Technology has made an impact in many areas due to the diverse role it plays. In the education sector, technology has various uses, including curriculum modifications, distance learning, and the teaching of skills necessary to have a successful career in the current technology integrated world. Yet, the field of education needs to have technology leaders to advocate for the incorporation of technology in higher education for such functions to be fruitful. With the digital migration in the education sector, the need to integrate the current technology to reap the benefit of technology is on the rise. The rise of online education and learning is an indicator of the need for the leader in higher learning institutions to consider integrating the current technology in the classroom. In a report by Reaume et al., (2019), the authors reveal that the number of students that were taking the online course was 15.42% in the year 2017. The figure is likely to increase because the current education sector is facing a significant setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case of online education can be an excellent example to justify the need for educational leadership to consider integrating technology in higher institutions of learning.
New Technology in Education
The future of education is likely to change with the introduction of various technologies that are transforming the education centers from teacher-oriented class to technology-oriented learning. In different parts of the world, universities and colleges are quick to adopt such technologies as a way of reducing the cost of education and also inducing the much-needed experience that will enable the students to cope in the real world. The use of social media is an example of technology's impact on the education sector. According to a report by Bright et al. (2019), approximately 69% of universities and colleges have twitter accounts that they use between the teachers and students for making communication more accessible and cheaper. In a report by Luo, Shah & Cromptom (2019), the authors reveal that most students and teachers have positive views about the use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in the classroom. The platform is always critical in creating a social connection between student and student, and the student and teachers at the school.
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For colleges and universities, also, there is a rise in the use of virtual learning. The use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) is not just for gaming and is proving very popular in schools and universities alike. These immersive technologies have immense potential to simulate real-life experiences. Virtual reality is critical for most education institutions, mostly the school of nursing and medicine. With the ability to depict the real situation or environment of nursing, the virtual reality and augmented realities provide the students with engaging learning where they can practically apply their skills. In addition to saving the cost of trips to a different hospital and cite to learn, VR and AR are providing an engaging learning environment that improves skills and technological expertise.
The artificial intelligence is one of the technology areas that is slowly invading the education sector. Despite its slow integration and adoption in higher institutions of learning, it is part of life for most students in college and universities in the world. For instance, the use of email for communication between students and their teachers is no longer a new idea in schools. Most students send their assignments through emails. The use of online portals by students and teachers is becoming a norm in colleges and universities in the world. The use of Google for searching information as well as the use of other applications such as Grammarly for checking grammar mistakes, plagiarism checkers, and also Purdue online platforms all make use of artificial intelligence. The implication is that the use of technology in the current education system is on the rise. Therefore, leadership in higher education need to adopt such new technologies to enhance learning for students.
Online Education
Online education is the learning process through technology. According to a research study by Goodman, Melkers & Pallais (2019), m ore than 6 million students are currently in online courses as part of their higher education program. It means that the trend in online education is increasing in the current world. In the same manner, Goodman, Melkers & Pallais (2019), indicate that 86% of the students feel that online education is better than traditional schooling. Through the use of technology, the online platform provides a student with a chance to learn or enroll in a dream course at Dream College or university in the world. With the advance in technology, which is the focus of the online platform, students get a chance to socializing with classmates, watching lectures, and participating in subject-specific discussions in addition to being part of the class lessons.
Online learning utilizes numerous resources that a student can easily access. The learning resources that a student can get for their learning purposes depend on the institution that offers that particular course and the online program that the student chooses. Although some online courses may still require a student to order for the physical textbook for reference during their leaning process, there is a lot of resources that are phasing out the offline books in online programs. Therefore, some of the learning materials a student choosing this mode of learning will use include Ebooks, journals, and Videos. The student will also use online interviews, online podcasts, recorded lectures, live questions and answers session, and discussion forums within or outside the classroom.
In some schools, the students get partial online learning where they take some courses online, but some courses they attend classes. On the other side, some other colleges and universities use online platforms as the only mode of education. In such schools, therefore, the students do not need to attend classes within the school environment. In such cases, the students use a c ombination of cutting-edge technological resources for learning. They take online courses, take an online assessment, and also participate in online registration or programs the school offers. The student enrolling for an online course has a chance to register and use the university or college resources, just like any other student who is attending the classroom in the university or college.
