Dipankar Choudhury
Department of Mathematics
Bhawanipur Anchalik College, Bhawanipur
“Technology is just a tool. In terms of
getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is most
important.” - Bill Gates
Abstract:
Educational Technology in Teaching and Learning is an important and challenging
aspect in higher education. The first theories on human behavior as behavior
affected by technology are discussed in this essay. These learning theories are
behaviorism, cognitivist, and constructivism. They provide a pedagogical and/or
anagogical basis for understanding how students learn. Also, some of the
approaches to teaching with technology, use of the best technological tools and
appropriate type of instruction to enhance learning under Bloom’s taxonomy are
included. A general perspective is given of the advantages and disadvantages
that technology offers for education.
Today,
more than ever, the role of educational technology in teaching is of great
importance because of the use of information and communication technologies.
With the help of various applications for distance education, the Internet,
teachers, and students themselves, they see the advantage of educational
technology. The question is whether schools and teachers themselves are ready
for the use of technology in education and whether they are aware of its
benefits? In this paper, we try to give an overview of the importance and use
of educational technology in the classroom.
Keywords: Educational technology,
Technology and learning, School, Teachers, The impact of technology on learning
Introduction: Technology
for improving and facilitating learning processes is everywhere. This includes
for increasing performance within the educational system. Technology begins to
change our vision of education at the moment a teaching-learning program with
technology begins. It has been used in about every classroom, as becomes a part
of the courses in universities, high schools and middle and elementary schools
all over the world. Thus, technologies as learning and teaching tools force
teachers and students to use them, similar to learning a new task. For this
reason, technology application in classrooms is essential to ensuring its
efficiency and effective integration. Technology has now changed
how teachers and students access, gather, analyze, present, and transmit
information by giving them more power in the classroom.
Importance
of Educational Technology:
Educational Technology has absolutely revolutionized
the entire education system. Until recently, the teachers used to be the sole
interpreter of knowledge to the learners and the textbooks the sole resource.
Educational technology has affected the conventional roles and it has opened up
the new areas of teacher functions such as management of resources and
management of learning. Today, teachers have a range of media to assist and
supplement the instructional work.
Teachers can even specify the learning intentions,
select the topic, identify the stimulus situation, determine media, manage
teaching and finally conduct evaluation and modify the instructions in the
light of evaluation results.
Educational process can’t proceed systematically
without the help of educational technology. Every aspect of educational system
is fully enlightened with educational technology.
1. Educational technology has provided a scientific
base to the educational theory and practice. It has transformed a passive
classroom to an active and interactive classroom, with audio-visuals, charts
and models, smart classrooms and e-learning room which has drastically
motivated and increased the attention level of the students.
2. The introduction of educational technology has
modernized the teaching-learning climate of the educational institutions. The
learners to be exposed to professionally designed programmers on video or
computers.
3. Educational technology has helped and
supplemented the teachers in their instructional programmers through the
structured lessons for remedial, enrichment or drill purposes. The learners get
training for self-instruction and teachers are relieved of the burden of
routine repetition for exercise and revision purposes.
4. Through a systematic organization of content and
instructional materials, educational technology has provided well-integrated
structured materials for teachers thus saving a lot of their time which in turn
may be utilized for creative work and quality improvement.
5. The training and use of educational technology
contributes towards the professional growth of teachers. It equips them in the
use of scientific methods for solving educational and administrative problems.
It adds to the teaching competence of teachers and inculcates a scientific
outlook and scientific temper in teachers and students.
6. Educational technology has improved the
teaching-learning process and made it more effective and process oriented.
Television, Radio, V.C.R, Computers and LCD projectors etc. have enriched and
facilitated effective transmission of knowledge.
7. Educational technology has not only maintained
the standards of education but also improved the ways of teaching by giving it
Teaching Aids and Programmed Instructional Material.
8. Mechanism of feedback devices for modification of
teaching-learning behavior has produced effective teachers in the
teacher-training institutes.
9. Students who appear for higher or competitive
examinations have been benefitted by educational programmers on T.V, Radio and
Internet.
