Generational Differences Affect Tech Initiatives In Higher Education
Over the past few years, technology has made massive advancements. Software and hardware engineers are constantly at work to provide schools with top of the range tools that can be used to take education to the next level.
While this edtech gives students plenty of opportunities for their studies, it also poses a few problems. As we will discuss below, there is a generational gap in the knowledge of technology and how to use it. For this reason, some students will not be able to take full advantage of this edtech.
In this article, we will mention a few advancements in educational technology and how generational differences affect these tools in the classroom.
Advancements In Technology
As we have already mentioned, engineers are continually working to provide higher education facilities with the best and most innovative edtech possible. Every year, schools rely more and more on technology to give students the best academic experience possible.
However, while there are many advantages to using this technology in the classroom, there are also a few setbacks. For example, the difference in age groups that study at higher education facilities poses a problem for the success of edtech.
Generational Differences
Students of different ages enroll in programs at higher education institutions. For example, you may have a student fresh out of high school studying the same course as a forty-year-old. This is because some people decide to change their profession later on in their lives, meaning that they have to study the course from the beginning.
Over the past twenty years or so, technology has become a more critical factor in modern-day life. With this being said, many older adults grew up without advanced technology, and, for this reason, they do not understand it as well as the younger generations do.
How These Differences Affect Tech Initiatives In Higher Education
This generational gap can cause issues when it comes to the use of technology in the classroom. Edtech is a relatively new term that has only recently (within the past ten years or so) begun to find its way onto the education scene. Thus, many older students will not be familiar with the concept, and they will not understand how to work the technology as fluidly as the younger students.
Teachers should strive to provide everybody in their classroom with equal opportunities, meaning that this generational gap could affect how much edtech is used in lessons.
Concluding Thoughts
New technology is continually coming out to improve the world of education. With that being said, the older students at higher education facilities might struggle to keep up with edtech, as it is a relatively new concept that they will not be used to. This generational knowledge gap when it comes to technology, can affect the tech initiatives of schools.