Developments in our world have recently influenced many aspects in our lives. Learning and school were no exception and they also were influenced by the digitalization and technical developments in our world. However, there is an ongoing debate about whether this influence is positive or negative in the sphere of learning and education. The developments in our societies are perceived as positive and have positive effects in general. Yet, everything has two sides, positive and negative. That is, there is nothing that is only positive or only has negative effects and so is the development of learning. To an extent, developments and modern learning have more negative aspects than the positive ones, although the matter still is debated.
Mainly, new learning methods using computer-based learning have deactivated an important part of the learning process which is about using one’s own abilities and thinking. To some extent, even if computer-based learning is beneficial in many ways, activating the brain through thinking and study still is a central part of the learning process. And this part is getting reduced when new learning methods dominate the learning process.
Moreover, learning in the new means includes a greater responsibility on students. This, in turn, gives teachers less responsibility for the learning process and teachers have become more like mentors than teachers. In other words, students are more likely to study by themselves and those who, because of some reasons, are less clever or not as good as others would have worse results at school.
However, the content did not change that much, but what is being taught at schools nowadays adopts the new development and teaches students outgoing from the new circumstances in the society according to technological developments. That is, issues such as discipline and rules aren’t taught in the same way as they did in old-fashioned learning.
Some would argue in favour of these new learning methods and criticize old-fashioned schools for not being as modern as the new world requires, or in simpler words, they do not prepare students for the labor market. Partially, this is right but the overall function of school still is the same, which is educating and adopting new learning methods does not necessarily result in job-ready students. They are two different areas that can be discussed according to different included matters. That is, the labor market is different from education in a social context.
Finally, schools still have the same function which is educating people. However, modern teaching styles have limited this mission to the labor market ignoring other aspects that should be taught at schools such as discipline. Furthermore, a greater effort is required by students according to modern learning while teachers still have a fundamental role in the teaching process that should never be ignored. Therefore, old-fashioned learning has a way more advantages than the modern learning styles.