Impact Of Digitalization On Education

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Abstract

The term ‘Digitalization’ refers to the conversion of paper mode or typewritten information (text) into the digital form. It shows all about the replacement of the ‘old school system’ with the ‘new school system’. Education is a basic need for every learner and digital education is the current trend. Digital education helps one learn and understand everything quicker. In the traditional education system, we were mostly dependent on the textbook or the instructor’s speech.

There is a good and positive impact of ICT including Computer-Assisted Instruction. The digitalization of education not only does not solve the existing problems but also creates new ones. These new ones will be creating gaps between humans making them more of a machine and less of a being. Digitalization has extremely positive outcomes but the negative outcomes are also equally impacting the system. With the change in the process of gaining knowledge, there will be great change in the extent of the knowledge and also the effectiveness of the knowledge. If the whole of the education is digitalized then the usage of the knowledge won’t be very impactful and won’t be reaching the targeted space because it will be more like communication between machines and less like the knowledge transfer.

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Though digitalization does not always make a positive statement, there is extensive utilization in any sector that can be named. It is playing a great role in the minds of young students, they consider it to be an inherent part of the decision-making process.

Introduction

Education is an important section of society. Only with the betterment of education, society will develop, leading to national development. Almost the whole world is following the traditional method of education. This is being followed since the start of the world. The information available/ required then was very less when compared to current days. Because of this, the traditional way is very effective. The world was gradually developing then but now the world is developing at rocket speed. Hence teaching methods also should be updated and digitalized to catch up with the speed of the world.

Digitalization of education is the need of the hour. With digitalization, there will be equality of educational opportunities to a great extent. Both teachers and learners should be updated regarding the usage of digital media for education. There can be formal and informal education. Formal education is when the syllabus is set and education is provided based on the syllabus. Informal education is when there is no limit or any restriction, one can get all the possible information. This paper will further explain the actual implementation of digitalization, impacts of formal and informal learning, customization of syllabus path as per individual requirement under formal learning, advantages, and possible ways to reduce the disadvantages.

Traditional Education

i)Meaning:

Traditional Education forced students to go to a place and sit together with fellow students and learn from one lecturer. Every student has a different speed of understanding and visualizing the concepts. Up to some point, students can memorize the answers but after a point, this becomes meaningless. This will change the meaning of Education itself. Education means learning new things but memorizing anything without proper understanding is not Education.

The traditional Education system definitely plays a vital role in building a personality. When it comes to education, it is not just what is present in the books, it is also how to behave and how should one be thinking. Traditional Education teaches to behave. It teaches about manners, law, rules, harmony, humanity, friendship, society, etc. It will make a person a good citizen of the country.

ii)Limitations:

Education should be building the capability to apply knowledge. But with all the education system focusing on the marks and grades, students don’t understand the meaning of the application of knowledge. Memorizing comes into the picture when one fails to understand something. One fails to understand in class because their pace will be different from that of others. Traditional Education means, getting stuck at memorizing because of different speeds and learning together in class.

Traditional Education has a good number of limitations too as known. The student fails to understand when the teaching is not as per their standard and not in a comfortable place. Some day, when the student is not able to attend the class, s/he will be missing the whole class and that will never be repeated as it is. Traditional Education also makes students with fragile minds get distracted very soon.

People, who have done their education under the traditional method, fail to apply it in a complete practical environment. That is because they were taught sitting in class and made to write exams purely based on their ability to remember things.

Meaning of Digitalization

Digitalization is nothing but using technologies in the required job. In the considered case, it is the digitalization of education. It is nothing but using technology in education. When technology is used, education becomes very understandable and effective. When technology is used, the whole of the teaching method will be changing. It will be more effective and efficient. Digitalization will help any person from anywhere to access the required information and know more things. It will be very effective in the application of knowledge. By using the technology, all the concepts can be practically explained. With access to data from anywhere, there can be a good number of repetitions of the same classes by the same person. It will be defining education to the next level.

Importance of Digitalization

i)Customization of technology:

The selection of the technology is very important. Unnecessary and excess use of technology can cost one his/her privacy. We can use the technology depending on our needs. Technology can be used to pictorially explain any complicated process in the best way possible. When an average student watches the video, s/he might not forget the concept explained. There can be such many complicated concepts that need to be explained in a very right way. One can record the session with the help of technology and reuse the information for better application

ii) Opportunities:

With Digitalization, there will be many opportunities provided to a very large group of people. Sometimes, it so happens that people will be very much interested to expand their knowledge but due to the lack availability of the sources they won’t be learning it much. With technology, the source of knowledge will be less restricted. Anyone from any part of the world can access information and gain knowledge.

Digitalization has transformed the education system radically, in the classroom, and outside the classroom. In the classroom, the capacities of teachers developed using high-quality digital content and innovative models. Digitalization opens up education to people who wouldn’t be able to afford or access it otherwise.

Using data to personalize and streamline learning can significantly enhance student outcomes. Platforms  can be used by teachers, students, and parents to modify tutorials and specifically recommend videos and exercises based on a student’s ability. This allows teachers to monitor progress over time using real data and even allows students to set their own goals with immediate feedback from their teachers and parents. The education paradigm is shifting and evolving with innovations, research, and development changing how we teach and learn for the better.

iii) Time consumption:

The time consumed to implement and customize the digitalization of education is high but they are equally impactful. For example, the creation of one such video of 2 hours might cost 5-6 hours but when the video reaches the target, all the 2 hours watched by the target audience will be worth it. So, digitalization will consume time sometimes in the beginning but will provide good results later on.

