Will Computer Replaces Teacher?

The development of computer technology produced numerous e-learning programs as the tool to help teaching and learning process. People have figured out how many of the routine lecturing activities can be done more efficiently using computers. For example, lecture by teacher recorded once can be made available to students all over the world on their computer through the Internet. Moreover, there are many ways to deliver the lecture in interactive ways also. Therefore, some people think that computers will replace teachers in classrooms. Personally, I completely disagree with this opinion because of the following reasons.

            First, as it is well known, the e-learning programs are fixed and limited since it were software designed by programmers. Therefore, they do not provide sufficient knowledge that cover students’ need. The teaching software can only provide students with the same basic knowledge at the same time. However, there are various levels of students. Different students have different intelligence, and their understanding abilities vary from person to person. Computer only provides a single way explanation while there are some students who need a further explanation and various ways of explanation. Therefore, teacher can’t be replaced by computers since it obviously failed in covering the students’ ability variation.

            Second, active knowledge is paramount for the students. Teachers who had many years’ education and have rich teaching experience can provide students with flexible teaching methods. While computers programs can’t since it was fixed program. The various kinds of subject knowledge that reflect active research fields should be engaged in teaching. It needs teachers to disseminate their recent research results into their teaching. Even the reality is that a computer program may also been updated by the recent research of teachers. However, how many teachers that may do this kind of project? That’s why recent researches that disseminated into teaching and learning by a teacher are more efficient and recommended.

            Last but not the least, the duty of teacher is not only to teach the students the portions in the syllabus. Teacher plays the role of a parent, a guide & even a good friend. Teachers can play a good role in overall development of a child which a mindless computer can't. Moreover, if students always face computers, it will be very tiring. They may feel bored and lose interests. The gestures, facial expressions and tones of teachers will help students to understand knowledge easily.      

            The conclusion is computers are helpful in teaching and learning process, but it is impossible for computers to replace teachers.

Mobile Learning, Is It Applicable?

“Mobile e-learning will go away. There is always the latest thing in e-learning that everyone must do. One of my least favorite of these is mobile e-learning. E-learning will not happen, at least not seriously, on mobile phones.

Why not? Because it takes time to learn something. You have to really understand a situation. You have to practice a skill. You have to consider alternatives. You have to create deliverables. At least you do for the e-learning that I build. This takes time—a lot of time. It was seriously suggested recently in a full year all day every day course I was building, that we needed to make it available on mobile phones. I don’t know about you, but staring at mobile phone for an hour makes my eyes hurt. Try doing it all day for a year. It makes no sense.

We don’t learn anything instantly. Real learning is not done on a train or a bus. The kinds of courses that can be delivered that way will be shown to not be particularly useful.“

That was a quote from Mr. Schank article about technology in education.

At the first we may think that he’s wrong, and that can be expected from me as I am someone who’s passionate about the subject of mLearning. But then I dissected his quote and realized that he’s right to say that mobile learning will not happen the same way it does with real eLearning. That’s true, and mLearning is not supposed to be like eLearning. Mobile devices are not the venue for deep, broad learning, at least not as a single source for that learning (i.e. they can be part of a deeper, longer process of learning, but they are not a great place for that type of learning by themselves).

Mobile learning is often best as an extension to that core knowledge that you learn in a classroom or a good eLearning course. Mobile learning also has the potential to allow someone to access the information from those courses at any time because of the ubiquitous nature and portability of mobile devices.

Mobile learning at its’ best conforms to the learner’s lifestyle in a way that traditional classroom learning and eLearning titles just can’t. So while a learner is building a base of knowledge in a traditional setting, mobile learning can act as an extension to that, allowing the learner to practice certain tasks and recall important concepts at the point of need or simply to brush up on skills.

I don’t think mobile learning will or should ever come in the form of large multi-hour courses. But I do think that mobile learning has its’ place and I do think that Mobile Learning is gaining strength not because it’s another learning technology trend, but because it has real promise and shows real potential to help learners. 

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