The need for the New Technologies in Higher Education
What Leader Must Understand
Navigating the world of educational technology in higher education environments is an increasingly rewarding yet challenging endeavor. Leaders in the education sector need to understand the challenges that come with such ventures and the rewards they can achieve by investing in the online platform. The leaders must know that Higher education not only about getting access to information but is more of gaining access to the experience. For instance, He, Xu & Kruck (2019), realizes that one of the myth that clouds the use of online education is the fact that most people do not believe that students that get online degrees have enough experience to survive in the corporate world. Therefore, some teachers and educational leaders tend to shy or discourage students from taking these courses on the basis that they may not get the best exposure. Also, leaders in the education environment sometimes get confused about whether online education is standard. Therefore, understanding the authenticity of some of the degree students earn online has been a question of debate in the education sectors. Therefore, understanding the authenticity of online education should be an area where the leader should focus on as they strive to integrate and adopt the new technologies in the education sectors.
Another issue they need to understand is the needs of pedagogy education. For most aged individuals, technology has come late in their lives, and they are struggling to adapt to the changes that technology has brought into their lives. Therefore, pedagogy is an area that is facing a lot of challenges and questions about its continuity while relying on technology such as online education is a topic of discussion in the education sector. Therefore, leadership in higher education need to understand the impact the technology may have on pedagogy system and how the decision to adopt the new technology should consider the consequences such a decision may have on the pedagogy. For instance, research by Doren & Millington (2019), reveals that online education is the least used among adults. Most of the people who get back to school while working prefer attending classes than using technology. The reason that the authors pinpoint as the contributing factor to this culture is the fact that some of them view technology as slow and cumbersome. Some also think that online education does not provide them with the experience they need to survive in the corporate industry. To others, online certificates and degrees do not give them the recognition that they get when they graduate with a degree after attending classes. Education leadership in higher education need to understand such issues and also cater to them while addressing the matter of technology in the schools.
The Needs
Globalization
Globalization means any operation that surpasses the border of a country. The definition of globalization varies from one context to next. For some people, globalization is the progress, peace, and prosperity that extends beyond a country to include other countries around the world (Cappelli & Mitch, 2019). However, other people view globalization as the deprivation, brain drain, and war that oppressed other countries in favor of rich countries in the world. However, in this discussion, globalization is the freedom of movements from one place to another with a limited barrier. It is the freedom of interaction with everything and every person in the world (Cappelli & Mitch, 2019). Globalization, therefore, is driving force behind the need for the higher education leaders to consider adopting the technology in education.
Due to globalization, people have the freedom to move from one country to next. Therefore, taking online courses relating to the culture of different countries as part of the pre-visit and preparation is increasing around the world. According to a research study by Goodman, Melkers & Pallais (2019), cultural interaction and awareness level are rising with people able to access information from different schools on online platforms. The need for people to understand the culture of other countries is thus increasing due to globalization that brings the freedom to visit other countries and interacts with people from such countries. Therefore, there is a need for students to be able to equip themselves with technology that allows them to communicate freely with others from different countries as a way to learn their culture. For instance, there are some cases where a student would need to attend a college in the United Kingdom but fails to do so because of the expenses they have to face. But since there is the freedom to access the schools in the United States through online learning, such students can learn not only the courses that schools in the United Kingdom offer but also the culture of the country.
Also, there are a lot of online classes regarding the culture and behaviors of specific people within a state. These courses target the food, the practices, the dressing codes, the language, and also the workplace culture of such foreign countries. The need to understand such information is rising because people need such information to help them interact with others when they visit other countries. By taking such online courses, such a person can understand the culture of such a state so that they do not experience culture shock upon visiting the country.
