EDU501 History and Policy in U.S. Education Education Essay

History and Policy in U.S. Education
Name
Institution
Due Date
History and Policy in U.S. Education
Introduction
Digital revolution has changed the traditional pedagogical processes, especially in higher learning. Though the educational curriculum has not been completely overhauled to reflect the modern labor market, technology has changed many facets of higher education. Today technology has become the backbone of higher learning especially in research and supporting new modes of teaching that has helped increase enrollment and graduation rates. Additionally, it is undeniable that technology has positively and adversely affected the education system and most necessary changes have not been made to adjust to it. For example, it has led to increased enrollment because many institutions offer e-learning courses but the curriculum has not been streamlined to equip learners with the futuristic knowledge of dealing with future technological problems such as co-working with robots. The workplace today is still lagging behind many technological trends and institutions of higher learning which are mostly tasked with preparing people for their respective industries has not mirrored these needs.
E-learning
Most institutions of higher learning have created a faulty system that deals with information sciences to mirror the information age needs. Since technology enabled teleworking and globalization of labor, higher learning institutions also innovatively designed programs that could be taught online. They are offered by accredited institutions, and students attend online classes and even take exams. The system was first rolled out in fields that are more centred on a theory like arts and some business courses based on a theory such as human resource management. These courses ‘proved that learners could equally be knowledgeable as their counterparts attending traditional classes. According to CITATION Mgu13 \l 1033 (Mgutshini, 2013), ‘multi-factorial comparison shows online students to have comparable educational success and that, in terms of student satisfaction, online learners reported more satisfaction with their learning experience than their campus-based counterparts.’ These programs of open distance learning have increased in the recent past and have gained popularity. Additionally, the classroom setting was also revolutionized and new learning methods introduced to supplement traditional learning processes. For example, many institutions today have an ‘online blackboard’ where students submit their assignments and Continuous Assessment Tests. These online platforms have become very important resources for students and tools for teachers to interact with the students on the cyberspace. Technological advancement s and research into new ways of bringing more technology to the classroom has promised paperless classes in the near future, robot teachers, telepresence-powered classrooms and many more technologies which are under development.
Increased Prevalence of Plagiarism
The advent of the internet eased the process of sharing information. The development of search engine revolutionized the process of searching and retrieval of information. This was a great leap from the catalogue-based system in many libraries which made research tedious and shallow. However, this technology has been misused by many learners as it offers shortcuts to finding answers to Continuous Assessment tests and other assignments. Students search and ‘copy paste’ the information and present it as their work without proper acknowledgement of the source though they know it is unethical CITATION Hos14 \l 1033 (Hosny & Fatima, 2014). This amounts to plagiarism which is a grievous academic offence, and it has cost many students their graduation dreams. Many institutions have not figured out how best to deal with this issue, and at the moment it is destroying the quality of education. Though technology has changed the way higher education is imparted, it has created a problem which is yet to be addressed about plagiarism.
Shortage of Higher Education Graduates in STEM Fields
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