Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy and a firm believer of adopting technology in learning institutions, stated that, “Technology can democratize education and help students of all backgrounds excel. Your GPA is limited only by your access to knowledge, and technology can provide that access.”
Your GPA is essential to getting scholarships, qualifying for financial aid student programs, applying for post-graduate studies, and getting considered for employment opportunities, among others. This creates a need to improve your GPA scores to access better opportunities.
This article explores the significance of technology in the field of education. How you can utilize resources to enhance your academic performance particularly using E-learning. To start, let’s delve into the impact of technology on education.
The role of technology in education
In the 1980s educational institutions started incorporating computers into their curriculum, which marked the start of technology integration in education. By the 1990s the internet became widely adopted, making computer access crucial for education as it made information readily available.
Technology has changed how students acquire and consume educational content. Through technology, students have:
- Access to educational content: Students can find and access various educational material by browsing the internet. There are dedicated web applications like Delta Math Answers that provide students with detailed analysis of their search queries.
- A chance to create personalized learning experience: Students can use adaptive learning platforms and online assessment tools to access personalized lessons and quizzes that are in line with their study preferences.
- Access to collaborative tools: Students have various collaborative tools such as google docs that allows them to write articles while collaborating with other students or educational instructors. These collaborative tools can also be used by students while writing essays on platforms such as homeworkmarket.
- Reduced cost of access to educational material: There are various websites such as Wikipedia, W3schools, and tutorial points that provide information to students at no cost.
- Readily available educational content anywhere: The internet provides students with information regardless of the location of the student. This eliminates the geographical boundaries of education.
Technology aims to provide individualized educational content, enhance collaboration among students and instructors, reduce cost of accessing educational content, and offer readily available educational materials regardless of your location.
Tech Tools That can help you succeed in your education
Students can improve their GPA scores by incorporating various technological tools such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Evernote, Quizlet, Anki, Khan Academy, Grammarly, and many more, which are geared towards enhancing their coursework knowledge. Let’s go through these tools to determine how they are useful.
- Google Workspace & Microsoft 365: These tools offer various web and desktop-based applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation software equipped with various templates to allow students to write quality essays, perform analysis on a set of data, and create interactive presentations for their coursework.
- Evernote: This application assists students in creating detailed notes and syncs the notes to all their devices for ease of accessibility. Students can then access their notes through any of their devices and prepare adequately for tests.
- Quizlet: This app is geared towards assisting students in memorizing educational concepts through interactive quizzes.
- Khan Academy: Students can access khan academy academic tools for free since, it’s a non-profit organization focusing on providing educational materials to students.
- Grammarly: For students writing essays, Grammarly offers unique grammar correction tools that improve the delivery of your main points and reduces the risk of mis-interpretation of your essay’s objective.
Students can utilize the tools discussed above to organize their study material, create a personalized study routine, and memorize their coursework to increase their GPA score.
Leveraging E-learning platforms and Websites
You can boost your GPA by employing effective strategies to utilize various E-learning platforms, giving you access to a wealth of information, including videos, E-books, and articles. Below is a detailed discussion on how to utilize E-learning platforms.
- Watching educational content on YouTube: You tube has extensive educational content on various topics that can improve your understanding of a particular concept. Channels like CrashCourse provide detailed educational content on various concepts.
- Enrolling for online courses: You should consider enrolling for online courses that complement your coursework to gain a deeper understanding of the educational concepts taught in class.
- Using academic databases: Students should use academic databases like google scholar and JTOR, that contain scholarly articles that can be used to write insightful essays and research papers.
- Utilizing educational websites: As a student, consider signing up to websites such as MIT OpenCourseWare and OpenStax that offer free educational content such as textbooks. This allows you to gain extensive knowledge in your field of study.
- Installing study software: Installing study software on your phone or laptop improves the accessibility of educational content and encourages collaboration.
- Listening to podcasts and audiobooks: Some students favor listening as a learning approach. Podcasts and audiobooks would be a good studying strategy since they are based on their strengths (listening).
When using E-learning platforms, consider choosing your favorite method of study, such as watching videos, listening to audiobooks, or making notes, to maximize your output.
The challenges of learning using technology and how to overcome them
Students commonly use their laptops, phone, and desktops, when accessing E-learning platforms, or tools such as google workspace, Microsoft 365, and Grammarly. These devices can be a source of distraction due to their multi-purpose nature.
- Notifications from mobile devices: You may receive notifications from your friends and family members when going through your coursework, this may distract your focus and impact your overall productivity. Notifications from system applications requesting for updates and permission have the same impact.
- Social media: When going through various E Learning materials like articles, blogs, and e-books, you may find links to various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. Such links divert your attention and reduce your productivity.
- Overwhelming Content: At times you may be overwhelmed by the extensive amount of content available for study, which may lead to procrastination.
- Technical issues: Sometimes technical issues such as slow servers, slow internet speed, and power outage may hinder you from accessing vital information from E-learning platforms.
These challenges can negatively impact your academic progress. To mitigate these challenges, you can employ simple strategies such as:
- Setting your phone or laptop to focus mode: Setting your devices to focus mode prevents notification that may distract you when going through your coursework.
- Creating a detailed routine: A routine will allow you to cover your coursework effectively without getting overwhelmed.
- Employing time management techniques: Time management techniques allows you to effectively manage your time and balance your academic and social life.
- Avoiding external links in various E-learning platforms that may divert your attention.
Conclusion
You can leverage technology to assist you in improving your GPA by joining various E-learning platforms, enrolling for complimentary online courses, using tools such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Grammarly, and other software that enhance your academic growth. Consider doing online courses that complement your coursework to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts involved.
Which technological tools do you find most helpful in your quest for academic growth? Let us know in the comments.