How IT Lifecycle Services are the Right Choice for Education

From blackboards to projectors, technology in the classroom continues to re-envision the educational process. With the rise of the Digital Age in the 21st century, technologies are now evolving at exponential rates, unlocking unanticipated advantages as scholarly tools. The debate that rages over the harm or help technology plays in education is futile: the use of computers as learning tools continues to proliferate every year, and the question becomes not whether to incorporate, but how. That being said, aptitude for the inner-mechanisms of technology remains a much-sought, little-present skill. Educators are versed in methods of instruction, but not always the fundamentals of technology. To achieve the full potential that computers can bring to the classroom, educational facilities are turning to IT lifecycle services for guidance through the field of information technology.

What Technologies can be Used in the Classroom?

Electronic hardware takes many forms, but the most ubiquitous are also the most mobile. Smartphones, tablets, and laptops contribute to the learning environment because of their portability and often user-friendly access. Some elementary schools even provide classroom-owned tablets for student use, while some higher-learning institutions lease tablets or laptops for individual use. Schools with tighter budgets, however, may even make use of the omnipresence of smartphones to integrate online learning.

Electronic devices encapsulate the disparate technologies that previously contributed to learning. Systems of learning language, filmed lectures, and even calculators can be accessed through a singular device. Furthermore, the Apple and Google app stores contain myriad applications to supplement learning. Duolingo, for example, offers language lessons in French, Spanish, and Chinese, while Kahoot allows users to generate online quizzes that require a unique ID code to access. Additionally, Khan Academy’s database includes a host of lessons in subjects from math to art history for grades K to 12.

How Can Technology Enhance Instruction?

Technology eases the educational process for not only students but every proponent of the institution. Learning Management Systems (LMSs) such as Moodle, Blackboard, and Canvas provide online portals for interaction between teachers and students outside of conventional classroom hours. LMSs allow teachers to upload new content for students to review before the next class and often double as methods for students to upload assignments and coursework. Technology also links distanced teachers and institutions, allowing for unseen-before educational collaboration.

Some institutions even exist now wholly online, administering lessons solely through the internet. Remote learning has become an increasingly viable opportunity by providing instruction without the heavy regiment of classroom hours. Physical libraries have even become less of an essential to education, as large amounts of information have now been digitized.

Internet capabilities unlock access to the collective resources of online libraries. JSTOR and Google Scholar are host to a massive compilation of scholarly journals, reviews, and books, some of which are open-source and others that require institutional subscription. Aside from the plethora of resources, a significant portion of online information is open-source, and access to delimited sources grants unparalleled advantages in the use of shared knowledge. Teaching, learning, and research tools that meet standards of quality and integrity alter the entire dynamic of education. Some institutions have even adopted open-source curricula that only implement online information that is freely and widely available.

Combing through the seemingly infinite number of online resources affords another significant benefit: information distinction. Learning to identify trustworthy online sources and distinguish them from unbacked data lends fluency to online navigation. As the prevalence of digital media continues to grow, so does the necessity to analyze the veracity of the information presented. Digital literacy has become a vital skill with the rise of computer prominence, and utilizing technology early in the classroom equips young students with the autonomy to become stewards of Digital Citizenship.

What are the Pros and Cons of Tech in the Classroom?

With respect to the use of technology in the classroom, there are only pros and preconceived cons. Although older models of instruction have become obsolete, many still push back against the use of technology, even though the benefits are endless. Online quizzing, through websites such as Kahoot, foster participation by introducing a notion of healthy competition into the environment. LMSs allow for quick feedback on assignments and data analysis reports to spot the material with which certain students may struggle. Automation assumes control of tedious tasks such as taking attendance, sometimes even combining participation in online quizzes as a means of doing so. Access to constantly updated source material ensures quality instruction through only the most relevant and accurate textbooks.

However, opposition to technology still persists. Many argue that devices in the classroom can only result in further and more detrimental distraction, yet there have always been avenues for distraction in the classroom. Technology may threaten the attention-span, but it is the duty of the instructor to maintain participation. Academic dishonesty, as well, is not unique to the Digital Age. Many institutions cooperate with Turnitin.com to combat plagiarism, if anything allowing for more reliable fact-checking. Others suggest that technology detracts from necessary socialization, but this issue is easily amended through collaborative assignments, oral presentations, and the nature of the in-class lesson. As for the debate concerning the quality of online resources, teaching digital literacy allows students to individually filter the information they absorb through the internet.

One of the loudest arguments questions the viability of using technological tools that educators do not know how to maintain. But herein lies the value of IT lifecycle services. Companies that oversee the lifecycle of IT assets assist with cost-effective acquisition, continued maintenance, and responsible recycling of the hardware when it grows defunct. As educational institutions have responsibility to safeguard their students, IT lifecycle services also include certified and secure destruction of sensitive data, protecting susceptible individuals from any form of cybercrime.

How Does Technology Change Education?

Technology diversifies the educational process. Every student learns differently, and technology in the classrooms individualizes instruction to cater to the specific needs of each student. The use of computers does not replace the role of the teacher, but it does change their responsibilities. Instructors must become guides through the digital world and advocates of Digital Citizenship. Technology is an invaluable tool that cannot be ignored, but it requires a revision of the way we view the educational process. IT lifecycle services utilize technological expertise to achieve the maximum potential of IT assets in education. By facilitating their use and revealing their full value, lifecycle services illustrate the necessity and ease of implementing technology in schools.