Using Computer in Education
Before we go into the details of the usage of computers in education, we have to highlight globalization and fast growing technology.
Nowadays, computers are used by scientists, engineers, professors, doctors, students and sales menetc. Computers are found everywhere – in places you will never think about. They become a fact and a reality that binds at the same time home life, work, education and general information.
Since computers are touching every fact in our life, computer literacy or knowledge has become obligatory, which may start from knowing the basics and theoretical information till we know programming languages and maintenance. Obviously, no one can work or live in such a globalized world and economy without the knowledge of computer or knowing how to use them.
The start of World War II produced a large need for computer capacity, especially in the military fieldi, in that period many new weapons were made for which trajectory tables and other essential data were needed. In the year 1942, John P. Eckert and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania decided to develop a high – speed electronic computer to do the required tasks. They develop a new machine which was known later as Electrical Numerical Integrator and Calculator Machine (ENIAC) (John, 2002). The size of this machine was 10 digits, and it could multiply two numbers at a rate of 300/second, by finding the values from a multiplication table in ENIAC memory (John, 2002). Comparing this with the previous generation machines it was 1000 times faster. The following are the main features of this machine:
- Used 18 thousands vacuum tubes.
- Used 1800 square feet space
- Consumed about 180 thousand watts of power.
- It had the one punched card for input and output, one multiplier, 1 divider, and 20 adders which served as quick-access read and write register storage.
Use of this Technology Today
Recently, computers became an essential, primary, vital, important and main part of our daily life, action, decision, and also an essential part of the education system. Thus, including computers as an element of the education process will be very successful and worthy. Nowadays, the networks of computers have a strong effect on the way in which persons or companies interact with each other, where all functions, applications, software, and hardware are linked to the technology of the computer. Usage of computers can make company transactions and operation more accurate, prompt, and civilized which can make and keep a suitable record of profit and loss.
Computer sage has become greatly needed by students in the current generation, as students nowadays can study their courses online, even though some people doubt the quality of education. In reality, it will be more convenient for students to get education from their own homes, where the student can meet other students and lecturers from different countries, different cultures, with wide and various knowledge, and can meet them at any time during the day, without going on a specific time to college where he/she has to sit and listen to one lecturer in a crowded class. This kind of education has been growing recently due to the wide usage of computers between students and working people, who are unable to attend classes due to work load, specialization needed, location of the university etc (Jeffrey, 2000)
Apparently, we are living in a world where technology is fast growing, and every day we are hearing about a new discovery. Computers are considered in most countries all over the world as a main piece in the house, which you can not ignore. Moreover, the skills to use computers have become necessary in the work field, since the greater part of jobs these days require the ability to handle effectively computers. Hence, for this purpose, and because the computer has imposed itself greatly into the life of companies; companies were obliged either to dismiss their old employees who were unable to adapt to this change or the company will try to arrange training for the employees to understand this technology. Because of the above mentioned facts, and because most old people have suffered from shortage of information about computers and have noticed its growing importance, they started to oblige their children to study and learn about computers. On the same level, all schools in most countries all over the world are equipped with computers for students, where students learn how to use basic programs, typing, using internet, drawing etc. Moreover, some software in the computer makes it easy to students to practice or study mathematics without getting bored wish pencil and paper.
In addition, education has benefited greatly from computers and their facilities, especially with the way of communication between the lecturer and students, where students use their emails to send their assignments (better than calling each time on the teacher and disturbing him/her) and home work to their teachers. Also students can check his/her grades on the computer (school or university website). In the past, the teacher used to write the exam or assignments manually, which to a great extent was not organized, but with the presence of computers it has provided teachers and lecturers all mends of organizing their work sheets, security to their exams, promptness in correction and adding; in other words, computers facilitated so much of the work of the teacher. Hence, these computer skills which are being adopted by students while they are is studying prepares them for the real world or working world. (Jeffrey, 2000)
Finally, from the mentioned benefits of computers in the education field, we can clearly notice that the instructional use of computers can serve students of all levels and of all capacities and interest. I expect in the near future that the computer will replace normal student's textbooks and notebooks. I expect to have a PDA or laptop for each student. The students can read their lessons from the computer and they can write their notes or assignments directly to the computer. Moreover, I expect computers which can talk, computers which can listen to the students and get their instructions, computers which have the knowledge, and computers that aid learning (Diane, 2003)
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