MEANING OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

 Technology means……

·         TECHNOLOGY comes from the Greek word techne which means craft or art.

·         Technology is the applied side of scientific development (Dale 1969).

·         Technology refers to all the ways people use their inventions and discoveries to satisfy their needs and desires ( World Book Encyclopedia).

What is Educational Technology?

·         It refers to how people use their inventions and discoveries to satisfy their educational needs and desires.

·         It is a complex, integrated process involving people, procedures, ideas, devices and organization for analyzing problems and devising solutions to those problems.

·         It is a theory about how problems in human learning are identified and solved.

·         It is a field involved in applying a complex, integrated process to analyze and solve problems in human learning.

·         It is a field study which is concerned with the practice of using educational methods and resources for the goal of facilitating the learning process.

Related terms….

·         Technology in Education – the application of technology in the processes involved in education.

·         Technology of Education – it refers to the techniques, methodologies and strategies used in the teaching-learning processes.

·         Instructional Technology – the designing, carrying out and evaluating of the total process of learning and teaching in terms of specific objectives.

·         Technology Integration – using learning technologies to introduce, reinforce, supplement and extend skills.

·         Educational Media – are channels or avenues or instruments of communication.

·         Educational Technology is more than hardware. It also includes processes, procedures and activities, instructional and curricular designs, learning environment and systems.

·         Educational Technology does not only includes recent inventions like computer and internet. It also includes traditional tools like chalkboard and charts that teachers have been using over the years.

Technology: Boon or Bane

After understanding the meaning of educational technology, it may be good to reflect on whether technology is a boon or bane to education.

Technology: Boon or Bane

Technology as Bane:

·         It fosters for a climate of bogus credentials

·         Technological literacy seems not to serve any legitimate economic need, rather some agenda. Ex. Yesterday’s reading test for custodians becomes now computers experiences.

·         It wastes time. Ex. The constant barrage of emails, ringing of CP’s leaves little time to concentrate on any job at hand.

·         People tend to pick up their phones when engaged in another conversation while talking to person in front.

·         Some argues that technology has enabled our generation to be lazy students.

·         Ex. They can make research through internet, using copy, cut, and paste method.

·         The web makes it easier for us to plagiarize.

·         Technology is also putting people out of jobs, using robot or machines as workers.

·         Hackers stealing personal information and using it for their advantage.

·         Newspapers subscription is dropping nationwide. Ex. Who wants to pay newspapers when you can read it on the web for free?

Technology as Boon:

·         It makes task easier and faster

·         It facilitates effective and efficient communication process.

·         It makes abstract concepts concrete.

·         And many more….