EDUCATION IN THE EYES OF THE 21ST CENTURY LEARNERS

Post date: Jun 1, 2015 8:06:04 AM

By: Gemma M. Manalo

Bataan National High School

In this day and age everyone will agree that it is now the age of technology”. The proliferation of these technologies has been fast as a lightning. Varied gadgets are being used by student and teachers as well. Hence, teachers and students alike use these inventions to make learning easier. Students of today have been brought up with television, CD’s, DVD’s, video games, cellular phones and many others. They are familiarized to receiving and processing information via multitudes of gadget as cradles of information. But the question on the positive effect of this on the leaners has not been documented, in particular the enthusiasm of students.

Education is a system searching for solutions. Most drop out pupils, fail to sustain interest in learning, and perform below capacity. Some said that television is the reason. However, others contest that computers and on line games may be the factors.

Students are expecting too much from their teachers to prepare them for an increasingly technological world. Fortunately, with the current state of technological innovation, we are meeting the challenge by delivering curricula in ways that engage, motivate, and thrill our students in an easier and more efficient way. In the current study, students will have a chance to use an array of multimedia technology as they discover several topics in different learning areas.

Young minds need a push to encourage better thinking. Their early encounter of new lessons in school need to be worthwhile. It is the role of the teacher to cultivate their ideas which enable them to differentiate the truth/facts from beliefs or to separate the chaff from the grain. When they enter the school, they bear with them the ideas, values and concepts that they have gained from the previous environment where they come from. It is the role of teachers to explain the phenomena, theories and principles to make sure those concepts to be learned are accurate.

For so long, science teaching for example, is associated with hands on activities. However, with the advent of technology, merely teaching is no longer appreciated by students. No matter how many activities are given to them, their enthusiasm is not triggered. This problem prompted the teacher to conduct a preliminary survey to determine the level of enthusiasm of students during science classes.

Inventions of gadgets whether it be handy or not happens in a snap of a finger. Among the so many inventions, some of these can be used by teachers in improving student performance. The creation of the PowerPoint as a medium in showing visual presentations and motion pictures help students envisage instructions which serve as a better guide in conducting experiments and studies. Also, every single pupil has different learning styles and one of which is visual learning where they tend to grasp the lesson effectively when they see it.

In the field of education there have been a lot of inventions to make teaching and learning easier. Televisions, DVD’s, CD’s and overhead projectors to name a few. Inventions come because there is a need. The use of the earlier mentioned gadgets has been Jurassic. There is now the laptop, LED Television and LCD Projectors which are friendly users. In fact, there is now what we call e-board which are used in the elementary schools. There are many interactive lessons that a teacher can find by just surfing the net.

These stuffs can make teaching easier on the part of the teacher and a more meaningful learning experience for the students. The 21^st century learners are keen to a more cutting-edge and competent approach of teaching which will aid them to become globally competitive and teachers must do their part to meet the ever changing standards of the education system.