Much investment has been made in the Irish primary and post primary educational system in IT but the question has to be asked has this resulted in an educational pay off?
Pluses and minuses! Access to information is a boon and a threat to learning. I am a technophile and use it constantly to enhance my personal research. My observations of students and teachers over the las 10 years in particular is that ready access to information positions students to misunderstand some components of quality leaning.
1. Reading. They perceive reading as superfiial scanning to find key words related to their interest, nd rarely read deeply to extract underlying concepts.
2. Writing. They perceive writing as reconstructing existing text, rather than using it to test the meaning in theirnown minds.
3. Evaluation. Students do not understand the value of information.
This not a complaint but an observation of most recently, my 16 year old chemistry students. I am trying to set in place a strategy to reverse this trend, that does not involve denying access to technology. A beginning point is a mantra 'its not what you learn but what you do with it that counts'. I stole it from a 15 year old sword fighting instructor.
today morning in Australian Network television there was a story run, where in the Chinese school teaches with Tablets given to kids of very young age (utmost kindergarden age)...
http://www.australianetwork.com/program/talkaboutit/00183563/
...children where playing with the tab and great....
Pluses and minuses! Access to information is a boon and a threat to learning. I am a technophile and use it constantly to enhance my personal research. My observations of students and teachers over the las 10 years in particular is that ready access to information positions students to misunderstand some components of quality leaning.
1. Reading. They perceive reading as superfiial scanning to find key words related to their interest, nd rarely read deeply to extract underlying concepts.
2. Writing. They perceive writing as reconstructing existing text, rather than using it to test the meaning in theirnown minds.
3. Evaluation. Students do not understand the value of information.
This not a complaint but an observation of most recently, my 16 year old chemistry students. I am trying to set in place a strategy to reverse this trend, that does not involve denying access to technology. A beginning point is a mantra 'its not what you learn but what you do with it that counts'. I stole it from a 15 year old sword fighting instructor.
Early primary can be introduce but not significantly improve their learning.
As 7 years observation of elementary IT teacher, they need only to get practical technology to add alternative way to learn , since in lower primary they still need ti develop their emotion,social interaction as well as sensoric and motoric ability.
Where on higher primary and post primary they need to go deeper to add basic not only practical usage of technology. In this stage for auditory verbally and visual type of learner somewhat have significance improvement in learning if you use rubriv and score to evaluate it.
@ Mark
I agree on the parameters Reading, Writing and Evaluation through technology is very much essential towards pruning students towards Quality...These construct, demolishes and reconstructs the learning dimensions...
Dear colleagues, there is one more additional opportunity of ICT for learners. I mean students with limited possibilities: hard hearing, etc. For example, the Petralex.pro project offers free application for smartphones and Windows, which may adapt audio signal on-line to an individual hearing features and characteristics.
Technology does help in investigating a case but takes away the assessing skill of a medico who is a learner.
Still not taken seriously by the students,misutilized or underutilized.
It has alarmingly failed in certain cases where practicals were tried to be taught using technology.
Not useful for beginners which acount for 5 year time in medical schools
IT exists and we need to take care of it n science education. It cannot substitute hands-on learning and all the other wonderful tool in our field. However, it can help to make the invisible visible (regarding simulations, molecular structures etc) or establish a teacher community or use specific portals for students and teacher.
For instance:
Sotiriou, S; Bogner, FX: Visualizing the Invisible: Augmented Reality as an Innovative Science Education Scheme, ASL (Advanced Science Letters), 1(1), 114-122 (2008)
Sotiriou, S; Bogner, FX: Inspiring Science Learning: Designing the Science Classroom of the Future, ASL (Advanced Science Letters), 4, 3304-3309 (2011)
Sotiriou, S; Bogner, FX; Neofotistos, G: Quantitative analysis of the usage of the COSMOS science education portal., Journal of Science and Technology Education(20), 333-346 (2011)
Technology has itsown place in learning and also we cannot depend it alone.
I think technology can be used to enhance the process of learning.It can be an aid to classroom teaching. The possiblities of technology beyond classroom for self learning is limitless.For early learning we can use technical resources as supplement to what we teach in class.For high school level, the students can use resources for getting in depth knowledge in what they learn in class. It can be used as an aid to explore the possibilities or applications of theory.In college level classes technology can be used as self learning resource through discussion sites, resource sharing sites etc.
The practical ways are
In preschool - videos of topics they learnt.It si important for this age to open up their imagination and creativity. So only after teaching a topic and after discussions, videos can be shown to them.
In primary school - online worksheets. As it is the stage of introducing technology activity directly, they'll find it more interesting.
In high school level -Apps, videos, tutorial sites
In college level-MOOC Courses, apps, videos, tutorials, research sites
I think too often technology is only used as a delivery mechanism. What I mean is, the information and theory of learning is the same (knowledge transfer) but the medium is not different (online module rather than paper). I would not think such "innovations" would have much positive impact on learning. What is needed is a new paradigm of teaching, that uses technology to facilitate. For example, using social media to faciliate social learning in a way that was no possible before because in the past, social learning required face to face interaction. That is worth exploring and worth researching. Too much work is being done just turning didactic information into "apps" which really is not innovative nor does it advance our understanding of pedagogy.
