Lesson 3: The Roles of Educational Technology in Learning

“Technology makes the world a new pace.”

Focus Question: What are the roles of educational technology in learning?

Introduction:

After understanding the comprehensive meaning of educational technology, let us now dwell on
the roles of educational technology and whether it is a boon or a bane in the teaching-learning process.

Activity:

Go back to your learning experiences in school. Recall specific ways by which the use of
educational technology helped you learned.

Analysis:

Technology can play a traditional role, i.e., as delivery vehicles for instructional lessons or in a
constructivist way as partners in the learning process. In the traditional way, the learner learns from the
technology and the technology serves as a teacher. In other words, the learner learns the content
presented by the technology in the same way that the learner learns knowledge presented by the
teacher. In the constructivist way, technology helps the learner build more meaningful personal
interpretations of life and his/her world. In the constructivist approach, technology is a learning tool to
learn with, not from. It makes the learner gather, think, analyze, synthesize information and construct
meaning with what technology presents. Technology serves as a medium in representing what the
learner knows and what he/she is learning.

Discussion Question:

Based on the experiences shared, which greater role did technology play in your learning
experiences: technology-as-teacher or technology-as-partner in the learning process?

Abstraction:

From the traditional point of view, technology serves as source and presenter of knowledge. It is
assumed that “knowledge is embedded in the technology (e.g. the content presented by films and tv
programs or the teaching sequence is programmed instruction) and the technology presents that
knowledge to the student (David H. Jonassesn, et al, 1999)

Technology like computers is seen as a productivity tool. The popularity of word processing,
databases, spreadsheets, graphic programs and desktop publishing in the 1980s points to this
productive role of educational technology.

With the eruption of INTERNET in the mid 90s, communications and multimedia have dominated
the role of technology in the classroom for the past few years.

From the constructivist point of view, educational technology serves as learning tools that
learners learn with. It engages learners in “active, constructive, intentional, authentic, and cooperative
learning. It provides opportunities for technology and learner interaction for meaningful learning. In this
case, technology will not be mere delivery vehicle for content. Rather it is used as facilitator of thinking
and knowledge construction.
 From a constructivist perspective, the following are roles of technology in learning: (Jonassen, et
al 1999).

 Technology as tools to support knowledge construction:

-for representing learners’ ideas, understanding and beliefs
-for producing organized, multimedia knowledge bases by learners

 Technology as information vehicles for exploring knowledge to support learning-by-constructing:

-for accessing needed information
-for comparing perspectives, beliefs and world views

 Technology as context to support learning-by-doing:

-for representing and simulating meaningful real-world problems, situations and contexts
-for representing beliefs, perspectives, arguments, and stories of others
-for defining a safe, controllable problem space for student thinking

 Technology as a social medium to support learning by conversing:

-for collaborating with others
-for discussing, arguing, and building consensus among members of a community
-for supporting discourse among knowledge-building communities

 Technology as intellectual partner (Jonassen 1996) to support learning-by-reflecting:

-for helping learners to articulate and represent what they know
-for reflecting on what they have learned and how they came to know it
-for supporting learners internal negotiations and meaning making
-for constructing personal representations of meaning
-for supporting mindful thinking

Whether used from the traditional or constructivist point of view, when used effectively,
research indicates that technology not only “increases students’ learning, understanding and
achievement but also augments motivation to learn, encourages collaborative learning and supports
motivation to learn, encourages collaborative learning and supports the development of critical thinking
and problem-solving skills” (Schacter and Fagnano,1999). Russel and Sorge (1999) also claims that the
proper implementation of technology in the classroom gives students more “control of their own
learning and…tends to move classroom from teacher-dominated environments to ones that are more
learner-centered. The use of technology in the classroom enables the teacher to do differentiated
instruction considering the divergence of students’ readiness levels, interests, multiple intelligences, and
learning styles, Technology also helps students become lifelong learners.

Application

1. Based on the roles of educational technology from the constructivist’s perspective given above,
identify under which role and process is illustrated by each of the following:

a. Water samples from ponds, streams and faucets were analyze locally, then transmitted to researchers
who pooled the data and returned them to all sites, where students drew conclusions and compared
them with those of other classes (Jonassen, 1999).

b. Students were asked to give a graphic presentation of the causes and effects of alcoholism

c. Students were asked to conduct an in-depth research on the causes and effects of global warming by
the extensive use of books, journals and the Internet and to give a powerpoint presentation of their
findings.
d. Students were assigned to gather proposals from various sectors on how to solve the present rice
crisis and on how to prevent the same in the future and make a video presentation on their interview.

e. Student groups were asked to read and analyze a comic strip and present their own thinking also by
way of a comic strip.

2. Give at least 3 uses or functions of educational technology. Categorize them either as technology as
teacher (source of knowledge) or technology as partner in learning (one that engages the student in
thinking and in the construction of knowledge and meaning). Use the table given below. An example for
each category is given for you.

Technology as Teacher Technology as Partner in Learning

1. Video presentation on the tourist spots in the 1. setting up an experiment shown through video
country presentation and requiring the student to predict
the outcome of the experiment

3. The constructivists’ thinking is this: Technology cannot teach students. Rather, learners should use the
technologies to teach themselves and others. Do you agree with the constructivists? Discuss your
answers.

4. Is there anything pedagogically wrong with the traditional use of technology as a presenter of
knowledge like the teacher as a source of knowledge? Discuss.

5. Why use technology in teaching? Answer this question based on what you learned from this Lesson.
Present it in your own creative way, other than merely enumerating them.
Educational technology plays various roles. From the traditional point of view, it serves as presenter of
knowledge just like teachers. It also serves as a productivity tool. With Internet, technology has
facilitated communication among people. From the constructivist perspective, educational technology is
a meaningful learning tool by serving as a learning partner.

Making the Connection

Recall how the roles of technology from the constructivist perspective, were demonstrated by
your professors/instructors in class or by speakers/facilitators in seminars you attended. In your mind,
identify those roles that were demonstrated.

Personal Postscript

No Other Choice But to Learn How to Use Recent Technology in the Classroom

The younger generation of teachers is admittedly better than the older generations of teachers
when it comes to the use of the most recent technology, like computer. The younger crop of teachers,
unlike the older generation, was blessed with basic computer courses in their college curriculum. But if
the older group of teachers would like to remain responsive and relevant by keeping their teaching
fresh, interesting and challenging, there is no choice but to learn how to use them. An “idiot’s guide” to
Computer may encourage you to learn how to use the computer in your teaching.

It is part of your continuing professional development to become a “digital native” and not
remain a “digital immigrant”. It is good to become a “netizen” or a “ screenager” able to participate not
only in seminars but also in “webinars”.