DIGITAL TOOLS FOR LEARNING

In a technological expanding society, the world has quickly become digital, digital
content is becoming readily accessible and prevalent in our daily lives. A big part of the
daily life of a student lies in a classroom, and as pre-teens and teenagers routinely turn
to digital devices for entertainment and schoolwork, the face of education may change
as well. In the past students toted notebooks (the paper kind), pencils, pens and folders
to school. Today, students carry digital devices like computer tablets, notebooks (the
electronic kind), smart phones, and other digital devices to the classroom. Indeed, there
are advantages and disadvantages of digital devices.
Firstly, there are many logical reasons to incorporating technology into the curriculum.
Because technology comes in different forms and can be used to meet the needs of any
lesson plan, digital technology is a good learning tool for students as well as educators.
As pre-teens and teenagers routinely turn to digital devices for entertainment and
schoolwork, the face of education may change as well.
Content and information found on the Internet is rapidly expanding, and resources
available to students are readily accessible. With students and teachers being able to
access homework, test preparation tools and online resources from any place with an
Internet connection, digital technology allows for the flexibility of teaching and learning.
Traditional textbooks can become outdated and expensive to replace. With the use of
digital technology, content is refreshed and updated with a click of a button so you and
your student can obtain recent breakthroughs in science, historical discoveries and other
up-to-date curriculum.
To better learning, creating fun is necessary. Positive learning environment means
engaging the students in participating in the educational process. Digital technology
allows teachers to take advantage of the interactive software developed to stimulate
active rather than passive learning.
The one of the best way of the learning is collaborative learning. Collaborative learning
is a process whereby two or more people actively interact so that they can learn

something together (Dillenbourg, 1999, p.1). McCue (2012) notes, that the evolution of
digital tools has increased the options and availability for collaborative processes to
occur in academia, there is a need to discuss general as well as discipline specific best
practices for collaborating with digital tools.
digital tools can be used to

promote the development of critical and higher order thinking skills

Promote positive interdependence among students

Encourage active participation in the teaching and learning process

Help improve academic achievement

Aid in the development of problem-solving skills

Accommodate different learning styles

Model appropriate problem solving techniques

Promote a deeper understanding of the subject matter

Help motivate students to learn the subject matter

Aid with retention of course content

Leaves an archive of student performance that can be reviewed by faculty and

students

Provides opportunities to develop skills in teamwork and small group

collaboration

Can accommodate multimodal forms of content delivery and feedback(1)

When seeking to support collaborative processes via the Internet or the use of digital
tools and resources, asynchronous or synchronous tools can be utilized in online,

blended, or face-to-face classrooms in order to support learning outcomes.Examples of

tool options that can support collaborative learning

On-line Meetings and Webinar (Adobe Connect, Blackboard Learn)

Discussion Boards and Forums (Overview | Blackboard Learn)

Blogs (Overview, Wordpress, Blackboard Learn)

Video Lectures (BoilerCast, Discussion Board or Mixable)

Podcast/Vodcast

Co-authoring files and documents (Adobe Connect, Blackboard Learn)

Blogging, Journaling, Note taking (Blackboard Learn, Confluence, Word Press)

Immediate in-class feedback (regardless of class size) (Hotseat, iClicker)

Mind Maps (PowerPoint)

Social Media (Mixable, Hotseat)

Peer or Team Based Group work (Blackboard Learn, CATME, Email, Gradient,
Mixable)

Portfolios (Passport),

Wikis (Overview, Blackboard Learn, Confluence)(2)

An overwhelming majority of teachers believe that social media, the Internet and
smartphones can benefit student writing by nurturing creativity and personal
expression, a Pew Research Center survey found. Additionally, 79% of teachers
surveyed agreed that digital technology fosters collaboration among students, while
96% said such technology gives students the opportunity to reach a larger audience.

Students who knew their work would be seen by a wider audience that included their
peers tended to put more effort into their writing, surveyed teachers said. (3)
On the other side, digital tools have some disadvantages. The decline of penmanship is
one of them. In a digital era, people are less likely to write letters by hand or keep up
with penmanship in other ways. Some children dont know what cursive handwriting.
Also, while digital communication does promote social interactions on some levels, there
are some who argue that spending too much time staring at a screen and keyboard
compromises the social aspect of going to school and learning in a classroom. Todays
youth are less likely to talk.
Having a wealth of information available on the Internet opens up students to many
disreputable sources of content. Regular people, who may not have the accurate details
of events, may have written and edited some common online encyclopedias. In addition,
having content that is easily cut and pasted opens up the temptation for plagiarism.
Digital devices may be great learning tools, but they also offer a number of distractions
to students. When a student is supposed to be taking notes on a laptop in the
classroom, he or she might be downloading music, updating social networking sites,
streaming video, or checking celebrity gossip.
Also, sometimes, some teachers and students disagree use of digital devices. Teachers
are not paid enough to spend all their free time learning to use new digital tools and
implementing them. Not all students want to participate in the use of online tools. Some
schools cannot afford to invest in the latest technology.
Classrooms are improving and so are students. Learning is very different from the way
older generations may have learned. To improve educational productivity, use of digital
tools is very important. Advantages of them cannot be ignored.

REFERENCES
1. Davies & Carbonaro, 2000; Hatten & Tholen-Hatten, 2011; Hiltz & Turoff, 2005;
Kuh, 2008; Paloff & Pratt, 2005; Shepard, 2011)
2. Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in
community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
3. http://specialsections.suntimes.com/education/prek12/7931047-555/pros-andcons-to-learning-in-a-digital-age.html