Benefits of educational technology

Educational technology can be defined as the integration of Internet and other types of information technologies into learning experience. Technology has caused a revolutionary change in the classroom and teaching methods all over the world. This term grows along with advancements made in the field of education. With the increased use of technology in education ,the methods and aids used for learning and teaching have drastically changed in the past few years. Apart from this, there are many benefits of incorporating technology into education. Some of these benefits include:

1. Popularity to distance learning

The increased use of technology in education has brought popularity to the concept of distance learning. It is now one of the most preferred methods of learning and teaching all over the world. Actual classrooms have been replaced by virtual classrooms. Online classes, which employ file transfers, chat rooms, and message boards facilitate students interactions to maximize their learning experiences. Another benefit of this is that students can maintain a flexible education schedule along with their jobs.

2. Enhanced potential

The use of technology in education today has made a huge wealth of knowledge accessible to students. This provides them a great potential in the speed and requisite style of learning. With the use of technology, information can be presented in many ways thus, facilitating learning for varied types of people. Any kind of learner, whether intelligent or disabled, can find appropriate study materials that can be used for enhancing knowledge. The term technology is very broad and not only includes the use of the Internet but includes other technological improvements such as smart boards and handheld dictionaries. 

3. Accessible to all

In earlier times education was considered as an elitist privilege.With the inclusion of technology, education has become accessible to the common masses as well. The information available on the Internet can be used by all people who know and have the necessary equipment to access it. There is no discrimination on the basis of any factor and people of all strata have equal rights to education

4. Ease of teaching

Education technologies have made teaching quite easier for the instructors. Virtual classrooms allow an instructor to instruct and teach in any location around the world and reach students residing in remote locations where his physical presence is almost impossible.

5. Enjoyable experience

The inclusion of technology in education has made the teaching-learning process an enjoyable and beneficial experience for the instructors and the learners.

There are so many benefits of using technology in education that this method of having virtual classes is now preferred by people all over the world.

Source: http://benefitof.net/benefits-of-educational-technology/

Lesson 6 (Activity 5)

IT enters a New Learning Environment

It is helpful to see useful models of school learning that is ideal in achieving instructional goals through preferred application of educational technology. These are the models of Meaningful Learning, Discovery learning, Generative learning and Constructivism.
In these conceptual models, we shall see how effective teachers’ best interact with students in innovating learning activities, while integrating technology to the teaching learning process.

Meaningful learning

             If the traditional learning environment gives stress to rote learning and simple memorization, meaningful learning gives focus to new experience that is related to what the learners already know. New experience departs from the learning of a sequence of words but gives attention to its meaning. It assumes that.
                   Students already have some knowledge that is relevant to new learning
Students are willing to perform class work to find connections between what they know and what they can learn.
                   In the learning process, the learners are encouraged to recognize relevant personal experiences. A reward structure is set so that the learner will have both interest and confidence, and his incentive system sets a positive environment to learning. Facts that are subsequently assimilated are subjected to the learner’s understanding and application. In the classroom, hands-on activities are introduced so as to simulate learning in everyday living.

Discovery learning

     Discovery learning is differentiated from reception learning in which ideas are presented directly to students in a well organized way, such as through detailed set of instructions to complete an experiment or task. To make a contrast, in discovery learning students perform tasks to uncover what to be learned. New ideas and new decisions are generated in the learning process, regardless of the need to move on or depart from organized setoff activities previously set. In discovery learning, iti s important that the students become personally engaged and not subjected by the teacher to procedures he/she is not allowed to depart from.

Generative Learning

              In generative learning we have learners who attend to learning events and generate to learning events and generate to learning events and generate meaning from this experience and draw inference s thereby creating a personal model or explanations to the new experience in the context of the existing knowledge.
              Generative learning is viewed as different from the simple process of storing information. Motivation and responsibility are seen to be crucial to this domain of learning. The area of language comprehension offers examples of this type of generative learning activities, such as in writing paragraph summaries, developing answers and questions, drawing pictures, creating paragraph titles, organizing ideas/concepts, and others. In sum, generative learning.

