Information and knowledge in the IT era
Consider missing class but attending the video conference later! Work on your laptop at the library or a coffee shop, at your convenience, or discuss your online course with your online professor, without physically attending the classroom lecture. All of this was just a dream a decade ago, but now it has become a possibility and a complete reality!
IT has changed the world in the way information is communicated. “As educators, we need to be aware of the fact of the information age and participate in it,” says Jack Lightstone, pedagogue. Information Technology facilities and infrastructure will be expanded in the next 5 years. Classrooms can be upgraded with wireless IT capabilities for teaching and learning purposes. The new teacher development programs will provide teachers with experience in the effective use of IT in teaching.
In many developed countries, students also have access to modern technology, while many already have computers and Internet access at home or work, educational institutions now provide computer labs and libraries equipped with laptops. All classrooms, common areas, offices and lounges are connected with wireless networks.
Course websites and online courses access educational opportunities, accommodate different learning styles, and meet the needs of the diverse student community. For many students, busy class schedules, work, family, or long distances make an online course ideal, convenient, and attractive.
Furthermore, “the online-only education system is inevitable,” according to political science professor Julian Schofield, who teaches an entirely online course on the United Nations. Though he cautions that while the all-online format is undeniably successful, “there are limits to the ability to communicate large amounts of theoretical information to students online.”
While the classroom will continue to be a vital part of college learning, a growing number of professors are embracing new technologies, supplementing their classes with course websites that can include video lectures, lecture notes, selected readings, and references. This is mainly because the use of web technologies works perfectly well in programming. These communication tools are especially useful for graduate students who rarely see their colleagues.
So the research study question is “How can teachers best turn this access to information into knowledge?” The answer lies in the fact that the new initiative in technology integration will continue to be part of the academic planning process. As online learning emerges, education without physical classrooms, human contact and social support will become a thing of the past in the future world of IT.
As new technologies continue to bring about rapid changes in education, experts believe that a renewed academic approach to teaching and learning is required for a critical understanding of the impacts of new technologies in the classroom. Educators have high expectations of new directions in education through IT. In the years to come, students who have grown up in the midst of IT will have a renewed vision and creative ideas that will redefine education in the 21st century!