1. My Understanding on educational technology and its relationship with teaching and the learning process.
“Educational technology is any technology that is used to support teaching and learning (Lever-Duffy, McDonald).” It includes any form of media or technology that enhances a lesson, such as computer centers used for research or a video on India. Students today are growing up with technology at their fingertips. Technology is a common factor in the lives of students. Teachers can’t go wrong with the use of technology. “Teaching, learning and technology work together. Once the teaching – learning process is defined, it is much simpler to see the role of technology plays in it (Lever-Duffy,McDonald).”
In America children are spending an unknown amount of time playing video games, text messaging, surfing the internet or watching television on a daily basis. Due to this teachers should focus on integrating technology in a way that will catch and maintain their attention. This may be very hard to do because many students lack the attention span necessary to get through a lecture that doesn’t require them to respond simultaneously or doesn’t contain a visual aspect. These students aren’t excited by the traditional methods of teaching, thus learning won’t take place. They would rather be watching television instead. So why not incorporate television into the lesson. Instruct the students to take notes on a video or present a portion of a popular movie that relates to the lesson at hand.
“Technology supports teaching, and it supports learning (27).By adding technology to a lesson a teacher can reach those students who may have been deemed unreachable. Lessons enhanced with technology that involve student interaction allow students to remain focused due to their ability to interact, as with video games and other electronic devices. While students remain on task there are less behavior problems, which can often be a major environmental factor for students. The reduction of behavior problems will aid in creating an environment that is conducive to learning and free of barriers.
Our lives have been changed drastically due to the rapid rate at which technology is being introduced. On a daily basis a new form of a more advanced version of a video game or computer software is made available for purchase. I feel that technology is going to become an even bigger part of our daily lives. Whether it be present in the work place or in our homes technology usage is crucial. As a result of technology’s rise it is imperative that we begin to introduce it into the learning process as early as possible. “However, educational technologies cannot be selected or implemented until the teaching and learning process they support has been planned and detailed by an educator (27). Educators who aren’t tech savvy should be trained on how to properly integrate technology into their lesson plans.