Constructivism

  In constructivism, the learner builds a personal understanding through appropriate learning activities and a good learning environment. The most accepted principles of constructivism are
- Learning consist in what a person can actively assemble for himself and not what he can received passively.

- The role of learning is to help the individual live/adapt to his personal world. These two principles in turn lead to three practical implications:

- The learner is directly responsible for learning. He creates his personal understanding and transforms information into knowledge. The teacher plays an indirect role by modeling effective learning, assisting, facilitating, and encouraging learners.

- The context of meaningful learning consists in the learner connecting school activity with real life.

- The purpose of education is the acquisition of practical knowledge, not abstract or universal truth.

Lessson 5 (Activity 4)

State of the Art ET Application Practices

The use of modern information technology in this field of education is now considered a necessity to keep pace with economic and social progress. Schools can no longer rely solely on the traditional methods of teaching because their students will be put at a disadvantage when compared to the students availing of advanced technological devices that have been made part of their schools facilities. However, these modern IT inventions such as computers, hardware, software, internet, etc. are quite expensive and are constantly improving so most of them become obsolete and out dated. So schools have to updated their technological facilities to advance a state of the art level. Teachers also have to learn new skills and knowledge on how to use this state of the art technology and apply it to the learning process. Students are encouraged to be more creative and independent in seeking information and doing projects thru the computer and internet.

Lesson 4 (Activity 3)

Basic Concepts on Integrating Technology in Instruction

 

 To make technology a part of the learning and teaching process, the user of such technological devices should make them a source of reinforcement so that the objectives of educational objectives will be realized. Teachers should avoid the use of computers for other purposes such as for enjoyment like games and other exploitive use of technology. Students must be guided as to how to gather information and full utilization of the computers to aid them in performing assigned projects in connection with their subjects. The teacher must see to it that the students are given the necessary skills needed to make full use of the software to help them understand and realize the objectives of their curriculum assignments given should include the use of computers and software thus integrating them into the learning process. The use of modern software technology in schools as part of the learning process has many levels. Most teachers start from a simple or basic integration such as the use of computer to present more vivid and clearer illustrations of the subject matter to be learned. They can also ask students to send thru e-mail assigned task. From these simple utilization of the computer, the teacher can create activities involving the students in team work by giving them specific situations wherein they use computer based materials to come up with the assigned tasks. Examples are the use of software to present lessons more vividly, group activities to produce information materials on certain subject matters, exchange of ideas between schools and students of different nationalities. In this way, students and teachers are now an integral part of our advancing modern global technology.

Lesson 3 (Activity 2)

Educational Technology in the Asia Pacific Region

 

In the Asia Pacific region, there are only 5 countries or states that have developed a master plan for the utilization of modern communication technology in the field of education. The other countries may have plans but cannot be implemented for lack of funds and qualified human resources. For these 5 progressions and economically stable states/city, namely New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Their governments have made a plan where full financial support is provided to the schools so that they can buy and maintain computers, websites centers, highly qualified personnel who will maintain such technological centers for use of their students and teachers.

Lesson 1 (Activity 1)

What are the three revolutions of education?

1. Industrial revolution 
2. Factory Style Educational System 
3. Technology Revolution

What is CAI?

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI), a program of instructional material presented by means of a computer or computer systems. The use of computers in education started in the 1960s. With the advent of convenient microcomputers in the 1970s, computer use in schools has become widespread from primary education through the university level and even in some preschool programs. Instructional computers are basically used in one of two ways: either they provide a straightforward presentation of data or they fill a tutorial role in which the student is tested on comprehension. If the computer has a tutorial program, the student is asked a question by the computer; the student types in an answer and then gets an immediate response to the answer. If the answer is correct, the student is routed to more challenging problems; if the answer is incorrect, various computer messages will indicate the flaw in procedure, and the program will bypass more complicated questions until the student shows mastery in that area.