Therefore, with the increasing trend in globalization, students need to understand how they can access information about areas they can potentially visit or work in after completing their studies. Studying and understanding the culture of other countries increase their cultural sensitivity score, and this makes them able to work with a diverse population. The best thing the education leadership can do for such students is to allow them to interact with technology such as the online education platform. Online education enables such students to get more information concerning different cultures to increase their culture sensitivity score. With sufficient information available on diversity and culture, the students can come out of learning institutions fully equipped with knowledge about cultural differences in the world. Such knowledge places the students in a better position when they join a diverse workforce anywhere in the world. They will be able to interact better with people from other cultures with limited discrimination. Integrating technology in the classroom is the only way to achieve such milestones.
Digital Migration
The benefits of technology and its rise in the modern world are critical reasons behind the need for higher education leadership to adopt technology in the classroom. The trend in technology invention is showing no sign of decline in different industries. The education sector is an example of an industry where technology invention is growing. The growth of technology in the education sector is forcing students and teachers to migrate to the digital world. Therefore, higher education leadership must remain flexible to adopt technology to stay relevant in the modern world.
For example, there is a rise in the use of social media in education to enhance online learning for the students. The use of technology, such as social media, enables students to form an extensive social network, which is critical to them and their future professional development. With Twitter and Facebook, these students can connect with other people with vast experiences in the field, share with them, and also get to understand and relate the real-life experiences with what they learn while in the classroom. According to the statistic by Melkers & Pallais (2019), the number of social media subscribers are increasing around the world. The finding by Melkers & Pallais (2019) suggests that most of these subscribers are college and university students. It means that if the educational leadership turns its attention to the adoption of such technologies, it is likely to engage and appeal to a lot of students that use such social media platforms. Therefore, it will increase a positive attitude toward learning classes and schools. They can tap into such potential and turn it into a reservoir of knowledge for students. Therefore, the increasing use of social media platforms in learning is a factor that is pushing the leader to adopt technology in higher education to allow students to make use of such an online learning platform for their betterment in academics.
The introduction of virtual learning is also replacing the needs of going for trips, internships, and attachments in different facilities. Therefore, there is a need for schools to have more virtual technologies so that students engage with real-time virtual practices that depict the reality of what they learn in the classroom. The advantage that comes with virtual simulation is that it allows the student to engage themselves in different activities that create fun in learning. According to a study by Makransky, Terkildsen & Mayer (2019), students have a positive view of using simulation as a form of online learning. The research further reveals that when students learn through simulation technologies, they tend to understand faster the concept that would give them a lot of problems while leaning in the traditional classes. Therefore, the benefits of such technologies are to warrant their use in the school. Thus, higher education leadership should create a better environment for the adoption of these technologies for the benefits of the students and the school in general.
The use of artificial intelligence is also invading schools at a faster pace in the modern world, and this warrants the need to adopt technology into the classroom to stay relevant. Currently, not only students but also teachers rely on different online and technology tools to make learning faster, accurate, and useful. For instance, most of the students use Grammarly and other spell checker tools to ensure that they correct all the mistakes they made while typing their work before submitting them. Also, teachers and students use plagiarism checker to confirm the originality of their work. While undertaking their assignment, nearly all students use Google search engines to find answers and also get citations for their classroom work. Therefore, they make use of artificial intelligence as a tool for making leaning faster and better for them. The use of email, online videos from YouTube, and Ted Talks, as well as the use of podcasts, are other technologies that students are currently using to learn effectively. Computers are becoming norms with laptops, smartphones, and tablets becoming tools that students use to type their assignments and share them with teachers and colleges, therefore, making it easy to learn.
The implication is that leadership in higher education should make efforts to make available various forms of educational technologies for the students. They need to ensure that within the schools, students can access free Wi-Fi to connect to the internet and get the information they require for leaning. They also need to ensure that within the school libraries and laboratories, there are computers that enable students to get a chance to access information on the internet for active learning. Leadership in higher education also needs to avail training programs targeting the new technologies so that students do not misuse them but use them for leaning. Lastly, they need to create an environment that is flexible to allow for the adoption of the new technology and also accommodate the changes that come as a result of technology.
