Week Two: Educational Technology

“Educational technology is a combination of the processes and tools involved in addressing educational needs and problems, with an emphasis on applying the most current tools: computers and their related technologies.”

As today’s world advances more and more, administrators and teachers become more and more aware that using yesterday’s tools to educate tomorrow’s leaders is a lackluster plan. In this week’s lesson, we explore educational technologies from the past and present, along with those the future may bring.

As far back as the 1910s, classrooms utilized tape recorders, videocassette players, and movies. Two decades later, slides and projectors, radios and sound recordings, and the child-friendly television station, PBS, were all instruments used in educational environments. In distance education, technologies such as cameras and class websites, along with online access to grades, have helped to educate students all over the world.

Of course, educational technologies are not only used in the classroom. Millions of people implement educational technology in all aspects of their lives: in the media, as job training devices, at home, and for instruction. Instructional techniques, such as virtual realities, allow for real world practice in hazard-free learning environments. Below is a video discussing the benefits and usefulness of a driving simulator in driver’s education courses. The video explains the effectiveness of the simulator: teenaged drivers are experiencing driving conditions of all sorts prior to ever setting foot to pedal.

As an education major, finding different technologies to facilitate learning is imperative. Preparing students for the future does not only mean teaching them reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic, preparing students for the future means teaching them how to use any technology used today or tomorrow. Also, technology can allow for different teaching styles. Students learn in a variety of ways: audibly, visually, kinesthetically, or a mixture of the three. In employing technology as a supplement rather than a crutch, students can learn to the best of their abilities and in their own ways.

One final note: technology is ever-changing. In this way, it is imperative to understand that technology is not a panacea. There are many advantages and disadvantages to implementing technology in any sector of life: with students’ increased productivity, better attention spans, and greater understanding of materials come increased expenses, possible undesirable side-effects, and even resistance from those people who don’t develop advanced technologies.