ROLES AND FUNCTIONS

ofEducational Technology

in the 21st CenturyLearners

Creating a 21st century education system is

about making sure that all students are prepared

to succeed in a competitive world- a world with plenty of

opportunities for highly skilled individuals and

limited options for everyone else.

It’s about maximizing the impact of technology to

develop proficiency in 21st century skills, support

innovative teaching and learning, and create robust education support systems.

However, despite the learning about the skills that students will need to develop to become successful in the 21st century, as well as what beliefs about the education may be worth

hanging onto or throwing away, schools and teachers are left trying to figure out what their role needs to be in the education of their 21st century

students.

Instruction should

be student-centered

Education is no longer about listening to the teacher talk and

absorbing the information. Instead of passively receiving

information, the students would gather information on

their own, under the guidance of their teacher.

Educationshould be

collaborative

Students should be encouraged to work together to discover

information, piece it together and construct meaning. They should

learn how to recognize the strengths and talents each person can bring to a project, and change

roles depending on those attributes.

Learningshould have

context

We need to take a more general approach and teach skills that

are useful in any situation. Lessons have a little purpose if they do not have any impact in a students’ life outside of the

school.

Technology is a tool, a way for fact-based learning and allows

students to do a lot of the research using the Internet and

various tools. And at the same time these students are learning

very valuable research skills, which they can transplant at

high levels of education, at

universities and beyond.

Technology allows for 24/7 access to information;Constant social interaction, andEasily created and shared digital content

The Role of Technology in 21st Century Learning

Important FunctionsOf

Educational Technology

ImprovementOf

Teaching

Analysis of theTeaching-learningProcess

Improvementof

Learning

Enhancing goals of education

Training to teachers

Development of curriculum

DevelopmentOfTeaching-learningmaterialsTeaching-learning

strategies

DevelopmentOf

Audio-visual

aids

Help in overall

improvement

IdentificationOf

NeedsOf the

community