In the age of global warming, how can technology help students? The new educational technologies have the potential to change schooling for the better. They promote transparency, communication, and personal connections, increase learning opportunities, accelerate assessment, and expose students to new experiences and resources. If we embrace the power of technology in the classroom, we will see how it improves students’ learning experiences. This article provides an overview of the possibilities for educational technology in our classrooms.
High-tech and low-tech approaches
In an era of rapid technological development, schooling in an atypical disaster cannot be completely dependent on a single communication channel. To ensure the success of schooling during a pandemic, a combination of “high-tech” and “low-tech” approaches must be employed. Last year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched the Roadmap for Digital Cooperation to address the widening digital divide. With the closure of schools, COVID-19 exacerbates this divide. In 2017, the United Nations Children’s Fund estimated that 168 million children missed one year of schooling as a result of a global pandemic.
We face a world-wide pandemic that is both an economic and political emergency. It also poses an urgent question of who should control education and what kind of education system should be in place. As a result of these recent developments, it is vital to question the direction of education. In the end, technological choices are not neutral; they are highly socially constructed and affect our immediate contexts. They affect us on different levels, including micro-level teaching and learning, meso-level organizational relations, and macro-level societal impact.
Impact on literacy
While the benefits of digital technology and work from home opportunities are undeniable, they also exacerbate the inequities that ail so many people around the world. The pandemic increased the level of disengagement among students who didn’t feel a part of the school community. Remote instruction proved difficult for students who were not familiar with digital platforms, and one colleague reported a case where a student missed nine months of schooling because of poor computer skills.
While the pandemic affected many students, it also posed remote learning hurdles that led to a great deal of disruption. However, the impact on literacy rates may be greatest among the youngest learners. As teachers, creating a language-rich environment on Zoom has been a major challenge. It may also impact reluctant readers. Hawley remembers her own reluctant reader, Reggie. This pandemic essay highlights the complexities of literacy instruction in the modern classroom.
Impact on social anxiety
The Covid-19 pandemic had a profound impact on mental health worldwide. Social and emotional stress caused by the epidemic led to increased numbers of clinical conditions, including anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Many of these conditions are related to disruption of social interaction, which in turn impacts social anxiety. The key characteristic of social anxiety is the fear of social evaluation. However, technological advances have made it possible for people to communicate more efficiently.
Recently, a recent poll on the coronavirus claimed that people who follow news about the virus experience more anxiety than those who do not. The news is often false and associated with rumors and other distressing content. Being continuously exposed to COVID-19 news causes anxiety levels to skyrocket. Even worse, the news can increase depressive symptoms among the general population. Mental health professionals suggest that those who follow news on this virus seek out reliable sources of information so that their anxiety is reduced. It’s recommended that people avoid reading negative news about the disease or seeking other forms of communication, such as text messaging or social networking.
