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Technologies have become an integral part of modern life. Digitalization could be noticed in medicine, building, and transportation, to name but a few areas affected by this process. Still, the implementation of new technological facilities and ways of schooling based on them is a highly disputable topic. In the present situation of COVID-19 pandemic, online classes and video-courses occurred to be the only way to continue the process of education in academic institutions worldwide. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether, after the end of the pandemic, educational institutions should return to traditional education methods or use technologies more actively during the classes. From this, it could be inferred that the implementation of technologies into the constant practice of schooling is an open-ended problem since there are many contradictory opinions concerning this topic.
The problem is enhanced by the fact that many elderly professors and teachers, who undoubtedly possess immense knowledge of their subjects, experience difficulties with using cloud data storage, and online broadcast of the lectures. In some cases, they do not know how to fix an unexpected problem with, for instance, headphones or microphone connection. In other words, some instructors are not savvy in technical matters and have significant issues with retaining students attention and interest.
Talking about my current thinking about the future of education from the perspective of the identified problem, I would like to say that further digitalization is an inevitable process. It also seems to be pointless to resist the emerging trend towards digitalization of education. Every year, new computer programs and gadgets are being developed that could facilitate teachers and make students more interested in classes. There are some curious experiments with the learning process, such as the inclusion of Twitter into the pedagogical practice described by Bista (2015). As a result of this innovative practice, Twitter, the participants indicated that their engagement in the in-class activities increased, and this method allowed them to receive relevant information on the course without any delay (Bista, 2015). Moreover, as the world is becoming more globalized, many transnational educational programs have been established in universities worldwide. Bannier (2016) emphasizes that such applications are a chance for individuals from underdeveloped countries to receive a decent education. Apparently, this could not be done without the integration of recent technologies in the learning process.
In addition to what is mentioned above, I believe that technologies would not harm the equity of knowledge and overall education received by students. Martin-Gutierrez et al. (2017) claim that academic institutions would benefit from virtual technologies since they would allow students to access virtual laboratories, conduct virtual experiments, and practice skills in medicine via specially created software. Schenk (2017) supposes that teachers would also be better off when they begin to include new technologies in their traditional educational practices. Therefore, the existing researches prove that the digitalization of teaching is a favorable opportunity that should be used by modern educational institutions. Grounding personal opinion in the current literature, I believe that the open-ended problem with the implementation of technologies during classes would ultimately culminate in the broad application of computer technology in education.
Aspects Influencing Application of Technologies in Education
The previously described problem is multifaceted and could be considered from various points of view. This way, the chosen five aspects that influence the issue of application of technologies in education are teachers and standards, high-stakes assessments, technology, public policy, and diversity and inclusion. Below, each listed aspect is viewed from two perspectives. The first one is expressed by the refusal to include digital technologies in the teaching process. The second approach, on the contrary, emphasizes the necessity to use IT-developments more actively.
Teachers and Standards
Undoubtedly, teachers are the drivers of the implementation of modern technologies into the educational process because it is up to them to decide how to plan their classes. Currently, teachers use electronic statements of attendance and grades in the majority of the institutions of primary and higher education. Students can access instructors via specialized platforms where they can ask questions and send home assignments. Still, some educators cease using innovations at this stage.
From the position of teachers who prefer to ignore a trend towards the digitalization of education, it could be claimed that technologies distract students attention and harm the traditional practice of tuition that had proved its effectiveness over centuries. This opinion is, to a greater extent, is expressed by the older generation of professors and teachers who used to conduct lessons using only paper books and exams and real communication. The opponents of the digitalization of education insist that it takes a lot of time for instructors to realize how to use certain online services or electronic devices (Kaatrakoski et al., 2017). Besides, it also was noticed that some teachers do not use new technologies during the classes on regular bases and tend to return to classical methods of education (Kaatrakoski et al., 2017). Therefore, it becomes apparent that the human factor and flexibility of teachers become a significant impediment towards the utilization of new practices connected with the application of technologies. What is more, the implementation of technologies in schooling requires specific changes in educational standards and the grading system.
In addition, Howards and Mozejko (2015) figured out that teachers decision to resist the discussed trend lies in the lack of support from the leadership of an educational institution. This means that not only individual assertions but also external factors influence this decision. The existence of a culture that supports the usage of new technologies during the lectures, seminars, and research classes in any educational institution is a precious factor that could accelerate the application of trends in practice. The reason why a head of a school or a faculty might not support the integration of technologies is that it is costly to purchase computers, install smart blackboards, and train teachers. However, the mentioned cause of the digitalization delay would be discussed in another chapter of the given research paper.
