Because this can, go either way! Off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
Since 2017, in the digital campus advisory advancement plans, the traditional means of teaching had been, altered, the sixty thousand plus physical classroom now became, “smart classrooms” digitally equipped with internet access, and wifi connection, to not limit the use of high-tech devices in the computer classes only, from advisory, interactive, to the innovative teaching methods, using the software, to turn over the classroom.
With the equipment up to date, where are, the changes in learning? Based off of the TALIS’s 2018 research studies, even if there are the set up of the soft and hardware systems, most of the instructors in Taiwan are still used to teaching the original methods with the textbooks, the blackboards, and the chalks.
Since 2018, I’d been pushing the cities and counties to utilize the “technological assistance self-motivated learning programs”, hoping that through the intelligent diagnoses, the analytics of the platforms, to help the learning to continue on, to help turn the children into the master of what they are learning! But, other than technological advancements, what’s most important? We’re not “digitally learning”, but using the digital to help us learn.
May 19th of this year was a starting point of digital learning, all the school teachers, students all felt the impacts of schools stopping their physical sessions! The head of Department of Education, Pan in his interview with the Worlds Magazine of the November edition stated, “the epidemic is like tiger out of its cage, and the digitization of schools in Taiwan, suddenly became a sprint from a marathon from before, as digital education became norm, Taiwan need to take advantage of this!”, his words still rang in our ears, and, came the announcements of how the governments placing $20 billion N.T. in funding to make the goals of “internet access and an iPad for ALL the elementary, middle school students”. And some began doubting, that these past few months of “stopping going to school, continue learning” had helped the students’ motivations to learn lag behind, instead of improve their drives to learn, and, putting all of these equipment, funding in, wouldn’t it not go towards helping the students learn? And won’t it affect the teachers who are teaching the classrooms?
Based off of the 2019 eight county skills exam results’ “Data analysis of student’s structured thoughts and learning” in the category of “technology usage”, the statistics showed a negative, or close to zero score on the effects of technology on learning, and, doesn’t this further prove, that technologies aren’t, helping with learning at all? Surely now, the key effectiveness of digital learning, other than having the high-tech devices, the working platforms, how would the high-tech devices, the programs used, how to use the data collected from the usage of students and teacher, and the analyses of these should be reexamined.
Providing the courses offered in class with the digital materials, adding to the richness of information, lowering the instructors’ digital anxieties, incorporating the high-tech devices into teaching, to get it closer to the learning environment; the parents trusting the instructors, the instructors allowed the students to explore on their own, then, teach, and, this will improve the quality of education, then, using the data analytics, the helps with the teams of experts, guiding the instructors on how to adjust the lessons they’re teaching accordingly, based off of the researches internationally and within the country, showing, that “feedback is correlated with the self-motivated learning means.” And so, this, a brand new way of instruction and learning for both students and teachers to adapt themselves to, and, the online resources, these technologies should only be used as reinforcements in teaching, it still should NOT replace the traditional means of education.