The Education System in the Age of Digital Revolution
Have you ever wondered what a class without any technology would be like? Me neither.
We live in an age where digital technology has become an irreplaceable aspect of our daily lives, including the education system. Before the prevalence of digital technology, different forms of tools such as Hornbooks, Magic Lantern, and more were used. Starting in the 1980s, the use of computers in the classroom setting has received increasing acceptance and from then onwards, we could see the growing assimilation of digital tools as an aid for learning. Our society has become so technology-driven because of several reasons: it is efficient, convenient, allows access to a wide range of information in just seconds, allows global communication with ease, and many more. I believe that the development and implementation of digital technology are necessary for the education system despite its disadvantages. One can adhere to the old ways of learning, but it would put one at a huge disadvantage to survive in the current society. Inevitably, technology will continually advance, hence, we should embrace the use of digital technology in our education system.
As mentioned earlier, the world will make progress in technology regardless. Therefore, we should offer courses that teach the basics of technology in the K-12 school curriculum: this may include a simple introduction to coding, introductory computer literacy courses, etc. And to make it more engaging and easier to understand, it could be presented through online games. There is a rise in the inclusion of tech-related courses, but not at a fast enough pace compared to the advancement of technology right now. Many computer-related courses are only offered in universities, not in middle or high schools. In current society, computer science and coding are treated as a global language, crossing international and cultural borders. Therefore, in order for citizens of the 21st century to survive in this age of constant technological development, it is of utmost priority for citizens of the 21st century to obtain such “language ability”.
With our economy being increasingly technology-driven, people who are able to code are more sought after. If students are able to code, it could make them more competitive in the workplace. Many of the tech-related jobs we see today did not exist one or two decades ago: this includes app developers, 3D printer engineers, drone operators, and more. With the pace technology is progressing at, it would be hard to predict careers of the future as well. But one thing is for sure: digital technology-related subjects such as computer science will play an indispensable role in developing those careers. One might think that possessing knowledge of coding would only be useful for tech-related jobs. This idea no longer stands true. Other work sectors also require extensive use of digital tools: this includes the healthcare sector, business, politics, and of course education. In addition, in a Wall Street Journal article, Robert Sedgewick argued that the worries we have about digital technology threatening our security and privacy are due to the lack of a basic understanding of how technology works. To prevent these worries, I believe that it would be best to start teaching computer literacy during K-12 education.
In the midst of the COVID pandemic, it especially magnifies this existing inequality. McKinsey conducted an analysis on whether students have received online classes during school shutdowns periods due to the COVID pandemic: 40% of African-American students and 30% of Hispanic students had no online classes whilst only 10% of white students had no online instructions. The results revealed the painstakingly obvious gaps in the ability to access online education and digital tools.
To minimize the disparities caused by racial and income differences, state governments, local communities, or organizations should invest in improving digital infrastructure and digital access. It would be helpful to distribute free computers to underprivileged students, but more should be done to solve this issue in the long term: workshops for underprivileged students might be a more cost-efficient and realistic solution. Furthermore, in an article where Darrell West and John Allen suggest ways to tackle the problems with inequalities due to the COVID pandemic, they raise an example for combatting the education gap. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has many programs directed to improving digital connectivity for the underprivileged. One of its many programs is called “E-rate”: the purpose of this program is to increase the affordability of “telecommunications and information services for schools and libraries.” They suggested several ways FCC could expand E-rate: the inclusion of remote learning, distributing unused funds from programs into closing gaps in knowledge, providing underprivileged families high-speed internet access, and more.
In video interviews with experts about their ideas for reimagining K-12 education, Paul Reville argued that local communities should take on a more active role in implementing and refining policies of youth-serving organizations. He went into more detail by suggesting the city council to establish “a cabinet that would join together community members, government officials, student organizations, and more to develop and refine strategies for students from lower-income families.” By using devices connected to the Internet, students can access a wider variety of resources, the most updated textbooks, educational videos, etc. There is also a rise in free online learning portals, providing underprivileged students with opportunities to learn at their own pace with digital learning equipment given by the government, NGOs, or the local community. In addition, they could provide reliable networks for students’ online education. This would be a win-win situation for both sides. There will be less education inequality and more well-equipped workers for the digital age when students graduate.
Thus far, I have argued for the importance of digital technology in our education system, but I want to provide a full picture and focus on some adverse effects that the increasing implementation of digital tools brought along. In July 2017, China implemented a policy called the Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan (NGAIDP): it promotes the further implementation of AI into our daily lives, including the education system. The technology in question is a facial recognition technique called Class Care System (CCS). It could detect and monitor students’ behaviors in class by assessing their attention levels; it is able to differentiate each student as it can recognize each individual’s unique facial features. Advocates for this technology insist that this implementation will help improve students’ learning efficiency.
CCS is advertised to help strengthen learning efficiency but students seem to have a different opinion on this. In an interview with a student from one of the schools that had already implemented CCS, he said that since this technology gives a public score, his peers are unable to relax even a little in the fear of being penalized. It seems to me that the implementation of this digital technology seems to be counterproductive and rather excessive because instead of focusing on class content, students will only focus on trying to seem awake. Not only that, but this is also an invasion of privacy as there are possibilities that the facial recognition technology would save the personal information of the students. This reveals a constant worry that is brought along with the increased incorporation of technology in our lives.
At the end of the day, technological advancement into the education system is inevitable and I do believe that there are many positive impacts the Digital Revolution has prompted. There is greater accessibility and flexibility; access to the internet enables global communications instantaneously. Not only so, but it also led to the inception of online degrees; higher education now provides online courses wherein students from all over the world have access to, and the development of technology led to the establishment of online schools and universities. Owing to this rise in online educational opportunities, students can bypass geographical barriers and learn from wherever and whenever. Moreover, digital technology enables the individualization of education; it can help students focus their education around their future goals and interests. In the book “Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology,” the author Allan Collins presented ways in which the incorporation of technology improved the education system. One such way was to use technology to teach topics involving scientific investigation: LeTUS enables the visualization and analysis for scientific topics such as global warming. This digital tool is an example wherein technology provided a better presentation of a concept that would otherwise be difficult to learn about. Nonetheless, the downside of the implementation of technology should not be overlooked and there are still many improvements to be made to the K-12 education system to override the gap between the privileged and underprivileged.