One of the results of digitalization is online classes. When the classes are held online, the time consumed is less, the cost is less, involvement in teaching is more, effective understanding one will be in one’s comfort zone. One can even record the sessions to revisit later. The time consumed when the information is available online is very less at the receiving but more at the providing end.

Analysis

Instance:

Considering the COVID situation where the whole country is shut, one can not think of attending the education traditionally for the only reason that it is unsafe. The best alternative is the digitalization of education. With all the available technology, the knowledge gaining process needs no stop at all, one can go on and on. There will ample amount of time-saving and so much knowledge available. Digitalization is the need of the hour now. One can not proceed without the digitalization of education. Education is redefined as the system of knowledge flow and not purely as a memorization competition.

Result:

With all the digitalization of education, under the considered circumstances, one can gain a great amount of information and valid knowledge at the fingertip. This is making a new way to the education sector. There will be so much saving because of this in certain situations. For instance, if there was supposed to be any talk from a leader, a hall was supposed to be booked and all other required arrangements should be done. But now, everything is a click away. Education is more meaningful now as there is all the required information available to everyone and whoever needs it, can make the best use without having to spend any resources.

Advantages

i)Digital Learning Is Making Students Self-Motivated and More Accountable: Since digital learning is far more interactive and memorable than voluminous textbooks or one-sided lectures, they provide better context, a greater sense of perspective, and more engaging activities than traditional education methods. This allows students to better connect with the learning material. Further, they often offer a more interesting and involving way to digest information. This is reflected in their retention rates and test scores. Also, when students can track their own progress it can improve motivation and accountability.

ii)Digital Learning Tools Involve Educators and Parents to a Deeper Extent: Apart from educators, parents can use interactive activities to encourage their child’s interest in learning since gamification makes the process much more enjoyable and interesting. Parents can also explore online learning activities with their child which can serve as an extension to what they are learning in their classrooms. Digital learning tools and technology provide enjoyment for kids as well as numerous benefits in terms of developing a child’s well-being. Everyone benefits from the digitization of learning.

iii)Digital Learning Tools and Technology Is Rapidly Increasing Information Sharing: Digital learning tools and technology enable educators to rapidly share information with other educators in real-time. The explosion of free and open content and tools has created an environment of sharing economy. By embracing digital devices and connected learning, classrooms around the country and the globe can not only coordinate with one another to share insights but also boost learning, experience, and communication skills. The practice also allows educators to enjoy a level playing field. Schools can save money while ensuring equitable access to educational material as expensive private schools.

iv)Increasing Students’ Employability with Digital Learning Tools and Technology: Equipping students with the requirements of higher education and holding a career at a young age has become one of the most crucial responsibilities of school education. Digital learning solutions based on problem-based learning emphasize learning methods that are constructive, collaborative, and calls the students’ attention to a real-world approach to learning.

Disadvantages:

  1. Infrastructure: particularly affordable broadband at home
  2. More of the same: the risk of layering technology on top of how we’ve always done school with little benefit
  3. Old paradigms: teachers, administrators, and parents trapped in an old model
  4. Management and scheduling: customized learning will require much better management and scheduling tools
  5. Preparation & development: leaning new tools will be the easy part, learning new roles will be more challenging particularly as school models proliferate
  6. Obsolesce: constantly changing software and hardware versions make it tough for schools to stay current (but cloud computing will help)
  7. Interoperability: there lots of engaging content and cool apps but nothing works together
  8. Security and cheating: technology will solve some problems but introduce other challenges.

Limitations:

While the internet is an effective way to learn more information in less time, student-to-student interaction and student-to-teacher interaction are also an important part of elementary, middle, and high school.  It is important because of the hands-on experiences of a classroom that normally does not compare to the hands-on experiences of the internet, but also for the social aspect of school.  Being in a classroom with the same roughly thirty people every day helps you to create friends and gain social skills that will be essential throughout life, whether it is in a job interview or in just gaining friends and having people around you when you needed.  These social skills can be just as important throughout life as one’s intelligence, for example, these skills could be the reason someone does or does not get a job.  On top of these social skills, student-to-student interaction as well as student-to-teacher interaction is also a vital part of learning and could add another element that the internet does not have.  This interaction has the opportunity to teach children more because of the face-to-face aspect of the classroom.  Both hands-on approaches are effective.  For example, it is easier and much more time convenient for a teacher to clarify questions if she is well educated on the topic than it has been to find the answer on the internet promptly.  In many cases though, if the teacher does not know the answer to a question, the internet is a great resource to clarify questions.  Sometimes finding an answer to an exact question can be difficult on the internet and could cause students to waste timing looking through countless pages of search results.  Furthermore, backing up the statement that learning how to form an answer versus knowing how to search for an answer is much more useful in situations such as this.  Sometimes when it comes to the internet versus a classroom the classroom is a better option, but if the internet is used in a classroom it can add to the effectiveness of teaching. 

Conclusions:

Digitalization of the education is future of education. The traditional method is turning out to be less effective. But implementing the whole of the Digitalization concept also might not be the right decision. The situation says that there should be the right blend of traditional and digital education so that the value of the education will be the same and also the flow of knowledge will be better than before. The right source to right target flow is very much important. With the help of digitalization, education and its application of education will be significantly improved.

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