device or e-book reader). An essential function of the smart phone or any portable gadget is the educational one, but everyone seems to ignore it since people are satisfied by their phones without even having explored all the functions or discovering the devices` full potential. Smartphone companies don’ t encourage the educational purpose of the apparatus. Portable gadgets are no longer something that can just keep us connected, something that helps us plan our daily schedule, but they can be a way of enhancing our perspectives and help us focus on the educational and task-solving strategies.
Teachers usually find themselves right in the heart of the e-Society. Some of them consider gadgets a trend – that will pass, some try to embrace the technological developments and insert them in what will be the future school, the e-School. I dare say e- School because the popularity of electronics slightly moved from the production of mechanical appliances and offices to the productivity and comfort of individuals. Therefore the condition will soon transition, if it hasn`t already done so, to our educational system. Simultaneously, we managed to update our technology portfolio to match the needs of those interested in development, transferring intelligence from the human kind to AI – artificial intelligence. While keeping intact our traditional educational system and making no alterations to the materials we use in class, I find it impossible to adapt to the needs of what we today call e-Society. With this being said, I must agree on the fact that“ Teachers who know a lot about teaching and who work in environments that allow them to know students well are the critical elements of successful learning”( Darling-Hammond, 1997, p. 8). But I also have to point out that those teachers are the ones to take the educational system further and develop instructional strategies that embody the technological developments and to find a way to incorporate gadgets into the learning and teaching processes. The use of devices and gadgets in education requires a genuine dialogue between teachers and students so that they can establish the best way of incorporating them in the classroom and the tasks the students have an obligation to do at home.
Teaching the e-Society is a challenge, not only for teachers but learners( students) as well. Both of them are not ready and do not know how to use the technology of the device properly. The gadgets and students repulse teachers are too captivated by them. Repulsion and captivity can suppress creativity, and to be honest, creativity is all we need. Creativity makes us find solutions, creativity gives us answers and helps teachers keep enthusiasm and not feel discouraged by not being able to be as captivating or entertaining as a device is.
2. Intermezzo
“ The current way of teaching is old-fashioned and outdated” – this is the most common phrase I get as an answer when I ask my students what do they think about our school system. They have the same student`s book I used when I was their age, so I tend to believe they are right. I am not saying the books aren’ t serving their purpose, but students don`t seem interested in connecting with them because they interact with their phones or tablets or gaming consoles. Why is that? Devices provide entertainment. Can education be entertaining? Yes, of course. How can it be achieved? Using educational strategies implemented in the classroom: instead of banning devices, teachers should find ways to embrace them. Today’ s generation loves technology and having the thing they like applied in schools will make them more willing to learn and will keep them engaged during their time spent in educational facilities.
E-Schools will have a lot of big advantages over regular schools: unlimited access to information on the go, cumbersome and expensive textbooks replaced by digital ones with constant updates, students will be more prepared for their adult lives due to the massive use of electronics in the workplace and their knowledge of them after graduation. An integration of such technology in school will provide students with a more personalized, yet preferred, place of study and will undoubtedly raise the interest of the younger
70