Depends on technology (some technology can be better) and significance can vary with different groups of students based learning styles, demographics, economic and social status, Etc.
Technology has helped overcome many issues such as providing access, making it easier for students to contribute in learning and knowledge sharing. At the same time, technology is distracting, reduces focus, and tends to introduce threats such as the Copy-paste syndrome.
For bringing significant benefit to learning the addressing learners desire to learn and their passion for knowledge is much more important merely to provide new technology.
Article Coping With the Copy-Paste-Syndrome
There are several technologies which can be used for the purpose of teaching and learning with variety of advantages and disadvantages. However, one of the ways to assess the impact of technology on education delivery is to have an assessment tool or instrument which can be used to determine certain factors such as QUALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING, TASK FIT, PERCEIVED USEFULNESS among others. For example, the ability for a particular technology to facilitate education delivery is different from a technology which ensures quality education. That is the usefulness of a technology to facilitate teaching and learning is not the same as promoting quality. From my research experience, it is easy to measure or assess the usefulness of technology in education in terms of accessibility of content, collaboration, ubiquitous learning etc. But as to whether the mere use of technology brings quality is question which must take in to consideration several factors such as PEDAGOGY, INTENDED EDUCATION OBJECTIVE, CATEGORY OF STUDENTS, TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY, LEARNING OUTCOME and more...
Yes I agree that IT has a vital role in the education learning but it is not a substitute of books reading and writing it make the student dependent.
I think ICT uses are not the question. The right research is about a proper learning strategy for knowlede society. It means critical reading of all kind of information, collaborative work and knowledge representation.
Teachers may show their knowledge representation to students, teach students to create their own knowledge representation (According to their "tradition" - Winograd). ICT has three roles, tool (the obvious), substrate (we live over technology, over a technology environment,) and object of study.
Human society has included completely the "virtual dimension". in education we need to included it a a dimension too, not only a a tool. It`s the reason because we don't think about including ICT.
We have taken Vigotsky - Leontiev - Engestromm, Activity Theory and we are reading them in knowledge society.
@Selin. Fully agree with the last post. ICT creates a knowledge environment. And teaching (especially for students) should be mainly aimed at search and analytical skills, as there is too much new information around us and this new information facts and knowledge appears not every day but every minute.
So the skill to analyze and separate different information blocks in the certain area becomes vital.
I am researching technology in higher education - namely, first year students and transition. I have done previous research regarding first-year transition and happened across the conundrum that while technology is useful, desirable, and readily available for students, the reality is, they are not using it as much as is published. The reality being due to the now diverse range of students attending university, they do not all have the educational knowledge to use technology to their advantage. Thus, it creates extra pressure on the new student, often their learning suffers with the extra load of learning to use the specific technologies required for many higher education courses.
This thread of discussion is both interesting and enlightening. Much has been said regarding the positive and negative impact of technology on students' learning. Several researchers and practitioners found that technology positively impacts students' learning when the students are confident in their use of technology. However, when students are novice users of the technology their learning suffers. Therefore, in higher education students should engage in prerequisite courses that prepare them for courses that require intensive use of technology. I remember my own experience at university, having to complete online courses when I had little knowledge of the technology involved. I had to spend more time than usual to complete the course. However, after I gained competence with the help of my professors in using the technology, my life was less complicated. Every student should complete a technology course that will prepare them for using the technology.
I couldn't agree more Elvetha, however, this may not be as easy as it sounds. What technology do you familiarise students with? Which technology is the most used across universities? What level do you teach to? ... and so on. From the research that I have done, it seems that even a cohort that is known as digital natives (Prensky, 2001) who have grown up with iPads in their hands, so to speak, do not like to use technology so much in the classrooms. Also, being new to higher education brings with it unique issues that may cause overload, and therefore, things that are familiar, become confusing, bothersome, and extra time-consuming.
I will be conducting research over the next two years to delve deeper into this.
Yes we can improve the quality of education of the student by applying modern technology by using multimedia in which we can save the time of the student .
Absolutely agree with Elvetha! The foundation courses are more effective under trainer's control. And high level courses and especially additional professional trainings for adults may be effective in distant format with large amount of self studies based on e-materials, including video recordings, virtual labs etc.
I fully agree with Saleem Bhatti's both answers.Yes, more use of multimedia is warranted but not at the cost of self learning which includes. analytical thinking.
Using technology and social networking sites is becoming very popular and could be a must in the near future, but teachers and students have to be aware of how to use them effectively to improve the learning experience
I could not agree more with Safaa el bialy. I carried out an experiment using an unknown social network with my students (N=144). Their feedback highlighted how the use of this tool enabled them to keep in touch with peers 24/7. However, students prefer to use a known social network such as facebook, as they already are familiar with them.
