What is the educational technology?
Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of
facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using
and managing appropriate technological processes and resources. The
term educational technology is often associated with, and
encompasses, instructional theory and learning theory. While
instructional technology is "the theory and practice of design,
development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and
resources for learning," according to the Association for
Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Definitions and
Terminology Committee, educational technology includes other systems
used in the process of developing human capability. Educational
technology includes, but is not limited to, software, hardware, as
well as Internet applications, such as wikis and blogs, and
activities. Educational technology has their own advantages, and of
course, the disadvantages too.
The advantages are:
a) Better Engagement and Motivation
The use of technology in an elementary
school classroom enhances both student engagement and motivation.
Student engagement and motivation are closely related during the
learning process because the more students are motivated, the more
likely they will be successful and engaged in their learning.
Students who are often uninterested in learning become more motivated
by technology. This motivation and engagement can be related to a
specific content area in the classroom or new skills gained by
incorporating technology. If teachers can see the power that
technology has in motivating students, they can use it to their
advantage
.
b) Better Instructional Materials
Technology has the opportunity to
expand instructional materials beyond a teacher’s wildest dreams.
The possibilities are endless for the types of materials made
available by technology today. Whether it be technologies available
via the internet or software that can be purchased by a district,
these resources are expanding and are becoming better and better with
each passing moment due to people who are passionate about
incorporating technology into the magical process we call learning.
c)Better Communication and Interaction
Technology has become a major
foundation for communication and interaction between the classroom
and the student’s home life. At the elementary level, some students
often forget what their homework is, when it is due, or sometimes
forget papers at school that need parent signatures. In addition to
having technology provide these things to students, it also makes
them available to parents. With technology being involved, students
are able to access classroom websites from home, which may contain
their homework or other materials from their classroom. With this
tool, parents are able to communicate with their child’s teacher as
well. This type of communication allows parents to know what is going
on in their child’s classroom. When it comes to communication, as
stated on
http://www.rememberanything.com/benefits-of-technology-in-the-classroom/,
“technology is an excellent tool for assessment purposes as well as
advocacy issues between the students and the teachers”. Students
are able to do homework or activities online where their teachers can
assess them to see if they understand the information taught in
class. This is a great foundation that is making it easier for
teachers to assess the information that their students actually know.
d) Increased Family Involvement
As teachers and school districts look
at technology, many view technology as an avenue to increase parent
and family involvement in the students’ education. Parental
involvement is something that is desired by many teachers, but some
do not know how to increase the involvement from students’ parents
and families. Technology is an appropriate answer to this serious and
difficult dilemma that teachers face year after year when trying to
get parents involved. If teachers can see the advantages to using
technology to communicate with families and use technology correctly
to do this, they will also see improvement within their students.
This involvement through technology can manifest itself in many
forms: classroom websites, emails, grades posted online, etc. With
these tools incorporated into the classroom, families are now more
than ever before becoming involved in the education of the student by
being aware of what is going on in the classroom.
e)Information
A major advantage of the Internet is
the ability to access all types of information from library resources
all over the world, including magazines, books, newspapers and
journal publications, instantaneously. This information increases the
learning potential by providing students with the latest information.
It also expands the resources of a smaller library tremendously.
Students using search engines can find information quicker and more
tailored to their specific needs.
The disadvantages are:
a) Inaccurate or out-dated information
As the disadvantage, educators may
consider this information overload. With all of the information
available to students, they may find it difficult to choose which
information is most important to a topic and also when to stop
looking. In addition, the validity of Internet sources varies
considerably from website to website, which means students can very
easily acquire inaccurate or out-dated information online.
b) Online Education
An online education provides students
with the convenience of going to class and completing assignments on
their own timetable. Students can take classes from a college or
university nowhere near their home and get an education experience
not available to them locally. Students who travel with a job can
take a class in a house, hotel room or coffee shop. Students save on
housing, gas money and travel expenses.
However, an online education
means face-to-face instruction does not exist, nor does the ability
to get instant feedback on class assignments in many situations. They
also can't hear questions from other students (or ask questions
themselves), which often can give clarification to a student
struggling with the concepts of the material.
c) Virtual Field Trips
An advantage of a classroom Internet
connection allows students to take a virtual field trip without ever
leaving their school building. Students studying the animals of
Africa, the Great Wall of China or the Egyptian pyramids, for
example, never have to get on a plane. For schools struggling with
budgets and for schools in rural locations, going to an online museum
or virtual zoo gives them a unique opportunity they might not
otherwise have without Internet access.
Disadvantages of this experience mean
students can't ask questions of the zookeeper or touch a snake at a
zoo. They can't take pictures or create memories with their
classmates. For younger children, a field trip can teach them how to
behave in public and respect adults; since virtual field trips don't
leave the classroom, they only learn to respect their teacher.
d) Social Skills
The Internet allows students to meet
people from all over the world at the click of a button. Suddenly
doing a tenth grade literature project on Irish literature with the
help of students in Ireland makes the project more interesting and
thus a huge advantage. Artists studying Italian architecture can
email experts in Italy about the vast amount of artwork.
While these opportunities provide great
details and resources, they also can damage social skills. Students
who reply primarily on the Internet for information and interaction
don't talk to people in person as much; rather they just email back
and forth. This can make it hard to develop listening skills,
especially when interviewing someone, or to acquire appropriate
social skills for face-to-face interactions.