The second approach to the issue implies the aspiration to integrate trends to digitalization in conventional teaching methods. The proponents of this view argue that implementation of open educational resources (OER) and practices (OEP) help students to acquire and interconnect three types of knowledge: theoretical, practical, and self-regulative (Hood & Littlejohn, 2017). OER and OEP are closely connected to the application of technologies in education because they would be impossible without students and teachers access to electronic devices and the web. Therefore, the implementation of digital technologies allows educators to provide their classmen with more profound and multidimensional knowledge, which would make them better trained. Besides, it could be easily noticed that the gap between the educators and the students is widening since the latter could not live a day without using their gadgets or surfing the net. Thus, in favor of the digitalization of education, it should be argued that technologies would create a more comfortable and familiar conditions for the students in the classes.
Evidence of proponents and opposers of digitalization could be counted as biased towards each of the sides of the current dispute. An outside observer could detect that each researcher tries to find such information that would confirm his or her vision on the issue. In other words, most works use cherry-picking data on positive or negative connections between the teachers and the technologies. Still, both views might be the case since they present two sides of the same coin.
High-stakes Assessments
High-stakes assessments have become an integral part of every students life since because without them, it is impossible to receive a diploma or a scholarship. At first glance, it seems that these tests are weakly connected with the topic of implementation of technologies in educational practices. Nevertheless, digitalization affects even this aspect of the training process. Concerning this issue, there is an opinion that technologies help to enhance the quality of grading of such tests. Simultaneously, there is a vision that new technologies are useless without the existence of a correctly working assessment system in the real world. The current section of the research paper discusses the two given visions.
The proponents of the digitalization of education argue that it tends to grade assessments more fairly. Newhouse (2015) has conducted research that lasted for three years that indicated that technologies indeed increase the authenticity of high-stakes summative assessment (p. 17). Besides, the application of technologies allows creating electronic portfolios that could be accessible to any organization or an educational institution that requires it (Williams et al., 2015). What is more, e-portfolios are a convenient way to store information on previous assessments.
In addition to what was mentioned above, high-stakes assessments include interviews for a university admission, which are mainly conducted by the experts. In the scientific-popular best-seller Thinking, fast and slow, Kahneman (2011) proves that algorithms and computer programs are more successful in the selection of students that obtain a high potential than experts who conduct interviews. This research was not the authors critical work but rather an example that proved his theory that claims that formulas cope much better with the decision-making process.
Even though the studies of the psychologist and the Nobel prize winner, Daniel Kahneman, were nor focused on education, they could be applied for this purpose. This way, from the conclusions of his numerous researches, it could be inferred that the destiny of some kinds of high-stakes assessments participants should be decided not by real people. Instead, the outcomes should be calculated through formulas and special programs that could do this automatically. The method should include the numerical expression of qualities that characterize a good student that would show high results during the learning period. Consequently, the digitalization of high-stakes assessments process enables universities to select more promising students, and this, in turn, would increase the overall reputation of any educational center.
Now, the paper considers the point of view of scholars who deny the pressing need for a broader application of the recent technologies in the sphere of high-stakes assessments. They suppose that artificial systems pose a danger to the quality of grading and could underestimate the performance of a candidate. For instance, Schmidgall and Powers (2017) claim that technologies narrow construct of measurement and give more possibilities for cheating (p. 318). The application of technologies in high-stakes assessments means the need to install more electronic devices, specialized software, and unawareness of an instructor or an examinee of how to use either of them could be a severe problem.
For the author of the present paper, it seems fairer to agree with the evidence proposed by the opponents of the idea rather by the supporters. The experience gained during the school and university years proves that digital systems give failures, online proctoring systems usually turn into excessive stress for the students and their professors. What is more, people just got used to the traditional format of interviews with real examiners and paper-based tests. Therefore, it is challenging to overpersuade oneself in the necessity for the application of digital technologies. It is possible to suggest that the supporters of technologies do not assume the pure sense of fear of everything new. Undoubtedly, the results of their researches are immensely impressive and persuasive. Still, for human nature, it is reasonable to resist any changes. Besides, high-stakes assessments are of great significance for the students, and they would feel more relaxed if the environment is familiar to them. Additionally, they would be sure in a good outcome if they know that the result depends only on their efforts, excluding the probability that some trouble could occur with the soft or hardware.