In the education either higher level or middle level at every level we need information so for saving time and to keep up date with new information and knowledge information technology is like a pulse of a nation because, information is like wealth of a nation as we can acquired as we can.
i really can't say that ict's has improved quality of learning, but I do can say that ict's has helped us to have more engaging and long term significant learnings. Also, there's a reality that we can't avoid and that is that as Mark said, reading and writing perception has changed, and that's a truth that educators, trainers and any one dedicated to the educational field must face and adapt to.
i had a research done on use of FB in Histology teaching and 65% of the students agreed that it improved their learning experience, I agree with Hector that even is that is the case it is because it mainly keeps the students engaged outside the classroom.
technology (mobile content, virtual labs, etc.) MAY (but not for sure) improve learning quality due to the following factors:
- a student may learn anywhere at appropriate time, when he/she is the most ready to learn - after work day, on vacations, etc.
- a student may re-learn any part of a course many times. On the other hand he/she may pay few attention to modules he/she knows well, and more time for complicated part of training material;
- content for a course may be presented in different ways - video, audio, text. Each student may use the most appropriate type of information.
If you are interested in creating different training methods for different types of students, i'll be glad to recommend presentations in my profile at the ResearchGate and my website www.i-mokymas.com
http://www.i-mokymas.com
Thesis A portfolio of training methods for lifelong learning
Thesis Implementing �e-learning and combined training methods �to i...
And one more exciting link for our colleague presentation about mobile learning: http://www.slideshare.net/hirsch30/mobile-learning-done-right
Danil thanks to your ideas i would add to my comment that ict's has helped us to create more personalized learning environments and that, combine with the engaging element, might lead to improved quality in students learning.
I completed a large study with a population close to 2,000 first-semester general chemistry students. My hopes were that at least one of the e-homework systems I evaluated would lower my DFW rate of around 47%, but none did. The positive was that the students who did their homework, did better than those who did not (but so do students who did their paper 'n' pencil homework vs. those that do not). Another positive was that more students like doing e-homework than do not (regardless of system used). The negative: the overall DFW rate stayed relatively the same (about 46%). However, the withdrawals (W) prior to instituting e-homework was only about 10% and when I assigned e-homework, the W's increased to about 20%+. I chalk this observation up to the fact that the instant feedback let the students know within minutes that they needed more help. Some students made the decision to W instead of seeking help. Another positive was that two systems I used (Sapling and ALEKS) may have been beneficial for some B students who became A students. If the students want to learn, the help is there (just like it has always been). Engaging and motivating your students are the real issues that must be addressed.
Hind side to technology implementation - " Adoption of new teaching technologies is frequently driven by commercial reasons - to develop a “high tech” image for the institution, to access otherwise unreachable student populations or to appeal to student demands for flexible learning. The technologies then determine the teaching activities and modes, the mere presence of a particular technology does not by itself, improve learning.
It actually creates more free time, which otherwise would have been for skills and art developments such as Drawing, Writing, Painting etc., which have all started diminishing in use by students and teachers.
Both yes and no.But for most of the meficine students ,their referring several books before gaining omplete knowledge is now a bygone.Students csn read only one or two books for a concept while in non I tech.days students used to read on whatever they laid their hands on.Reading timr is spent on Gadgets which could be confusing and misleading too.So , this era of IT has witnessed least textbook crossreferencing leaing to superfluous knowledge.
On thr other hand it has revolutionaluzed teaching to a great extrnt & has also made life of knowledge providers easy for that matter which is a flip side of IT.
IT has facilitated learning y students. But the availability of a facility does not ensure its optimum usage. In the case of elementary school children we need to regulate their IT involvement by creative supervision by teachers and parents. This is not one size fits all solution. But we need to closely monitor the learning and behavior of students w.r.t. technology tools and particularly the mobiles etc. The tremendous growth and use of text messaging is an eye opener - students have become less attentive to spelling and more attentive to forwards received from unknown sources. Expert educationalists need to review this.
Adrian Parkinson
To form a profound understanding of utilizing technology in instructional climate, it is beneficial to define the benefits, disadvantages and obstacles that my face teachers in using technology.
Benefits of integrating technology into learning environment may include motivate students effectively, enhance interactions between learners and educators, allow students to autonomously resolve problems.
Disadvantages
Despite the educational technology high expenditures, there is no data measuring its return. Moreover, technology does not guarantee effective learning and inadequate use of technology can even hamper it.
Techonology itself does not improve learning outcomes. The idea of self-directed learning with the support of technology does.
yes I think with the help of technology the students will be able to apply new techniques in their studies. Like they will be able to use computer for performing their research work and experiments. They will be able to analyze their data with the help of new software's. They may take help from internet to promote their learning. Also they can browse different educational sites which will help in their learning enhancement. So technology if use in a positive way will definitely help in their learning improvement.
Unless you assign a task that will go through some evaluation (by a peer, professor or any related person) technology does not help much to learning. Even this, sometimes may not be a good tool for learning. I have thought a "scientific projects" course for seven years, only 2 - 5% of medical students really LEARNED and had good project outcomes, the rest just wanted to earn some credits to be shown on transcripts.
The bottom line is and will always be: to learn you must be motivated and engaged. If either is missing, the quality of learning is diminished. If you are not motivated, you will not engage. If you are not engaged, you will not be motivated. How the positive learning cycle is completed (with or without technology) is up to the expert present.
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