Media and modern technologies - a chance for better education

system. Learn how to properly use the potential of digital media for the benefit of students. Media and modern technologies.

Media and modern technologies - a chance for better education
Media and modern technologies - a chance for better education

Digital media has not yet fully embraced in school, and already arouses much anxiety and controversy. They can be viewed in two ways: as an opportunity for better education or as a threat to the current education system. Learn how to properly use the potential of digital media for the benefit of students. Media and modern technologies.

Not that scary devil

Our students belong to the generation that uses information and communication technologies on a daily basis. In this reality they were born and grow up in it. But for the few hours a day when they are at school, they do not take advantage of them very often. And yet many of them bring their phones to school - they can be used in practically all lessons. It is a pity that teachers do this too seldom.

Multimedia education enables the involvement of all communication channels, which affects almost all human senses. This makes the teaching process more effective:

  • The effectiveness of teaching increases by 56%,
  • Understanding of the topic is 50-60% higher
  • The pace of teaching accelerates by 60%,
  • Time savings amount to 38-70%,

What teachers fear so much may therefore contribute to a (partial) solution to the problems plaguing in schools. It allows you to process large amounts of material in a shorter time and with better results. You can conduct interesting lessons, make students interested in the subject, strengthen their motivation, differentiate tasks and limit homework, at least in the current form. Finally - what students love - put them in the role of experts and learn from them how to navigate the digital matrix.

The role of digital media in education

Multimedia education is part of the concept of multilateral teaching-learning

Here are its main functions:

  1. Cognitive and educational - the media is a source of information and a tool for intellectual development of students. They make it possible to learn about those fragments of reality that are inaccessible to direct observation (e.g. computer animation of blood circulation in the human body, a trip to the depths of the ocean or a chemical experiment impossible to perform in the classroom).
  2. Emotional and motivational - the use of media significantly broadens the spectrum of intellectual and emotional experiences, which arouses students' interest in the material and strengthens their motivation.

  1. Action-interactive - thanks to the media it is possible to communicate anytime and anywhere and to quickly transfer information (students to each other, students-teachers, teachers-parents of students). The world has no borders, and education also becomes available to those who, due to illness or disability, study at home (e-learning).

Currently, schools can use desktop and laptop computers, mobile phones, interactive whiteboards and screens, e-books and audiobooks. Let's add to this computer platforms in the form of electronic journals and unlimited access to global Internet resources.

The power of the Internet

Much has been written about the harmfulness of the Internet, but this is not what this text is about. Let's take a look at the various possibilities that its use in education creates.

First of all, it is an unlimited source of information in all areas. Shell us:

  • Read articles, books, reviews, lectures, discussions on thematic forums;
  • Listen to broadcasts, radio programs, reports from various events (e.g. scientific or cultural);
  • Watch programs, films, presentations, news, TV or educational broadcasts, also live broadcasts.

The Internet enables the collection and processing of information. Shell us:

  • Download available materials to a computer (or to OneDrive, the so-called cloud);
  • artical (publish) your own materials on the network, on a blog, forum, social media, YouTube channel;
  • Quickly transfer any material in the form of text, audio and video files;
  • Use educational platforms in class or at home - they help to convey teaching content in an attractive and diverse form, enable students to broaden their knowledge and consolidate material for tests and exams.

Finally, the Internet is invaluable in the distance learning process. You can:

Use it in the e-learning process, where teaching takes place in a computer network and communication between the participants is two-way;

Send educational tasks to individual students, those who are absent due to illness, who take part in distinguishing classes or activities for highly gifted students;

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Send or publish lessons, lectures, assignments for students, reviews of assignments / papers - those who are interested can access them at any time. More information on

How it is done in Europe

In Western Europe, digital technologies in teaching are already a standard.

 I will use the example of the Netherlands. All schools have interactive boards that are operated with a special pointer or by touch. They are linked with the teacher's desktop or laptop (always with Internet access) and with the projector. This means that all materials can be prepared in an electronic version, generated and processed at any time. On the electronic board, you can display texts, show movies, share recordings, write and draw. Students are actively involved in all this - they come to the blackboard to write down something, present their own materials from a flash drive or OneDrive, participate in interactive exercises, etc. In one of the schools where I worked, there is a workshop adapted to distance learning. A large monitor is installed in it, through which the teacher and the class connect with the student at home or in the hospital. He actively participates in the lesson - he listens to the lecture, does exercises, answers the teacher's questions, collaborates with other class members.

Lessons are conducted on the basis of presentations prepared by teachers (most often in PowerPoint, in which, apart from text, audio and video recordings and links to online exercises are pasted). These materials are made available to the participants of the classes so that they can refer to them at any time. Primary schools use learning platforms that students also use at home. On the websites of individual schools, there are tabs with materials from the lessons, multimedia exercises and external links.

Lessons can be diversified with interactive tasks and quizzes. Students use libraries, translators, remedial classes - also during lessons. In high schools, they have to have laptops or iPads, which they sometimes use throughout the class, sometimes only for a few or several minutes. Some tasks require the use of cell phones.

The manuals are available in paper and electronic form. Working with a book is often online work. The teacher can monitor the work of all students, track their pace and progress, analyze and discuss their mistakes. Tasks are more and more often performed and checked in electronic form (this also applies to tests and exams). While responding to the lesson, the students use PowerPoint. Some have their own YouTube channels, blogs, and even websites.

This does not mean that the Dutch have stopped using classic teaching aids. There are still books and regular teaching aids in the classrooms, and students are still working with their workbooks. But they managed to combine tradition with modernity. They prepare the charges to meet the demands of the labor market dominated by digital technologies.

A challenge for teachers

The reality is different. So it is hard to expect that all teachers will suddenly become modern and multimedia. Those who have recently graduated are prepared for it. They stayed only partially. And it is not only about strictly technical competences, but also about the correct use of these technologies. These are skills such as:

Finding valuable information;

  • Correct interpretation and selection of information;
  • Collection and processing of materials;
  • Using new forms of communication;

The use of media in the process of teachers' self-education Thus, teachers must have competences and skills covering a wide range of topics. When and where should they get them? Ideally during training sessions organized in the workplace by invited specialists or competent colleagues. Fortunately, an increasing number of teachers prepare interesting multimedia lessons that can be used as examples of tools during such training.

Remember that not all lessons have to be conducted with the use of modern technology. This will probably be the case in the future, but for now let's diversify our offer gradually. Let us choose what is close to us, what we already know, what has worked. Ask students what forms they find most attractive and useful, and use those first. Let us exchange ideas and materials, not only in our own school, but also between schools. Let's use the resources of the Internet, where you can find many ready-made tools and lessons. And above all, let's treat this challenge as an adventure. After all, such skills will also be useful in our lives.