Is Technology Negatively Affecting Your Student’s Writing Skills?

Source: bit.ly/Upkm6L

As more and more students are spending increasing number of time on their laptops and tablets, they are being less engaged in traditional writing activities. This is making many parents and teachers concerned about the use of technology in learning. Do you think that educational technology is leading to poorer hand writing in today’s students? Let’s Find Out... 

Is Technology Affecting Students’ Writing Skills?

 

Source: bit.ly/1r1ZH3N

Many education experts believe that modern technological tools in education may be severely affecting the writing skills of students worldwide. But the recent National Writing Project study by the Pew Research Center suggests there is no need to worry about your students writing skills. 

The findings of the report are contrary to the popular belief that technology is creating weaker students who are unable to express their feelings through writing. The researchers have concluded that technology based learning activities offer several benefits to students over the traditional methods. 

The National Writing Project Survey 

 

The Pew Research Center conducted the Advanced Placement and National Writing Project by surveying over 2,400 middle school and high school teachers. The respondents included teachers from all the 50 states and also included the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia as well. Almost 1,750 respondents in the survey were Advanced Placement teachers; whereas 700 respondents were from the National Writing Project. 

The researchers of the study also considered the information gathered from focus groups of high school students as well as high-school and middle-school teachers from November 2011 to February 2012. 

What the Survey Found....

 

Around 78 per cent of the teachers surveyed in the Advanced Placement and National Writing Project believed that the increasing use of the computers, internet and social networks helped in improving personal expression and creativity in students. Almost all of the teachers believe that the internet enables students to share their work faster and wider. Moreover almost 80 per cent of respondents said they think that the social media and the internet have made team work a simpler process for students. By sharing on a platform which provides wider reach; students can get more feedbacks and suggestions which would lead to better writing quality in the long term. 

Technology in the Classroom- Good or Bad?

 

But many other teachers did not agree with this perception. Those opposing the use of technology in the classroom believe that the grades of students are getting affected as a result of all this. 

When teachers were asked to evaluate the performance of their students on particular writing skills, most teachers rated the learners as “fair” or “good”, instead of “very good” or “excellent.” However, most students received excellent grades on their capability to “effectively organise and structure writing assignments.” They also received outstanding ratings on their aptitude to “understand and consider multiple viewpoints on a particular topic or issue.” These students received the poorest ratings in “reading and digesting long or complicated texts” and “navigating issues of fair use and copyright in composition.” 

Is the Study Skewed?

 

Some educators also claim that the National Writing Project research is biased towards instructors to who teach the best students in the nation. Hence the findings of the report reflect their view of education in the US. Some of these education leaders claim that the report does not necessarily represent the reality of all American teachers and schools. 

However, the results of the survey will undoubtedly help us to improve education as these reflect the judgements and observations of teachers from some of the most effective schools that use technology in their classrooms. 

What do you think? Is technology in the classroom good or bad? Do you think tablets, internet and social media is actually affecting the writing quality of our students? Let us know what you feel.... 

Article Source: bit.ly/1o4UetP

Experiential Learning - The Need of The Hour

Source: bit.ly/1rfP69y

Have you heard of the old Chinese saying “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand”? 

With the increasing rates of the Federal Stafford loan for graduate students and increasing global competition in the job market, pursuing higher education like Postgraduate Diploma in Business has become both more challenging and important. The fact is having a college degree is the basic requirement even for getting the lowest-level jobs. Online education programmes like MOOCs, online postgraduate diploma and other programmes are striving to put back the deteriorating system together. Moreover, various reputed and established organisations like Experience Institute, Enstitute and Watson University are looking forward to develop an all new learning system with personal development and experiential learning.

Need for More Experience 

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, more experience in the current education system is required. Furthermore a post in The Atlantic reports that almost one third of college graduates in Education, Liberal Arts or Social Science regret their choice. But the most popular reason was not the choice of their majors. More than 50 per cent of the students declared that getting more relevant work experience would have been more beneficial for them. Thus it shows the need and demand for incorporating experiential learning or learning from experience into the educational programmes.

What is Experiential Learning?

Source: bit.ly/1rfP69y

Learning from direct experiences beyond the conventional classrooms and developing skills and values forms the basis of experiential learning. It is an academic attitude which involves the process of informing different methods through which teachers decisively engage with students in direct experience with the content in an enhanced learning environment. It also involves focused reflection which results in developing necessary skills, gaining relevant knowledge, clarifying values and improving one’s ability to add value to the community. Experiential learning includes a number of activities such as study abroad, undergraduate research, service learning, internships and other types of work experiences.

It is obvious that not all students can learn effectively in a traditional classroom setting. The students at Experience Institute (Ei) are encouraged to accept 3 apprenticeships/projects while they complete the 5 modules in the curriculum that have been particularly developed for this programme. The one year course provides an affordable graduate experience to its students.

Experiential Learning in Business Education 

In an effort to build better business leaders and managers, business schools and universities are adapting new learning methodologies in order to meet the expectations of the employers and students. Hence, most Fast Track MBA, Accounting and Business Management programmes have effectively included experiential learning into the curriculum due to its increasing importance.

One of the main aspects of business education is applying what you have learnt in real business environments. By teaching in real corporate world context, current MBA, Postgraduate Diploma in Management and other business degree programmes aim to equip the learners with the skills and abilities that will enable them to face the daily challenges and become a successful business leader. Thus, it has been observed that this has lead to enormous enrolment in online postgraduate diploma courses that facilitate them to stay abreast in this highly competitive corporate world.

Scope of Experiential Learning 

Experiential learning aims to make a long term effect on the students by putting them outside the comfort zone and making them to get engaged and reflect on a specific topic or subject matter.

Source: bit.ly/1pxiuDD

According to Victor Saad, author of The Leap Year Project: Learning to Risk & Risking to Learn, “Young people need to continue building their confidence and agency. They must learn how to work towards solutions on problems that are not yet clearly defined. This entails learning how to listen, how to empathize with others, and how to use empathy to solve problems in any context from a creative and holistic standpoint.”

He believes that “Society will place a similar value on experiential education as they do now on the traditional degree." Although federal loans presently do not recognise experiential education programmes, but soon things will start changing as different educational institutes are including this approach in their teaching process.