February 28, 2011
3:50 p.m.
The England Education system is thinking about banning paper exams and turning to computers instead. Many teachers have a concern with resources for a computerized system. The Education Board feels that students are technical savvy these days and it would help deepen their knowledge and it is what the students are familiar with these days. Isabel Nisbet, Ofqual chief executive, believes school exams are running the risk of becoming invalid, as their medium of pen and ink increasingly differs from the way in which youngsters learn. There is the belief that technology has the potential to transform education by making its delivery more personalized, efficient, and effective. AQA chief executive, Andrew Hall agreed with Ms. Nisbet and commented, “it is really important that students be assessed in the same way that they learn and using the technologies that are commonplace in the world outside the classroom.” Another aspect is students will get to take the exam on their own time when they are ready. Although there are some problems associated with this new idea such as what if someone does not have a computer? Or what if a computer is broken and there is not enough? There is always room for paper and pen to be accepted into a classroom, not everything should be done using a computer or some form of technology.
Taking exams on a computer has its positives and negatives. Even though technology is always advancing I am sure anyone can attest to the fact that there are always problems and setbacks with technology as well. You never know how the computer, printer, internet, etc. is feeling that day and if they feel like working or being difficult. There are many of things that can go wrong while someone is taking an exam; it’s happened to me many of times. A lot of teachers love that exams can be taken online because it saves classroom time and gives the teacher more time to lecture and teach. A negative to this idea is also that not all countries can afford computers in a classroom and that puts some people in advance than others. Education is already a major problem in the world because many poor countries cannot afford resources or even a building to have a school. The United States is a wealthy country and they too have many places of poverty that can barely afford a pen and paper. We have to think about how far we want technology to take us and when we need to put a stop to it. Maybe taking computerized exams should only be for students in high school and college because they have more funding and the students are more likely able to handle a computer better than younger students.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12566122
No comments:
Post a Comment