Communication media

1. E-mail
2. SMS/textmessaging
3. Social Media(Facebook,twitter)
4. Intranet
5. Telephone

Audiovisual media

1. Films
2. Television
3. Slide projector
 4. Slide tapes
5. Computers/laptops

Instructional media and educational communication media

Instructional media encompasses all the materials and physical means an instructor might use to implement instruction and facilitate students' achievement of instructional objectives. This may include traditional materials such as chalkboards, handouts, charts, slides, overheads, real objects, and videotape or film, as well newer materials and methods such as computers, DVDs, CD-ROMs, the Internet, and interactive video conferencing. On the other hand Educational Communication Mediauses any forms and types of communication media in educating and implementing instruction to students/learners.

Five Ways Teachers Can Use Technology to Help Students By: Darrell M. West and Joshua Bleiberg

Thomas Edison once said, "Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools...our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years." Amazingly enough, however, one of our nation's most important inventors was proven quite wrong. The American education system has a remarkable resistance to innovation and the classroom experience has changed very little in the 100 years since Edison's prediction. 

 Advances in information technology have revolutionized how people communicate and learn in nearly every aspect of modern life except for education. The education system operates under the antiquated needs of an agrarian and industrial America. The short school day and the break in the summer were meant to allow children to work on family farms. Schools have an enduring industrial mentality placing students in arbitrary groups based on their age regardless of their competencies.

 Technology has failed to transform our schools because the education governance system insulates them from the disruptions that technology creates in other organizations. The government regulates schools perhaps more than any other organization. Rules govern where students study, how they will learn, and who will teach them. Education regulation governs the relationships of actors in the system and stymies the impact of innovative technologies. Furthermore the diffuse system of governance creates numerous veto points to limit innovation. 

 To overcome these obstacles, we must persuade teachers that technology will empower them and help their students learn. We argue that there are five strategies for successful teacher adoption of education technology and that these principles will help fulfill the potential that Edison saw a century ago: 

 Schools must use technology that empowers teachers. Teachers rightly reject education technologies that divert their attention from instruction. The best education technologies enable teachers to do more with fewer resources. Communication platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr enable dynamic communication with students. Teacher-empowering technologies include mobile apps that grade written student work and provide lesson plan databases. School systems need to aggressively track what works for their teachers and put all other unworkable technologies aside. 

 Teachers should treat the adoption of technology as part of lesson planning. One of the major drivers of bad policy is policy churn. New district leaders want to make their mark adopting new policies and jettisoning the old. This constant changing of priorities makes beneficial reforms difficult to implement. Teachers can incorporate technology directly into their practice and insulate their students from the deleterious effects of policy churn. For example teachers can use Khan Academy or other online resources to improve remediation. Systematic adoption of technology at the classroom levels limits the damage of shifting policy maker priorities.

 Teachers should not fear open-source technologies. Many mistakenly believe that education technologies are expensive and complicated to use. Open-source technologies are stable, secure, and compatible with other platforms. Organizations both small and large use open source devices every day. Many businesses use open-source servers for their efficiency and costs savings. They often have large communities that provide high quality customer support. Best of all, open-source technologies often cost less than proprietary products.

 Use online education portfolios to evaluate students. Educators have known about the benefits of paper based portfolios for generations. Portfolios allow students to express creativity for difficult to assess subjects. Teachers can choose from a variety of online portfolio providers tailored to the needs of their classroom. They also serve as a platform for students to demonstrate growth. Online portfolios have many advantages over paper based options because they cost less and allow for more robust outreach. Online portfolios are also amenable to a wider variety of formats including video, music or other interactive features.

 Teachers should embrace the Common Core State Standards. Common standards make teaching simpler. Teachers have to write lessons that comply with district, state, and national standards (e.g. NCTM or NCTE). Having a single set of standards eliminates redundancy and conflicting guidelines. Furthermore universal adoption of common standards will support future technological innovations that aid teachers. From a technical perspective, standards facilitate the development of new technologies. Innovators can focus on developing tools that better serve students rather than solving technical challenges of interoperability created by multiple sets of standards. Undoubtedly weak financial support inhibits the adoption of education technology. Despite this obstacle, teachers working together have tremendous potential to reform education. Every day teachers face choices about how to implement the curriculum and instruct students. Those moments are opportunities for teachers to engage in education reform that has a real impact on students. Teachers should use education technologies that are inexpensive, easy to use, and improve student learning.