Can teachers be replaced by technology in the future?

Due to the fast pace development of technology, many jobs are becoming redundant and there is a question of whether technology can educate children instead of teachers and replace them?

Henny argued that ‘some educators are worried that there will be no students to teach in the future as technology might take over a lot of tasks and abilities that teachers have been teaching students for decades’ (Henny, 2016, p.1). Although technology is advanced and teaching is known whereas technology is uncertain (John, 2007) and there are some skills that only a teacher can obtain and convey effectively to the children for example Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal development and assistance of a more knowledgeable other (Vygotsky 1935/1978), this approach is possible with technology but with face to face interaction this approach would be better received as Vygotsky found that, ‘’It was believed that through social interaction with more knowledgeable others that children were able to acquire knowledge and skills a culture deemed to be important’’ (1935/1978). Vygotsky’s theory was adapted by Bruner, who came up with the idea of ‘scaffolding’ (1978) and this would not be effectively done with technology as there are many techniques and ways of pedagogy such as scaffolding which need that social interaction to be applied with skill, the approach is how the more knowledgeable other would guide the child to develop holistically which technology cannot do as it lacks the nurturing ability which motivates the teacher to help and strive for the child to succeed.                          

Many studies have shown that the more focus and interaction that technology has brought which has increased the motivation to use technology; although the use of technology did not always promote a positive impact with the student’s engagement on academics, one of the reasons was due to distractions (Ditzler et al, 2016). Boekaerts and Corno (2005) both agreed with the idea that self-regulation of learning is about active engagement with the inclusion of thoughts, feelings and actions, these are factors which technology does not have full control over and would not be able to promote as well as a teacher could.

Cost is a large barrier in being able to have technology in classrooms as ‘technology has impacted almost every aspect of life today’ (Purdue University, 2019) therefore this expresses the importance and necessity of technology as children now need these new equipment’s which the government has understood as the students will be the future and the future is technology and Norman found how technology must be fit into people’s minds to understand how the tech interacts with the human mind (1993) and helps to develop.

Technology is having a huge impact in today’s society and the advanced technology that has been created can support those students in both technical and non-technical classes helping to integrate skills such as collaboration, creativity and problem solving (WGS, 2018)  which is similar to Professor Donaldson, who is shaping Wales’s curriculum in the future, he chose creativity as one of his four purposes and characteristics as he believed that, ’Creativity and enterprise are central features of modern life’ (2015, p.28) therefore creativity must be deemed as important which technology enhances.

Children learn from technology very quickly and find it easy to do so and research found shows that, “69 per cent of students who completed the survey felt that using the iPad was motivating and that they worked better with it than without it” (Curtis, W, 2006, p.207). ‘’Children actively explore their own environment and are influential in shaping their own knowledge’’ (Keenan et al, 2016. p.44). This supports the view that children when given a task will carry it out with active imagination in the environment they are put in and create their own meanings, this with little or no guidance from a teacher and participate in a child led activity.

Although technology eases learning for students and the pedagogy for the teachers, it cannot replace teachers as it is seen more of a betterment for education as it can enhance the learning process but only a human can effectively teach these life skills, be able to inspire also guide the children in their journey to reach their goals and aspirations and the ability the teacher has when they can quickly adapt to a child’s situation and empathise whereas with a computer they do not contain these essential humanitarian traits to do so (JPI, 2018).

For children with special educational needs, the introduction of assistive technology has made it easier for students to learn and participate in ways that were not possible in the past (University of Cincinnati, No date). Due to this only being assistive technology, this shows how teachers and special education needs support staff and professionals are needed in order to help, as technology can only assist to make it easier where as those with a disability would need more care and further assistance and support that only a trained teacher can provide.

Overall, technology acts as I aid to teachers not a replacement, teachers cannot be replaced as they have the capacity to offer more than what technology on its own can offer children, and the classroom should be about how to develop the student’s minds, not how to develop the technology (Hamlin, 2000). Technology and teachers is powerful way of pedagogy but technology teaching students would cause too many issues and would not be equitable for the children.

Reference List

Curtis, W.,Ward, S., Sharp, J and Hankin, L. (2006) Education Studies: An Issue Based Approach. 3rd edn. London: Learning Matters and Sage Publications.

Ditzler, C., Hong, E., & Strudler, N. (2016). How tablets are utilized in the classroom. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48, 181–193. doi:10.80/15391523.2016.1172444

Donald A. N. (1993) Cognition in the Head and in the World: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Situated Action. Vol.17 Issue 1, p. 4

Donaldson, G. (2015) Successful Futures: Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales, Available online at: file:///C:/Users/Shahn/Downloads/Donaldson%20Report%20-%20Successful%20Futures%20-%20Independent%20Review%20of%20Curriculum%20and%20Assessment%20Arrangements%20in%20Wales%20(1).pdf [Accessed March 2019]

Hamlin, M. (2000) Computers shouldn't be used to replace teachers. Available at http://ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.cardiffmet.ac.uk/docview/240319311?accountid=15588   [Accessed March 2019]

Henny, C. (2016). 9things that will shape the future of education: what learning will look like in 20 years?. 1st ed. [eBook] p.1. Available at: https://elearningindustry.com/9-things-shape-future-of-education-learning-20-years    [Accessed March 2019]

John, P. (2007) Digital Classroom: Harnessing Technology for the Future of Learning and Teaching. Routledge; USA and Canada. p.2

J P International. (2018) Can Technology Replace Teachers? Available at: http://www.jpinternational.co.in/can-technology-replace-teachers/ [Accessed March 2019]

Keenan, T., Evans, S., Crowley., (2016) An Introduction to Child Development. 3rd edn. London: Sage.

University of Cincinnnati. (No date) How Technology Helps in the Education of Special-Needs Students. Available at: https://mastersed.uc.edu/news-resources/infographics/how-technology-helps-in-the-education-of-special-needs-students/ [Accessed March 2019]

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

World Government Summit. (2018) The Future of Technology Education: How governments can help close the 21st-century skills gap. Available at: https://www.worldgovernmentsummit.org/api/publications/document?id=a76994c4-e97c-6578-b2f8-ff0000a7ddb6 [Accessed March 2019]