10. Educational technology has opened up new fields
of educational researches in the field of examination process, evaluation and
classroom-teaching.
11. Educational technology has provided practices
and strategies that help teachers to teach according to individual differences
of learners.
12. Educational technology has provided scientific
foundation to education through the theories of learning and intelligence.
Thus educational technology is required in each and
every aspect of teaching learning process. Educational technology serves all
the purposes for modern education. Education today can’t go far without the
help of educational technology. The innovations of technology in the field of
education have done wonders to educational process. It has not only maintained
the structure but also improved the nature of the educational process.
THE
IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING:
Since computers are still not widely used in many
schools, the teaching process is dominated by traditional methods. It is
dominated by the frontal form of work where the teacher had enough interaction
with students. Failure to thrive at their own pace and insufficient activity of
students was one of the drawbacks of who are not uniform in knowledge and never
pay enough attention to those who are not sufficiently mastered the material
and those who are above their average. This difference is often hampered by
teacher assessment work and how to transfer knowledge to a group of children
with different knowledge. The teacher chooses to keep average to good teaching where
children with insufficient knowledge would not get the necessary knowledge. The
children with insufficient knowledge can progress smoothly without unpleasant
feeling of their ignorance, no frustration, and humili- ation while for the
most advanced children teaching will be boring. With the development of
information and communication technology, especially computers, a number of
researchers (Morrison et al., 2010) were trying to see the benefits and the
effect of their use compared to older traditional learning. For many years, we
tried to give answers to the question of advantages and disadvantages between
traditional and modern teaching where the prevailing educational technology.
The period from 1967. To 1972. Is considered to be a period of consolidation of
educational technology, which has become the most commonly used term in the science
of pedagogy and the educational process With the application of educational
technology, students can independently progress in mastering teaching materials,
to choose the pace of work, to repeat the material that is not sufficiently
clear, that after tests performed immediately get results and track their progress.
Interactive, multimedia content provides a great advantage of modern learning
over traditional learning. With the application of educational technology
we get feedback between the teacher and the student.
Among the first studies on the comparison of the traditional and modern ways
with the help of educational technologies research was Clark Richard. He tried to
compare research between lectures and computer guidance and instruction to
determine which the better way of learning is. He came to the conclusion that
they are both effective depending on the ways they are used. The same conclusion
came by other authors and that is that there are some major differences in the use
of educational technology and traditional teaching. On the other hand, research
at the Center for Educational Research in Pittsburgh within Individually
Prescribed Instruction showed that computers are better tailored to the
individual abilities of students, rather than teachers themselves. Educational
technology must inevitably be integrated into classrooms and curricula. With
the advent of educational technology in the classroom teacher, education is
faced with the challenge that teachers integrate educational technology in
their daily work. Numerous studies have shown that a small number of teachers
is willing to integrate educational technology in their teaching activities. The
reason is that there are two categories of teachers in the understanding of
educational technology. Some of them have thorough understanding of modern
technical appliances and their operation while others think it is necessary for
them to gain additional technical knowledge of the appliances and methods, teaching
methods, student-teacher relationship... These two groups represent a group of teachers
between older and younger teachers. Older teachers during their study did not
have the possibility of training with modern technical appliances, did not have
the information technology, educational technology... while the younger generation
of teachers possess the knowledge required for the use of educational technology.
For a better understanding of educational technology requires a set of computer
science, pedagogy, psychology, cybernetics, informatics... The knowledge
teachers possess is sufficient for a basic use of education technology. However,
educational technology is one big system. First of all, teachers have a basic
knowledge of the use of educational technology. It takes far more professional training
through a variety of conferences, courses, professional literature, seminars...
in order to get a better knowledge in the use of educational technology. The
fact is that under use of educational technology, primarily due to poor school
equipment necessary resources, insufficient information and knowledge of teachers
and the lack of interest and lack of motivation of teachers to use them.
