The roles and function of Educational technology in the

21st century Education

By: El Jane Claire Abella

• Our world is changing, and in order to prepare our children for this new world we need to change the way we educate them.

• The term 21st century has become the central part of education thinking and planning for the future. Administrators and Teachers are actively searching for ways to prepare students for the future, and the educational system has been evolving faster than ever before.

• A classroom no longer consists of four walls with a blackboard and a lecturer in front, talking to students instead of interacting with them.

• Interactive whiteboards, tablet PCs, projectors and a host of other tools allow teachers to present information in ways that prompt discussion and collaboration.

• Technology, in one form or another, has always been part of the teaching and learning environment. It is part of the teacher’s professional toolbox. In other words, it is among the resources that teachers use to help facilitate student learning.

What is the role of technology in education?• Learning with technology has become

essential in today’s schools. Worldwide, governments, education systems, researchers, school leaders, teachers and parents consider technology to be a critical part of a child’s education.

• The important role that technology plays in education gives teachers the opportunity to design meaningful learning experiences that embed technology.

PROJECTED MEDIA

• Projected visuals are defined as media formats in which text and still images are enlarged and displayed on an illuminated screen.

• The text and images are usually printed on a transparent film such as an overhead transparency or a slide. The printed material is projected onto a screen or wall by passing a strong light through the film and magnifying this onto a light coloured screen (whiteboard or white wall).

Overhead Projector• The Overhead Projector, or “OHP” is

one of the most frequently used (and misused) tools in education and training today. It may be facing a challenge from the data projector, but it is still more flexible and useful for all except uninterrupted, rehearsed presentations.  

Instruction should be student-centered

• Students are directly involved and invested in the discovery of their own knowledge.

• In this classroom model, the teacher would act as facilitator for the students. Instead of passively receiving information, the students would gather information on their own, under the guidance of their teacher.

Education should be collaborative

• Student must learn how to collaborate with others. Through collaboration and cooperation with others, students engage in experiential learning that is authentic, holistic, and challenging.

Learning should have context

• Student-centered does not mean that the teacher gives up all control of the classroom. While students are encouraged to learn in different ways, the teacher still provides guidance as to the skills that need to be acquired.

The Role of Technology in 21st Century Learning:1. Technology allows for 24/7

access to information2. Constant social interaction, and3. Easily created and shared

digital content

• It is important for our students to learn in a global classroom, acknowledging that the classroom extends beyond the physical walls.

• Our students are more inclined to find information by accessing the internet through cell phones and computers or chatting with friends on a social networking sites.

• It is necessary to embrace this highly motivational interest and embed it in our teacher. As our digital capacity expands and our training in technology use grows, teachers will begin to utilize technology to better meet the needs and interests of students though technology application and instruction.

Integrate technology as a fundamental building block into education in three broad areas: 1. Use technology comprehensively to

develop proficiency in 21st century skills.

2. Use technology comprehensively to support innovative teaching and learning.

3. Use technology comprehensively to create robust education support system.

•  The overhead projector played a significant role in my educational history, both as a student and later on as an elementary teacher, offering a viable alternative to the traditional blackboard.  It is a tool of educational technology that was developed not only with help from its predecessors, but also from the cultural environment it belonged to.

• The overhead projector has influenced the way teachers prepare for and present the class material, as well as the way students experience learning during instruction.  

Important functions of Educational Technology

1. Improvement of Teaching• Education technology analyses the

process of teaching thoroughly. It tries to find out the different variables of teaching, their interlinks, effects upon each other, relationships, theories of teaching, phases of teaching principles of teaching, maxims of teaching etc. By developing the theories of teaching, it helps in improving the quality of education.

2. Analysis of the Teaching-Learning Process• Education technology aims at

analyzing the process of teaching-learning thoroughly. It tries to find out the different variables of teaching, their interlinks, effects upon each other, relationships, etc. It also concerned with various phases of teaching.

3. Improvement of Learning• Educational technology analyses

the process of learning and the related theories. It facilitates more and more of learning in less time.

• Overhead initially served the purpose of entertaining children.  

4. Enhancing goals of Education• Education technology helps in

finding out the right objectives. Everything in this universe is undergoing tremendous changes and with a very fast speed. Educational Technology helps in enhancing the right objectives in the light of the changed circumstances and changed environment.

5. Training to teachers • The changed type of environment with

new curriculum and new materials is to be handles by the teachers.

• The use of a projector enables teachers to move more quickly through material, avoiding students and their questions by cutting out distractions and anything that may slow down the information progress.

6. Development of Curriculum• Keeping in view the objectives of

education, which have been a new materials is to be handles by the teachers. Right type of question of developing right type of curriculum. Only a suitable curriculum will help in attainment of goals.

7. Development of Teaching-Learning Materials• Teaching-learning materials are also as

important as anything else in the teaching-learning process. They have to be accordance with the environment of the learners. Only right type if materials will able to modify the behavior of the learner suitably making him a fit person for the society.

• The overhead projector used in the classroom could imply a sense of teacher control or authority, even though the teachers themselves may say otherwise.

8. Teaching-Learning Strategies • A strategy plays an important

role in the hands of a teacher in every teaching-learning situation.

• Overhead projector also works as a great classroom management strategy to the teachers.

9. Development of Audio-Visual Aids:• Audio-visual aids have always played an

important role in the teaching-learning process.

• Overhead projector slides/transparencies are displayed on the overhead projector (OHP) - a very useful tool found in most lecture and seminar rooms. The OHP projects and enlarges your slides onto a screen or wall without requiring the lights to be dimmed.

10. Helps in Overall Improvements• Educational Technology helps in locating

the problems in the different areas or education. It also helps in remedying the draw-backs. Evaluation of teaching-learning process is also made better because through feedback, things are improved thoroughly and there is better control over the process of education.

• The overhead projector is a great teaching tool as well as a powerful technique for maintaining order in your classroom.

11. Identification of Need of the Community• Education Technology identifies the need

of the community. It helps in providing equal education opportunities to backward people, disadvantaged students and deprived sections of the society.

• Educational Technology aims at identifying the needs of the community from time to time. Then it tries to improve the community in every possible way.