The cost
The lower cost of online educational platforms is also another driving force behind the need for integrating or adopting the new technology in the classroom. The cost of education, mostly higher education, is the factor that discourages most people in the world. For students attending a regular medical school at Harvard University, the person pays approximately $90,000 for the total fees in a year. The cost is adjustable based on the path the students take, but it takes into account health insurance, living expenses, and mandatory fees. From this fee, there is a living expense of approximately $29,000 year. However, when people take this course on an online basis, they already save $29,000 for the living expenses. The example provides a piece of evidence that online learning through the use of technology is much cheaper than traditional leaning (Ray, Bala & Dasgupta 2019). With the cost of living rising, parents are struggling to save every penny they get, and this means that they need to cut costs. Online schooling is the best strategy to reduce costs while ensuring that a child receives the best education in a dream school anywhere in the world.
In addition to saving costs for the parents and the students, the schools benefit through cost reduction. Encouraging the migration to the digital platform in the education sector reduces the need to build extensive accommodation facilities for the students within the school compound. It is also eliminating the need to have big classrooms accommodating hundreds of students because such will not be necessary when the school decides to offer online programs exclusively. The school may not even need a lot of space for the students, thereby reducing the space for the libraries, laboratories, the playing field, and reducing the areas they need to cover to offer professional development in diverse careers for the students (Ray, Bala & Dasgupta 2019). With such cost-cutting strategies, schools will be able to contact the critical function, which is to provide better and exceptional professional development for the students.
The benefits
Other than reducing the cost of leaning to both the students and the school, online education has numerous benefits to the students and teachers, and such should be the factors that promote technology adoption in the classroom. First, schooling through online platforms improves students' experience. The students become more knowledgeable as they interact with a lot of information on time (Ray, Bala & Dasgupta 2019). With such exposer, the students' knowledge about real-life situations increases, and this is beneficial for their career development. With the online education platform also, the students develop a lot of skills that allow them to learn on their own. The self-driven approach that students take while using the online platform is the best trait they should develop as they approach the corporate world where such virtues are treasures. The online education platform calls for a high sense of discipline motivation. It helps the students develop a high degree of research skills and ability to schedule their programs to fit within what they expect to achieve at the end of the lesson. Online education is also a factor that encourages collaboration and team among students, and this is critical for them when they will finally get out and seek employment.
The Trend in the Workplace
The need to adopt technology in higher education is also because, in the current workplace, the culture of technology is dominating. By utilizing technology in the colleges and university levels, the leaders will be preparing workers who will not have to struggle with technology in the workplace environment. In the current world, digital migration is overwhelming (Bergman, Denning & Manoli, 2019). Most companies and organizations believe that technology is the key to differences between performance and failure. Therefore, with skills and knowledge in technology, the students will integrate well in the workplace and also perform to the maximum using the technology. These will be a team of innovating young citizens who shall have understood technology and will make use of it at the workplace with no difficulties.
The Future of Online Teaching and Technology
The future of education and technology is a critical consideration. It is a factor that leaders in the education sector should consider as a way of allowing the adoption of technology in the education environment (Walker et al., 2019). There are limited pieces of evidence pointing to the fact that technology is likely to fade soon. However, there are large pieces of evidence pointing to the fact that in the near years, technology will develop and become more complicated in many sectors. The education sector is also likely to see a massive rise in the use of technology. Therefore, leaders in the education sector need to adopt technology now as a way to prepare for the future. In the future, there is a high chance that students may witness robotic teachers instead of a human (Walker et al., 2019). There are also high chances that virtual learning will dominate, and this will reduce the use of an internship that is cost full to the students. Also, most students will be leaning at home as a way to stay safe from different pandemic and disasters, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, workplace technology may develop so complex that employers will prefer technology-oriented workers only. To help students maneuver in such a technology-oriented environment, leaders in the education sector must consider adopting technology in the schools.
Overall, it is evident that online education has a lot of benefits. Therefore, it is such benefits that should act as factors to push higher education leadership to adopt technology in schools to enhance online teaching and learning. It is also evident that the need for technology integration follows the anticipation that online education may dominate the world in the future both within the school and at the workplace. Therefore, by adopting technology in the school, higher education leaders will be preparing the students to face the challenges that technology may bring in the future.
References
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