Essay Sample on Technology Challenges in the Education Sector

Introduction

Despite the widespread of technology in various aspects of education, it leads to challenges that affect proper implementation and integration into the education systems. In K-12 education, for example, virtually everything is done by the use of new technological innovations (Mayes et al., 233). Technology has become the most important part of education in the world today, parents, teachers and the students benefit from the application of technology in improving the education possibilities (Akinyemi, and Rembe, 10). However, some people express decent because of some shortcomings of technology application in schools. Some of the challenges in technology application in education are not related to the technologies and their applicability, while others are systematic; education leaders and teachers are at fault in some of the technical failures and challenges facing the education sector today (Mayes et al., 232). Various systems are in place to monitor the application of technology in education; consequently, various internationally recognized practitioners have tried to help people understand both the systemic and technological challenges facing education. Poor implementation of technology in education lead to the manifestation of the consequences of such technologies including time wastage for the students, increased cost of education and cheating in education.

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The problems of technology application in education have to be managed, as there are no possibilities of doing away with it in today's world and even in the future. For example, the use of the internet to enable learning in most schools in the developed countries has become one of the most acceptable improvements in the education sector (Akinyemi, and Rembe, 14). Doing away with it may not be acceptable to students, teachers, and parents. However, the challenges still exist, such as using the internet for entertainment instead of education purposes. In some cases, students resort to playing video games using their tablets and computers meant for academic studies to the extent that they hardly have time for their studies. In such cases, technology is to blame for the reduced performance of such students.

Some of the causes of the challenges in technology application in schools include issues of professional development and resistance to change. In some cases, technologies are introduced in the education system without the teachers being taken through training so that they can effectively integrate such technologies with the existent educational goals and systems. Leaving the teachers without the tools to enable them understand the technologies and how they can be used to improve the learning opportunities for the learners is a systemic cause of failures in technology application in education. Resistance to change, especially among teachers, school leaders, parents and students pose a major challenge in the success of technology use in the education sector (Demirer, and Bozoglan, 270). In most cases, resistance comes because of lack of understanding of the technology.

Consequences of the failure in addressing the problems of technology application are schools grievous. For instance, if teachers are not taken through training on how to incorporate the introduced technologies in education, they may tamper with the various equipment hence leading to an increased cost of technology application. Again, introduction on the internet in schools and allowing the students to use smartphones in assisting their learning in exposing them to easy cheating tricks that undermine the integrity of education (Viberg, and Gronlund, 372). Learners being allowed the use of the internet in the classroom make it possible for them to seek help with their assignments from friends and specialists they meet in some of the online interaction platforms (Demirer, and Bozoglan, 272). Carrying internet-enabled gadgets to exam rooms also lead to cheating as the learners may use the internet search engines to acquire answers to the examination questions. However, the consequences of technology application are not only increased costs of education and cheating related.

Time wastage among learners is the most common consequence of technology application in schools. Learners may spend most of their time using the internet for non-academic purposes. Playing video games, interacting with friends and family members as well as watching movies are some of the activities that are most appealing to learners (Viberg, and Gronlund, 359). Students would rather spend their time in class using the internet to communicate and interact with friends that use such an important resource in gaining new knowledge in academics. In such cases, technology in education is said to contribute to time wastage for learners.

Conclusion

In summary, learners need technology to be able to learn effectively in this century where the application of technology leads to possibilities in almost all spheres of life. Technology application in the education system faces challenges due to lack of adequate training of the implementers, which leads to poor professional development and resistance to change. The factors that contribute to the challenges to the application of such technologies make the consequences of the failures fall squarely on the learners. For instance, the learners are supposed to benefit academically from the technology introduced in their learning systems. However, such technologies end up becoming time wasters and machines for increased loss of integrity in the education system. Instead of using the technologies to improve learning opportunities for the students, the students use them for entertainment and cheating.

Works Cited

Akinyemi, Adeola Folasade, and Symphorosa Rembe. "Challenges Encountered By Communities of Practice in Enhancing Continuing Professional Teachers Development in High Schools". The Anthropologist, vol 30, no. 1, 2017, pp. 8-16. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/09720073.2017.1377890.

Demirer, Veysel, and Bahadir Bozoglan. "Purposes of Internet Use and Problematic Internet Use among Turkish High School Students". Asia-Pacific Psychiatry, vol 8, no. 4, 2015, pp. 269-277. Wiley, doi:10.1111/appy.12219.

Mayes, Robin et al. "Challenges for Educational Technologists in the 21St Century". Education Sciences, vol 5, no. 3, 2015, pp. 221-237. MDPI AG, doi:10.3390/educsci5030221. Accessed 30 July 2018.

Nagel, David. "6 Technology Challenges Facing Education". THE Journal, 2013, https://thejournal.com/articles/2013/06/04/6-technology-challenges-facing-education.aspx. Accessed 30 July 2018.

Viberg, Olga, and Ake Gronlund. "Understanding Students' Learning Practices: Challenges for Design and Integration of Mobile Technology into Distance Education". Learning, Media and Technology, vol 42, no. 3, 2015, pp. 357-377. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/17439884.2016.1088869.