Public Policy
The government plays an essential role in education by establishing laws that educators have to follow. Marathe (2018) calls digitalization a game-changer in education that leads to the need to reallocate the budget so that schools and universities could afford e-learning and digital technologies. According to data provided by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2019), on average, states spend about 18 percent of total government expenditure on education. In comparison, countries payments on military issues take three times less (The World Bank, 2019). Without any concerns, the trend to spend more money on education than on defense capabilities is a positive one. Still, Marathe (2018) assumes that most of the governments in the developing states do not invest enough money into education. Kazak et al. (2019), as well as Agarwal (2020), confirm this statement by claiming that insufficient budget hinders the digitalization of education in Russia and India. The current section discusses two views on the role of the government in the integration of technologies in the learning practice.
As it has already been mentioned in the subsection above, implementation of technologies in regular schooling practices is assisted by the support of the leadership of a school, college, or university. The head of an educational institution might be a supporter of new technologies; however, his or her aspirations might be limited due to the absence of finance. Besides, Agarwal (2020) emphasizes that rural areas are usually not as wealthy as central ones, and thus, they require additional financial support from the government. Extra money is needed to overcome the lack of educated instructors, the absence of equipment, and implement new teaching methods instead of old ones (Agarwal, 2020). From this, it could be inferred that the government should undertake policies aimed at the digitalization of education.
Nevertheless, it could be assumed that usage of recent technological developments in education neither affects public policy nor could be affected by it. Kopp et al. (2019) suggest that the claim that digitalization is impossible due to the small budget is nothing but a mere excuse. This assertion does not mean that the authors deny that digital transformation is a costly process. However, the scholars insist that at least the higher education institutions could find the funds in internal and external sources (Kopp et al., 2019). Therefore, digitalization depends not that much on public policies of a state but on the strive of an institution to modernize.
Talking about the quality of evidence, all of what has been mentioned in the present subsection of the research paper is credible and could be trusted. That is so because sources consist of recent information on the processes that are going on in educational institutions worldwide. At the same time, it is immensely important not to forget that the mentioned researches mainly reflect the peculiarities of the system of training of a country. This way, what is right, for instance, for Cambodia or Brazil, might be false for the US and the EU. It should also be admitted that both arguments are sane and should be taken into account. The differences in the underlying assumptions of the discussed approaches are expressed through the fact that they are focused on dissimilar levels of educational institutions. The argument of Kopp et al. (2019) does not apply to primary schools in remote areas. Therefore, government involvement in digitalization of education depends on the perspective from which it is viewed.
Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion are critical principles for the educational process since teaching in accordance with them mean that the uniqueness of all students is taken into consideration and that all students are treated equally regardless of their race, nationality, gender, economic and social status. In this context, the digitalization of education raises a question about the compatibility with equality in the classroom. The digitalization of knowledge implies that in some cases, students might use their devices during lectures and seminars. The problem is that some students could not afford a laptop and thus might feel shy and uncomfortable near the more prosperous groupmates. On the other hand, there is an opinion that it is precisely digitalization that helps to mitigate the dissimilarities between the students and equalize their abilities.
Digitalization also affects the way children with special needs are trained. Conti et al. (2017) suggest that robots significantly assist the learning process of people with intellectual disabilities. In spite of the existing evidence of the positive impact of robots on the education of such people, experienced psychologists do not trust them and prefer not to use (Conti et al., 2017). The current subsection discussed the arguments for and against the application of modern technologies in academic institutions.
One possible approach to the issue of application of technologies is that it could help to make education equal. This became possible due to the spread of online learning globally (Palvia et al., 2018). Allen and Seaman (2016) also mark that the number of online education enrollments steadily increases even though the overall admissions for higher education are in decline. Online training makes it possible to establish dual degree programs with the most respectful universities so that students. For example, students from Pakistan, for whom it is too expensive to study abroad, receive a chance to get a diploma in a prestigious American or British university without leaving the country. Besides, examinations conducted via online technologies guarantee anonymity and the absence of bias based on gender, race, nationality, and other possible factors. That is true for the cases when a student takes an online test or write an examination in the affiliated center that sends assignments to the major university where they are checked.
