Editor's note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
Let’s face it: new technological advancements have the potential to change the way students of today learn. The equipment used today is drastically different than what they were accustomed to using fifteen years ago, let alone fifty years ago.
Projectors and iPads were once chalkboards and typewriters. Taking tests and quizzes at home was unheard of and, frankly, technologically impossible.
Now that kids are exposed to different forms of learning through that of technology, one would assume that the outdated school systems curriculum and teaching styles would also change.
However, this isn’t necessarily the case.
American author and entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk, believes the internet has rendered the current education system more-or-less useless, because information can be found everywhere due to the internet's easy accessibility.
A smartphone carries all the tools needed to carry out basic mathematical skills and can find the answers to any textbook question taught in schools.
This means most students recognize that they don’t need to work hard to memorize information, they just need to have access to technology.
“The school system was built on memorization of information,” Vaynerchuk stated. Now that specific information is just a click away, there needs to be a different approach to the way that students are taught.
Both the past and the modern-day educational system value the skills of memorization and conformity, rather than retaining information and individualism.
Because of this, not every student will excel or reach their fullest potential.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only problem regarding the teaching styles of today’s education system.
Students are taught and expected to learn most information in only one particular way. However, there are multiple different methods of learning that work better for different students.
There are a variety of different ways for students of all ages to learn the information they are being taught in schools. Some students can be kinesthetic or hands-on learners, which means they learn better through moving, touching and physical activity, rather than sitting and listening or seeing something written out on the board.
There are also visual learners, but the school system isn’t always so accommodating to these different types of learning styles, instead of sticking to teaching one way or the other.
If a student finds it difficult to learn the way the instructor is teaching, without any accommodations to their learning style, this could cause them to do poorly in school. This then has the potential to discourage students to pursue higher forms of learning.
Because academics in the past were made to prepare young children for a career in an industrial period, there needs to be some reevaluating and changes made to this outdated system.
We must reform our school system of teaching, so that students can become better members of society in order to pursue a higher education, rather than being discouraged due to the idea that they may not be able to grasp a topic, taught in one way.
We have a variety of different technological equipment that should be able to help initiate this change. We have to keep our future generations interested in learning and help them learn in conjunction with the technology that we now have access to.
Learning has changed and it’s time the teaching practices change too.
Photo courtesy of Ed2Go.com