HOW WILL TECHNOLOGY CHANGE TRADITIONAL EDUCATION, AND COULD IT EVER REPLACE TEACHERS?
TO WHAT EXTENT IS ETON’S TEACHING TRADITIONAL?
Rowan Vinayak | Year 12, Eton College
Oliver Lewey | Year 12, Eton College
According to a report by Smoothwall, 96% of teachers believe technology has had a positive impact in the way children participate and learn in lessons (Rogers, n.d). In addition to that, the former Secretary of State for Education, Damian Hinds, recognised that technology can be an effective tool to help reduce workload, increase efficiency, engage students and communities, and provide tools to support excellent teaching and raise student attainment.
university is (hopefully) offset by the fact that employers favour employees who have demonstrated commitment and effort towards something. Moreover, Lederman (2019) highlights the drop in how many people register to start these courses in the last couple of years. It can be argued that the lack of human interaction, the lack of collaboration with peers, which allows you to dig deeper into content or receive reassurance might be one of the reasons for this.
Yet it is questionable whether it can replace the role of the teachers. Why is this so?
This is not to say that there are not many examples of technology changing the traditional classroom education of students for the better. Apps have become an ever more popular way of learning. By 2017, Quizlet had over 50 million monthly users and by 2018, Kahoot had over 70 million monthly active users. They can be very engaging tools to use in the classroom. Another example is how modern languages can be learnt in a number of ways utilising technology: through quizlet, podcasts, videos and most likely more ways in the near future.
Technology makes independent learning easy through online courses, videos or apps. However, all of these need teachers to create them. Children need to learn to use computers to do online sessions that are taught by teachers. In addition, teachers provide more to students than just education; they are mentors, role models and instil key skills into children such as time management and communication. Human interactions and skills cannot be replaced by technology. There are online platforms such as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) or Coursera, which has over 45 million users. A verified certificate with them will cost between £40 and £100. Thus, MOOCs have the potential to compete with universities and have as much value as a university degree. Their price and convenience can make them appealing compared to attending university. So why haven’t MOOCs caused universities to disappear? The cost of going to
Educational technology will very likely bring some of the most remarkable changes in the classroom. It is still early to assess the impact but it is worth mapping the journey. References
Lederman, D. (2019). Why MOOCs Didn’t Work, in 3 Data Points Inside Higher Ed (online). Rogers, C. (n.d). 96% of teachers say tech has a positive impact on education. Education Technology (online).
Eton is often perceived to be a bastion of tradition. We wear uniforms designed centuries ago and learn in buildings some of which are hundreds of years old. However, whilst it is easy to see Eton as an archaic institution, were we to look inside the classroom, would our perception change? On the one hand, our education is not too dissimilar to that of the Victorians. There is an emphasis placed upon trials (internal tests) where one is expected to be able to recall lots of facts. Charles Dickens’ Hard Times is in part a critique of an approach that places the learning of facts as the cornerstone of Victorian education. In this sense, there is an argument to be had that not a lot has changed. When one opens an examination paper, one is often confronted by a series of questions that require facts. This is not something that merely applies to science or geography exams. Even in more abstract subjects like divinity, there are several questions that are devoted in their entirety to the recollection of facts. Therefore, in this sense, Eton’s teaching is geared towards a model of education that is over one hundred years old. However, there is a case to be made that Eton is at the forefront of modern education. iPads, for instance, are a clear indication of the school’s modernity. This is a step that many schools, be it in the private or state sector, are yet to make. Indeed, the extent to which technology is used in lessons is an indication of just how quickly the school looks to evolve. Fifteen years ago, all homework was completed with pen and paper and there was no Firefly (an online platform) to remind boys of their tasks; today the story is completely different. Many boys depend upon their devices to do work and have made checking Firefly a part of their daily routine. As a school, we use far more technology in the classrooms than most, which one could argue is indicative of how much the school values the advancements in technology and what they have to offer to modern education.
In addition to this, the school seems to be putting a lot of resources into trying to evolve how it teaches boys. The creation of The Tony Little Centre (CIRL) has been telling of how important being innovative and creative with education is to the school. Such emphasis and investment being put into an area that is specifically designed to advance innovative teaching and learning methods would suggest that Eton is by no means traditional in its approach to education. On the contrary, this would imply that the school is instead looking to pioneer new research into education so as to become a modern and forward-thinking educational institution. Overall, whilst Eton definitely has fragments of its former self still visible in the way it seeks to educate, I believe that its teaching is not traditional. Evidently, it is hard not to place a lot of emphasis on what the public exam boards require while trying to objectively gauge students’ ability as best they can. However, from my experience, teachers do try and explore beyond the syllabus and utilise modern techniques while also keeping to methods they know work well. The school seeks to broaden the repertoire of teaching methods teachers are adept at using, so that they combine their experience and expertise with traditional methods with innovative methods that are supported by an evidence-base as effective.Therefore, I would say that Eton searches for the best way to teach, be it traditional or modern. Perhaps a combination of the two is the best approach and one which can benefit pupils.
SUCH EMPHASIS AND INVESTMENT BEING PUT INTO AN AREA THAT IS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO ADVANCE INNOVATIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS WOULD SUGGEST THAT ETON IS BY NO MEANS TRADITIONAL IN ITS APPROACH TO EDUCATION 06
07