At the same time, the digitalization of education proves to be useless in fighting inequality among the students. Musu-Gillette et al. (2016) inform that the gap between the quality of education of students of different races still exists. In addition to that, Rooks (2017) calls online training an inefficient solution to the issue of segregation on race or income bases in educational institutions. This vision is grounded on the fact that schools in places where mainly live color families and those with low income do not possess sufficient budget. Consequently, they are unable to apply the same quality technologies as in private schools in central areas. This distinction leads to the rising gap in the quality of formation received by students in various parts of a country.
The given evidence shows the same problem from different angles. From one point of view, technologies make it possible to better educate children with physical and mental disabilities. Besides, online learning, which would be impossible without the digitalization of educational processes, allows students from underdeveloped and developing countries to get a degree of the best universities in the world while staying at home. Nevertheless, modern technologies and virtual learning practices do not reduce the gap in the quality of education of children of different races and income levels. As far as the results of the mentioned articles are based on researches, they leave no reason to doubt in their correctness and relevance. The underlying assumptions of the specified papers are that technologies have little to do with social problems. Incorporation of artificial techniques, virtual learning environment, smart boards, and online laboratories into usual practice could indeed equalize students in terms of their abilities, which means that the principle of diversity in the classroom is maintained. Still, technologies could not change educators and groupmates biased judgment towards representatives of other races, genders, and income levels.
Technology
When discussing the pros and cons of the application of technologies in educational practices, one of the most critical aspects to me mentioned deals with technologies that are being applied. Apparently, the digital revolution has led to the necessity to change longstanding academic techniques. Still, the question remains if technologies have a positive or a negative impact on education overall. The current subsection observes the evidence for and against of digitalization in the sphere of learning from the perspective of technologies that are being used.
It is logical to assume that the opponents of the digitalization of education see the danger in the constant usage of smartphones and computers instead of books for learning purposes. Wutz (2018) doubts that technologies actually should be relied on to such a great extent. As an example, the author mentions the case of Belgium, where children use iPads instead of paper books (Wutz, 2018). Frequent use of electronic devices has a devastating impact on eyesight. Apart from this, Wutz (2018) warns that children in such an educational system could become victims of commercial advertisements of certain brands. This means that digitalization could help create a monopolist on the market of IT companies, which is not beneficial for less influential players. Still, a vision of Wutz (2018) could be counter-argued. Schools and universities could use unbranded digital items with the technology of eye protection and the possibility of handwriting via a stylus.
In favor of the broader application of recent technologies in education, Collins and Halverson (2018) reckons that the current generation of students was born in the epoch of digital revolution and could imagine their lives without the Internet, artificial intelligence, smartphones, and computers. Education should follow the trends towards digitalization and modernization and adjust to the habits of the modern generation of students.
Indeed, the mentioned articles provide relevant arguments in defense of the ideas of the author. Because both of them were written and published in recent two years, the information is up to date and reflects the current situation in the sphere of education. It could be noticed that both approaches are based on the same assumption that digitalization is an inevitable process, and the system of education is not perfect and has a lot of space for improvement.
In the conclusion of the section, it should be admitted that aspects influencing the integration of digital technologies into educational practices are multidimensional. Digitalization affects not only the teaching methods, students abilities, systems of assessments, but also governmental policies, health issues, and social problems such as inequality. Summarizing all the arguments mentioned above, it becomes clear that the implementation of new technologies has both weak and strong sides. Nevertheless, the global trend towards digitalization of human life implies that educators should gradually move away from traditional teaching methods.
Relations Between the Approaches Towards Digitalization and Aspects Influencing Application of Technologies in Education
The current section of the research paper discusses how public policy and diversity and inclusion on one side affect the approaches towards digitalization of education and vice versa. These particular aspects were chosen for further discussion because they seem to be the most debatable and contradictory. Without any concerns, the matter of teachers readiness to use electronic devices during classes and the quality of high-stake assessments are also important. Nevertheless, there are more agreements in the scholar community than disagreements on how digitalization influences these aspects.
The decision of the government, whether to increase the number of subsidies to schools and universities, depends on the belief of politicians in the necessity to digitalize education. Besides, their willingness to lobby the interests of a software company or IT-corporation also might affect the final decision. In the current state of affairs, countries compete in possession of soft power, not a hard one, as it was up to the end of the previous century. Soft power itself is an ability of a nation to influence others in such a way that they would accept its rules and act in a way beneficial for that country. This concept, among other indicators such as democratic liberties, government transparency, the attractiveness of the business environment for entrepreneurs, includes the quality and prestigiousness of private education. Therefore, it is highly profitable for the government to increase the share of total GDP spent on academic issues since it could turn into the growth of a countrys power on the international stage. Therefore, the digitalization of education would be underfinanced in the sphere of humanities since the application of technologies seems to be more relevant in exact sciences.
