It is no doubt that the world is evolving which has brought about lot of innovative ideas that can be used to better the lives of humans on different levels. Technological sector being an area that influences and drives all other sectors in the society has been said to have the ability of bringing about a new age in the society, it is no doubt that the various tools being used in our present society for different purposes are all thanks to the advancement in technology. One of the most evident tools of technological advancement that has transformed the world into a global village is our smart devices. As the world advances in technological developments so does the improvement of our smart devices and it uses.
One of the oldest system in our society that has been in existence for quite sometime, the education sector. The education sector is not also immune to the influence of technological advancement, lot of innovative tools are now being used in academic institutions to make learning more effective and impactful, compared to the way it used to be in those days when everything was completely analogue, it can be said that we have indeed come a long way. The usage of technological devices in academic institutions can also be considered as also a part of learning, I mean where else can students easily learn about the usage of sophisticated devices if not in schools?
Due to the rate of technological advancement the mode of learning have also changed quite a lot. In those days all we had was physical lectures, it was never an issue till we experience a challenge that hinders gatherings in places, speaking of such challenges is the effect of the COVID 19 pandemic that put the world in a chaotic state for quite sometime. It didn't just impact the economic and political status of every country but also changed our way of lives and perspective about things we used to consider as normal. As a result of the pandemic, in order to curb the spread of the virus schools were shutdown indefinitely for quite sometime, we almost thought that was the end but if there was something about humans that remains constant till today is our ability to adapt to any situation regardless of the level of difficulty, it is how we have managed to remain the apex species on earth.
A ground breaking innovative idea it was called, it has always been in existence but not so many people paid attention to it since it was never tantamount to our survival, I'm speaking of the introduction of E-learning in academic institutions. It was probably a thing in developed countries before the COVID 19 pandemic but here in my country we never appreciated it essence till we faced a threat that forced our hands into accepting the only available option. Different academic institutions in Nigeria started making use of the E-learning platforms for lectures, as a result of this academic activities were able to continue despite the closure of schools. After the COVID 19 pandemic became less potent in our society, we resumed back to our normal form of doing things but we never forgot what saved us during the pandemic. Till this present day we now have students making use of the E-learning platforms on their smartphones to attend lectures at home and in schools.
Speaking of the usage of smartphones by students in schools, it is not a new development though the manner of using smartphones in schools by students differs. Teachers in this present era now advise students to make more research on their smartphones in order to have more access to materials that might not be within reach but still somehow smartphones are still treated like "home" properties in some academic levels and I wouldn't blame them. I mean I wouldn't aspect to see students in primary school and kindergarten level to bring sophisticated smartphone devices to school despite being aware that it could be a source of distraction to them depending on the usage.
Every country differs based on our socio cultural perspectives which is capable of influencing the way we view specific things. It is no doubt that the usage of smartphones in schools definitely have its advantages but notwithstanding it also have lot of disadvantages especially for students who are not capable of differentiating between the academic use of smartphones in schools and personal use. Even for students in higher institutions some students still find it extremely difficult to focus on academic activities whenever they are in class due to lot of tempting activities that are available on our smart devices such as social media.
Innovative usage of smartphones in schools is not necessarily a bad idea but based on my own individual perspective I believe the educational sector should stick to students with capabilities of understanding the usage of the device and controlling their lust for it, such student I believe to be students in higher institutions but for students in lower levels like secondary/primary schools can continue to make use of their smartphones for academic purposes while at home under the supervision of their parents in order to ensure they make use of it for the right purpose.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "No phones allowed" in hive learners community.
Cover image - 𝖣𝖾𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗏𝖺
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The covid-19 pandemic era truly contributed to a significant turnaround in e-learning especially in Africa and Nigeria particularly. In addition to supervision by parents, some countries have configured smart phones for students to only academic purposes but, you can be certain some of those configurations were bypassed
You have spoken well but most students are taking advantage of this innovation, they always copy everything on AI and downloaded it without taking proper measure by reading through.
Copy and pest was not why Artificial Intelligence was made available to us. The intelligent ones knows how to make use of AI without abuse.
If only we can value how the new era keep changing things for our own good. Parents are trying their best, but the fast pace of the era is the issue.