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Many of the recent changes in educational learning have come about through improvements in technology. The internet has enabled classroom sessions to be streamed live online. Students don’t even need to attend class and can simply log in from the comfort of their rooms. Further, some of these classes are available as a video file – viewable at any time just like on-demand TV.
But does extending the availability of classes to students sitting at home in their pajamas effectively increase their learning? Many people would agree that it does – students can watch and rewatch lectures to fully grasp a concept. They can save the time previously spent getting to class and use it to watch more material.
However, people should not overemphasize technology’s contribution toward educational learning. Yes, its benefits may include convenience and accessibility. But more important to our goals as educators is 1) the Quality of teachings and 2) Students’ ability to absorb and learn those teachings – rather than the use of fancy technology.
Whether students learn in a real classroom lecture or benefit technologically from learning in the comfort of their home, they are still up against the same barriers to learning – the ability to absorb a professor’s teachings. Students must pay attention and be able to grasp a professor’s train of thought from the beginning or risk “being lost” in his lecture talk for the remainder of the class. It is no wonder that many lectures leave students dozing off, often wondering whether they are victims of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). The task of following the professor’s train of thought is a difficult one and without assistance, many students will be unable to keep up.
Thus, in the context of technology improvement, we must not only make improvements in the areas of convenience and accessibility, but also in the dimensions that matter most in education – quality of teaching and ability to learn. The future of educational learning will lie in innovations that successfully improve students’ ability to grasp a professor’s teachings. We will see improvements in Learning Management Systems/ E-Learning and streaming capabilities, but don’t let fancy computer technology lead you to believe that educational learning is improving. Don’t forget that effective educational learning is highly dependent upon students’ ability to absorb the teaching and the quality of the teaching itself. Thought process learning, which is the cognitive teaching method I use in GMAT Pill, is one new teaching method aimed in this direction. Going forward, I expect to see further advancements in effective teaching styles along with continued developments on the technology side. Advances in both dimensions will propel educational learning forward into the next decade.
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