Diversity and inclusion are a tricky issue in education, even without the context of its digitalization. For universities, online training is an additional source of revenue and a good PR move. One approach suggests that virtual learning equalizes students since all of them gain equal access to the learning courses no matter where they live and how high their income is. Still, from the viewpoint of the opponents of virtual learning, the quality of such education is less satisfactory than of the classical one. Online students could listen to the same lectures and read the same books as regular students; however, the former ones are deprived of real communication with the groupmates and professors. This means that they become unable to make useful acquaintances that would assist them in making a career. Notwithstanding this impediment, the current trend toward globalization does not consider this vision of a problem and does not suggest any solutions. What is more, digitalization does not help to increase diversity and inclusion in the classroom since these principles are connected with mindsets and overall culture.
Pros and Cons of Implementing the Discussed Approaches to Digitalization of Education
The two possible approaches to the issue include a more active implementation of technologies in regular learning practices at all stages of education and limitations of digitalization and preservation of traditional educational methods. Both attitudes have strong and weak sides that are examined in this section. In anticipation, it should be noted that in real life, more the first approach overtakes the second one.
The most significant advantage of the continuation of the digitalization of education could be inferred from the current pandemic situation when students in most countries of the world are obliged to stay home and deprived of the ability to attend classes. Lectures and seminars in Zoom and conduction of examinations with the application of proctoring systems enabled students not to lose their progress and keep on learning. Unsurprisingly, students who have an unstable Internet connection or do not have individual electronic devices such as web-camera or microphone experience significant inconvenience from this work format. Still, these cases are rather an exclusion than a common practice. For example, Cambridge University has even decided to conduct all the lectures online during the following academic year since this method proved to be more convenient for students. What is more, technologies make it possible to experiment more frequently and gain more experience without harming health. For instance, pilots are trained through special computer programs that imitate the conditions of a real flight. Finally, the digitalization of education turns into the lower need to print books, scientific papers, and quizzes that help to reduce the frequency of deforestation.
Nevertheless, nowadays, technologies are not perfect and cannot be guaranteed one hundred percent efficiency in comparison with traditional educational methods. Firstly, students might get distracted from the classes and surf the net or play games on a laptop or a tablet. Secondly, if a government does not provide students and schoolchildren with electronic devices for free, then families that could not buy a device become excluded from the educational process. Thirdly, some teachers and classmen are not trained to use digital equipment that hinders the efficiency of a class.
Compared to online learning, traditional offline one is much cheaper since it does not require the installation of any specific equipment, purchasing of electronic devices, and additional training of teachers. Besides, experiments conducted in the artificially created environment reduce the degree of responsibility for the outcome and could never change experience gained in real life. Traditional education without any digital devices and new technologies has also proved its effectiveness and has raised several generations of prominent scientists, physicians, architects, politicians, and other specialists in all spheres of human life.
Simultaneously, the most weight disadvantage of traditional education is that it is gradually becoming outdated. Children from birth are growing in the digital environment and easily manage to use a computer or a tablet from a very young age. What is more, even though further digitalization of education does not resolve discrimination and segregation, neither does the classical one. At least, in the epoch of globalization, people receive an ability to study abroad via digital platforms, which is impossible in the traditional system. Ultimately, the modern market of digital devices suggests a wide range of products at different prices so that all students could find affordable laptops and accessories.
Proposed Solution of the Identified Problem
As it has already been mentioned, the identified open-ended problem signifies the debates on whether education should be digitalized or not, and if yes, then how could this be achieved. In my opinion, traditional educational practices should be gradually substituted with new ones that include the application of new technologies. At the same time, it does not signify that educators should expunge using classical educational methods: offline seminars, written exams, interviews with experts, real experiments in a field, or laboratory.
In other words, I suppose that should be created such a system of education that would reflect the strongest points of both approaches. It is impossible to substitute all in-class activities with online ones. People are social beings, academic institutions are places of socialization, and even digital technologies and the most advanced robots could never supplant communication with real teachers and groupmates. I also believe that the government should be engaged more actively in the digitalization of education. It could financially support educational centers that try to implement some new techniques in daily practices. Besides, I guess it would be profitable if departments of education would create a unified program with advice on how to digitalize education. This program should include precise steps that learning organizations could follow to achieve the goal.
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