Education in the Digital Age

Tony Novosel, a history professor at the University of Pittsburgh, dims the lights as the projector hums to life. Sometimes that semi-darkness can be an invitation to snooze through lecture but not in Novosel's class. Discordant music shrieks through the room and students bolt upright as Stravinksy's revolutionary ballet, The Right of Spring, plays through the auditorium, courtesy of the equally revolutionary website, YouTube.

Digital technology is continuing to transform the academic environment, both in and out of the classroom. While some old-school teachers stick exclusively with traditional, familiar methods, more and more are grappling with the exciting but sometimes controversial possibilities that the digital medium presents to educators.

Angela Fortunato, a post-grad student pursuing her teaching certification in high school science, has one course this semester devoted to exploring classroom applications of digital technology. "It allows students to engage in the material on another level," she said.

Fortunato said that the catch phrase among educators these days is "minds-on." This means that the teacher is no longer presented as the only dispenser of knowledge, but students are taught to be active learners by using technology as a tool to help understand core concepts. Students can collect their own data, follow experiments in real time or use interactive learning tools to dissect a digital frog, create interference in a virtual ripple tank and simulate the birth of a star.

The internet gives access to information that is constantly up-to-date. "That's much better than using an old textbook, especially in the sciences where new information appears all the time," Fortunato said.

Also thanks to digitalization, students now have access to primary text documents that would otherwise be unavailable. This abundance of information makes it easier for students to plagiarize, however it is also makes it much easier for educators to catch plagiarism. Many high schools and colleges are using turnitin.com or similar programs that cross-check written work with existing online text.

Besides plagiarism, there are other disadvantages which educators should keep in mind. Flashy technology such as Smart Boards, interactive digital whiteboards, can easily detract from the lesson. "Technology has to remain a means, not an end," Fortunato said. She also observed that the digital age is all about short, fast pieces of information, so these details can be obscure rather than illuminate the big picture.

Finally, technology is always changing, so educators must fight an uphill battle to keep abreast of the current trends. "Next year there will be a smarter board, and I'll have to learn how to use it all over again," Fortunato said.

For good or bad, the digital age has had a profound impact on education and teachers well-versed with this medium have a tremendous advantage under their belt.

Novosel flips on the lights and students blink as he dismisses class. "Now that wasn't your grandmother's lecture," a student commented as she closed her MacBook with a grin.