While dealing with a global pandemic, learning and teaching processes start increasingly integrating digital tools. The attempts to incorporate open platform tools into education have been made by technology companies in collaboration with leading universities globally. However, there is currently a shortage of user-friendly and accessible education platforms at the middle or high school levels. Through an analysis of literature on the subject, I consider the significance of open platforms for secondary education. The paper aims to share recommendations on implementing digital tools into education processes.
As in other fields, technology in education aims to make it easier and offer new ideas and methods. There is evidence that digital tools usage among students is increasing rapidly at present (Otterborn et al., 2019). Starting from middle school, learners tend to use modern devices and online tools such as IXL, K5learning, and Khan Academy to find detailed solutions for solving math tasks. Nevertheless, the online tools or websites that are available currently are not advanced enough to help students find the results that they search for. Developing an excellent open platform will be highly beneficial for teachers in establishing significant transfers of knowledge to students.
To produce results, teachers should capitalize on the technological abilities of modern children and adapt them to effective learning. Via technology, education transforms from passive to interactive and reactive learning (Raja & Nagasubramani, 2018). Currently, substantial parts of the education process take place via one-way lectures from the teacher to the students. A digital platform would enable interactive and personalized learning, improving the quality of the entire process. The new system will be supportive in creating and coordinating lesson plans rapidly through a database shared with other educators. The cloud storage system will support quick access to materials. As a result, students will have time to reflect on the materials instead of rushing to write them without understanding before the next sentence begins.
The main objective of the software is to allow adolescents to educate themselves and assist their classmates. Open platform tools are adaptable for both students willing to learn according to their pace and learners who require clarifications. As such, the innovation is helpful for teachers for guiding low achievers. As mentioned by Herold (2016), the approach described is titled personalized learning. The platform can also facilitate communication between teachers and children’s parents. However, to implement all of these features, the involvement of teachers, parents, students, school management, and technology architects will be required.
With that said, such cooperation will require substantial effort and resources, which can emerge as significant problems inherent in technological solutions. Many educational institutions face challenges in securing investments for upgrading traditional classrooms into digital spaces (Otterborn et al., 2019). Nonetheless, technology companies consistently develop classroom management software permitting new education methods without investing a considerable amount of money. Large corporations, in particular, should contribute more to the process with their resources, improving the lives of children nationwide.
I, as a future Software Engineer, firmly believe that technology is an effective means of handling and resolving various academic challenges. Current education services lack complex digital tools that are accessible to all the students, beneficial for learners, parents, teachers, and other educators, and affordable for the school. I intend to contribute to building such a platform in my future profession, overcoming the current problems of education systems and improving the lives of learners.
References
Herold, B. (2016). Technology in education: An overview. Education Week, 20(2), 129-141.
Otterborn, A., Schönborn, K., & Hultén, M. (2019). Surveying preschool teachers’ use of digital tablets: General and technology education-related findings. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 29(4), 717-737.
Raja, R., & Nagasubramani, P. C. (2018). Impact of modern technology in education. Journal of Applied and Advanced Research, 3(1), 33-35. Web.