expect in a 2018 classroom and how they are going to improve the learning experience.

1. Class Websites: A modern classroom will have a personalized website which helps students, teachers and parents to be in touch always. This web application provides a single place for everyone in the class to communicate any related things round the clock. The website will have access to announcements, events, & calendars and students can have a look at the upcoming assignments and syllabus. The website can even include additional sections such as blogs where students can share their views on any subjects or polls and contests as part of some celebration or decision making.

2. Interactive Whiteboards: The period of one-way lectures with a black board and chalk are now getting outdated. The interactive whiteboards that can be connected to computer are really changing the way different subjects are covered in class. These large computer monitors are also visually appealing for students and teachers can easily handle multimedia presentations. Teachers and students even have the option to draw or write on them with ease using its touch screen capabilities. Similarly, note taking is taking a new form with lightweight and flexible digital displays replacing paper note books.

3. 3D Printing: With this technology, students will have access to 3D models of different elements covered in their subjects. A 3D view helps them to have a deeper level understanding of certain lessons which they otherwise have only limited access when referring just text book pictures. Some working mini-models of certain applications can be set up in class to better learn about some principles. This technology erases the limitations of experimenting options for students. Without giving much emphasis to time and costs, they can freely experiment their preferred designs. The complex concept models can be reconstructed to easily convey tough subjects.

4. Online Social Networking: An online platform within a classroom will be an added advantage for students to socialize with their classmates and teachers. Teachers can act as moderators and students can utilize this platform to share their ideas freely with friends. Such opportunities for students can help them to identify their role in taking up learning as a personal responsibility. This can also act as a source for interactive learning where they can discuss their home works and projects and make learning more productive. The social networking tools can play crucial roles in improving engagement, interaction and team building activities in the classroom.

5. Big Data: Data generation within classrooms are on the rise every year which includes assignments, attendance, projects and weekly tests. Monitoring all these data in a regular manner is necessary to get an assessment of student’s performance which is a tough job. Big data is an efficient tool that helps to manage this monitoring pretty easily by analyzing significant patterns and trends. With this technology, data can be utilized in an efficient manner by saving a lot of time.

6. Student Response System: Teachers can receive instant feedback about their classes with such response systems. The modern tools such as Google Forms and Socrative are making the job really easy after every class which helps teachers to develop better strategies in the next class if needed. They can make necessary changes based on the understanding level of the students. This is also a good way to make in-class quizzes or polls at the time of decision making with regard to any event.

7. Tablets: With its portable nature and endless possibilities, this minicomputer like gadget is becoming a popular element in today’s classroom. With easy to store capabilities and internet connectivity, these are now replacing heavy text books. With possibilities of internet browsing, word processing and digital textbooks, the tablet is turning out to be the most popular classroom tool of the era. Whether it is Google Nexus, iPads, or Amazon Kindle, there are models built with students needs in mind. Adding to the overall convenience, new brands are offering paper-thin smartphones which is highly portable and easy to store.

8. Cloud Computing: This kind of advanced technology avoids the burden of students to carry their home works, heavy text books and assignments. They can just log in to their device to access their work saved at home system from their class. They can access the reading materials from digital library whenever they have an internet connection. Students can work on the projects anytime with the convenience of their device. The cloud technology also opens a world of virtual classroom learning experience when they can log in from their systems even at the comfort of their home.

9. Document Cameras: The advanced document cameras are now replacing the old era projectors for displaying learning content in the classroom for a wider audience. With precise display of text in big screen, students can get a visual treat of interesting lessons. The advanced models can easily capture movies with audio in addition to images. This technology provides ease of convenience in teaching with possibilities of even displaying content from SD cards.

10. Augmented Reality (AR): Engaging students in a classroom is the key to gain their interest for learning and this is possible up to a great extent with augmented reality (AR). The technology provides students an indirect vision of a real-world setting. They get an experience of getting physical with elements which are bettered with sensory inputs and graphics. With improved engagement and interaction, learning can be all fun for students. The endless possibilities of this technology help students to think out of the box and excel in the learning.

11. Communication Apps: These are becoming a must-have tool in today’s classroom. Whether it is Teacher Kit or Remind 101, communication between teachers, students and parents are a lot easy than before. The child’s activities in school can be monitored by parents with a virtual presence. They can also be intimated about any upcoming events or happenings in school. Students will get reminders from teachers regarding project deadlines and homework assignments which make the job a lot easy for teachers.

12. Virtual Field Trips: With limited time to go out of classrooms and explore different places and subjects, the virtual field trips are proving really beneficial for modern classrooms. With the endless possibilities of World Wide Web, the students can experience a guided exploration. This online learning experience can be customized depending on the subjects to be covered. Teachers also add tools for visualization, modelling and simulation along with this digital trip to enable them to think critically. They can engage in data collection and analysis, scaffolding and discussion to get the better out of this experience. Virtual studios are also slowly becoming an important tool in today’s classroom.

13. Artificial Intelligence: As each student prefer a varied learning style, the regular teaching methods may not be feasible for everyone. Their different progress rates and pace in learning can be better handled with artificial intelligence. With this technology, they would be able to pick up lessons in their preferred pace. The machine learning and artificial intelligence can play a key role in improving the weak areas of different students with customised learning.

14. Biometrics: Even when this technology is dominant in security industry, its possibilities are opening a new phase in the education sector. The eye tracking are finding its use for teachers to learn how the students understand and absorb the lessons. In libraries, the iris patterns can be used to know the identity of the students who are borrowing books which avoids the manual labour and saves time. The facial recognition and fingerprints are also helpful in easing off the class attendance.

15. Education Apps: These are now becoming integral elements of a new era classroom. With the dominance of mobiles, education apps are now a strong but flexible tool to teach and assess students in a smarter way. Being handy, students are finding it really convenient to maximise the possibilities of classroom experience. When Class Dojo gamifies the classroom, Nearpod aids to develop interactive lessons and students’ understanding level can be assessed easily with Plickers app.

Easy information access is the key to a successful learning phase and these future technologies are designed to bridge the online and offline gaps. With the use of modern technology in classrooms, students are getting all freedom to express their voice and creativity while learning new concepts in a different way. A sense of pleasure and the opportunities to explore new technology helps students to approach the world of learning in a positive mode. The modern classroom experience has really changed the way students perceive education and they love this phase of life than ever before. With more and more technologies to be introduced in the near future, tomorrow’s classrooms would be a better place for students.