Teachers have to be motivated to use the same because the use of educational
technology in teaching provides better interaction with students, better reception
of information because the students receive knowledge visual, auditory and
kinesthetic way. Among other things, an educational technology motivates students
to work independently where the student is more motivated to return to learning
and working because modern technical equipment is widely available at any given
moment.
Discussion:
Educational technology is a field of study that
investigates the process of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and
evaluating the instructional environment and learning materials in order to
improve teaching and learning. It is important to keep in mind that the purpose
of educational technology (also referred to as instructional technology) is to
improve education. We must define the goals and needs of education first and
then we use all our knowledge, including technology, to design the most effective
learning environment for students.
Educational technology is a field of study that
investigates the process of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and
evaluating the instructional environment and learning materials in order to
improve teaching and learning. It is important to keep in mind that the purpose
of educational technology (also referred to as instructional technology) is to
improve education. We must define the goals and needs of education first and
then we use all our knowledge, including technology, to design the most
effective learning environment for students.
The learning materials today have greatly expanded
because of the various technological advances. Instructional materials include
more conventional materials, such as the blackboard, overhead projectors,
televisions, VCRs, overhead projectors, slide projectors, and opaque
projectors, as well as newer materials, such as the computer, various software
applications, LCD projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, scanners, the
Internet, satellite, interactive TV, audio and video conferencing, artificial
intelligence, and so on.
Teachers in the public schools and faculty at
universities need to understand what types of materials are available, how to
use them, why they should be used, when they should be used, and how to
integrate them into the teaching/learning environment in order to meet the
ultimate goal of improving education. Teachers also need to seriously consider
how these newer materials can affect what and how we learn and teach.
The issue of what these materials are and how to use
them is a first step. But we must quickly begin to discuss how these materials
should be used and how they affect the curriculum and instruction in our
schools. Technology can be used to perpetuate a teacher-led, knowledge-based
learning approach or it can be used to help us implement a student-centered,
constructivist, and progressive approach. We need to help teachers to
understand the bigger picture of how technology can revolutionize education.
Just teaching teachers how to use the technology will lead to enhancing a
knowledge-level educational system. Teaching them the real potentials of
technology will lead to promoting higher-level thinking, independent learning,
and life-long learning.
The skills and issues that need to be addressed by
teachers are vast. To help in understanding what these skills and issues are,
the Coordinator of Educational Technology at UNCA has created a list of items
regarding educational technology. These are items that the faculty at the
universities needs to understand so that they can incorporate them into their
own teaching and thus help pre service teachers understand them so that they
can more effectively utilize technology in their own teaching as well.
Remember, in all of these areas of educational
technology that the goal of improving a specific aspect of teaching and
learning comes first. The technology is selected to help us meet these goals.
CONCLUSION:
The presence of educational technology is growing in
the classroom. The new generation of kids comes ready to work with these new technologies,
which play an important role in children’s learning and acquiring various
cognitive knowledge so that educational technology must be incorporated into future
curricula. The application of educational technology enhances skills and
cognitive characteristics. With the help of new technology comes an explosion of
learning and receiving new information, especially on mobile devices. Teachers
have been using new technologies in the classroom. However, the development and
application of new technologies grows as a measure that is the question of whether
teachers are trained to keep up with them. Here we have two problems. Are the teachers
have the ability to use educational technology and whether the school is
sufficiently equipped with all modern technical means? Numerous studies were
carried out, some are still ongoing, but we have to find the right strategies to
apply educational technology in teaching.
Reference:
11) THE
IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING. Dr. Lazar Stošić, College of
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22) ROLE
OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS: Perception of the
Faculty - Dr. Irshad HUSSAIN and Muhammad SAFDAR.
33) Using
Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works By Howard Pitler ; Elizabeth
R. Hubbell; Matt Kuhn
44) Defining
Educational Technology By Simonson, Michael.
55) Current
Trends in Educational Technology Research by Mihalca, Loredana; Miclea, Mircea.
66) It's
Elementary! Integrating Technology in the Primary Grades By Boni Hamilton.
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Learning and Teaching in Higher Education by Shirley Bach; Philip Haynes;
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