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Introduction Educ 260--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY: A dissectionDefining Education. Before we get into what Educational Technology is, let us first clarify what is meant by “education”. Education, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2011) defines, is: (1) a: the action or process of educating or of being educated; also: a stage of such process, b: the knowledge and development resulting from an educational process; (2) the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools.From the first definition, education refers to both the process and the product of an act (educating or being educated). If by educating, we mean “teaching” and by being educated, we mean “being taught,” then we could deduce this: “education is the process of teaching and product of being taught.” The foregoing deduction obviously is understood in the context of “teaching” in which we have a teacher who is teaching and somebody (a student) who is being taught. As a result of such teaching, the one being taught possesses now a quality and that is “being skilled or knowledgeable”. The definition also expresses “levels” in which teaching and being taught happens. This might refer to grade levels perhaps.Another way of understanding the first definition of education could be in the context of “learning”. We then say, “Education is the process of learning and product of being learned”. In this definition, we emphasize the act of learning (rather than teaching). Thus, we have a learner doing the act of learning, which ultimately results to a “learned” (individual who is skilled or knowledgeable of something).And so we have now this statement: “Education is the process of teaching and learning and the product of such process.” Now, the second definition is clearer if understood based from the preceding statement. The second definition simply treats education as one of those specializations or disciplines that focus on ways or means of doing some acts, which in this case are teaching and learning processes that happen in schools. This is to say that education is just but one of the many branches of knowledge that seeks to understand the phenomena of teaching and learning, like sociology, anthropology or psychology, which also focus on some social phenomena. Moreover, the second definition situates where teaching and learning take place. Apparently, that place is the school.Moreover, the second definition talks about “methods” of teaching and learning, which apparently tells us that there are varied ways of teaching and learning. In this regard educationists have developed theories that could explain how and why teachers teach the way they teach, and how and why learners learn the way they learn. Conveniently, these theories of education are packaged as isms. Two of such theories are behaviorism and constructivism. And there is eclecticism.Behaviorism is mainly concerned with observable and measurable human actions. Changes in behavior are the result of stimuli-response associations (Parkay & Hass, 2000 as cited by Standridge, 2002) An example of such association would be a teacher who promises to give plus points [stimuli] to students who can correctly answer his questions; and consequently, students start to pay attention and raise their hands to recite [response]. To a behaviorist all behavior is learned habits, which is a result of conditioning. As mostly applied in classroom settings, behaviorist approaches use a system of rewards (for desirable behaviors) and punishments (for inappropriate behaviors) (Standridge, 2002). Some other related terms to behaviorism are positive and negative reinforcements. The influences of behaviorism to methods of teaching are exemplified by direct, oftentimes dubbed, as teacher-centered instruction (e.g. lecture, demonstration teaching) Constructivism is a theory, which states that people construct or build their own knowledge and understanding through experiences and reflection on those experiences. As such, as creators of our own knowledge, we must ask questions, explore, and assess what we know (, 2004). In teaching, a teacher might involve students in science experiments or let students solve real-world or simulated problems. In such experiments, students may discover for themselves some laws or principles governing the physical world. In problem-based activities, students may propose alternative solutions to problems presented to them for study. Constructivist teachers are said to be student-centered.Eclecticism? Or Syncretism? Eclecticism (in education) may be simply defined as employing a selection of two or more methods of teaching and learning; a way of drawing out the best from many worlds (i.e. theories, doctrines, philosophies) to bring about educational outcomes. Morrone and Tarr (2005) state that in college teaching, most eclectic instructors use a variety of teaching techniques to ascertain meaningful learning. Hence, a teacher who introduces his lesson via lecture, then engages his learners in open discussion, then provides problem-based activities, and then gives out some tokens to students who finished their work ahead of others might qualify him to be eclectic. Or might his method be considered more of a syncretism—the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles or practices (, n.d)? POINTS TO PONDER:1. What is the nature of teaching and learning in behaviorism? How about in constructivism?2. What is the role of a behaviorist teacher and learner? How about for a constructivist? READING: Chapter 2 of the Pedagogy of the oppressed, by Paulo Freire (http:// )References:Education. 2013. In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from , A.S. and Tarr, T.A. 2005. Theoretical eclecticism in the college classroom. Innovative higher education, 30(1): p.7. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from , M. 2002. Behaviorism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from . (n.d.). Unabridged. Retrieved November 19, 2013, from website: . 2004. Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved November 19, 2013, from Technology. Heinich, et al. (1982) provide three meanings of technology, namely:Technology as process—“the systematic application of organized knowledge to practical tasks,” (Galbraith, 1967 as cited by Heinich, et al) the process of devising reliable and repeatable solutions to tasks Technology as product—the hardware and software that result from the application of technological processes (e.g. book is as much a product of technology as the press that prints it) Technology as a mix process and product—used in instances where: (a) the context refers to the combination of technological processes and resultant products (e.g. technology is constantly expanding our information delivery systems implies both the process of invention and the devices that result; (b) process is inseparable from product (e.g. computers is inherently an interaction between hardware and software or the program)Etymologically, technology is derived from the Greek words “techne” (craft, craftsmanship, art) and “logos” (originally word, opinion, reason, speech, discourse) (, 2013). Thus, technology, from its etymological definition, which is “discourse or treatise on an art or the arts (1610),” it would evolve into "science of the mechanical and industrial arts (1859)" (, 2013). On technological change. Neil Postman (1931-2003), a media theorist, critically challenged educators and theorists on the effects of technology to human culture and society. And as the (American, perhaps even the Filipino) society seems to esteem technology as the measure of progress, Postman (1995) enumerated principles that we should know about the changes that technology brings.All technological change is a Faustian bargain. For every advantage a new technology offers, there is always a corresponding disadvantage. (Note: Faust, in a legend, traded his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge; hence, Faustian bargain is the willingness to sacrifice anything to satisfy a limitless desire for knowledge or power [American Heritage Dictionary].)The advantages and disadvantages of new technologies are never distributed evenly among the population. This means that every new technology benefits some and harms others.Embedded in every technology there is a powerful idea, sometimes two or three powerful ideas… Every technology has a philosophy, which is given expression in how the technology makes people use their minds, in what it makes us do with our bodies, in how it codifies the world, in which of our senses it amplifies, in which of our emotional and intellectual tendencies it disregards.A new technology usually makes war against an old technology. It competes with it for time, attention, money, prestige, and a "worldview."Technological change is not additive; it is ecological. A new technology does not merely add something; it changes everything.When a technology become mythic, it is always dangerous because it is then accepted as it is, and is therefore not easily susceptible to modification or control… Technology can turn into a form of idolatry and our belief in its beneficence can be a false absolute (Postman, 1998).POINTS TO PONDER: Technology & dehumanizationJackson (1968, as cited by Heinich,et al.) states that the “greatest intellectual challenge of our time is not how to design machines that behave more like humans, but rather, how to protect humans from being treated more like machines.” Human mechanization, Jackson reiterates, is the “process of by which people are treated mechanically: that is without giving thought to what is going on inside them.” He then comes up with a list of how people are treated mechanically as paraphrased by Lange (1969, as cited by Heinich, et al.):We turn them on and off whenever it suits our fancy.It is unnecessary to offer explanation of why are working.They are owned (no plans and future of their own).They are all work; idleness is waste (no play except as the owner may work them as part of his play).A human’s (machine) worth is judge by the quality of its products.There is absence of human empathy (no need to feel sorry for a machine that functions improperly).References:Faustian bargain. (n.d.). The American Heritage? New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Retrieved November 19, 2013, from website: bargainHeinich, R., Molenda, M. and Russell, J. 1982. Instructional Media and the New Technologies of Instruction. U.S.A.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Logos. (2013, November 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from , N. 1998. Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change. A talk delivered in Denver, Colorado. Retreived from URL: , N. 1995. The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School. New York: Vintage Books. Techne. (2013, November 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from . 2013. In Etymonline, Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from is Educational Technology? Or what is educational in technology?Like education and technology, educational technology has its share of evolving definition. Reseir (2012) traces the history of educational technology by stating that:[O]ver the years many attempts have been made to define the field. Several such efforts have resulted in definitions that were accepted by a large number of professionals in the field, or at least by the professional organizations to which they belonged (p.1).Reseir contends that Instructional Technology was the most frequently used term. Prior to 1960’s, instructional technology focused on instructional media (the physical means via which instruction is presented to learners) and sometimes equated with it. The use of this idea would persist even in the 1980’s. Heinich, et al. (1982), for example, state that “films, television, radio, audio recordings, photographs…, printed materials…are media…; instructional media when they are used to carry messages with an instructional intent” Then from 1963 to the 1970’s, instructional technology was talked about as more of a process; that is, “a way of looking at instructional problems and examining feasible solutions to those problems” (Finn, 1960 as cited by Reseir, 2012) or “as the application of science to instructional practices” (Lumsdaine, 1964 as cited by Reseir, 2012). In 1970, the Commission on Instructional Technology (as cited by Reseir, 2012) provided the following definition:Instructional technology goes beyond any particular medium or device. In this sense, instructional technology is more than the sum of its parts. It is a systematic way of designing, carrying out, and evaluating the whole process of learning and teaching in terms of specific objectives, based on research on human learning and communication, and employing a combination of human and nonhuman resources to bring about more effective instruction.In 1977, the Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT) (as cited by Reseir, 2012) had this definition:Educational technology is a complex, integrated process involving people, procedures, ideas, devices, and organization, for analyzing problems and devising, implementing, evaluating, and managing solutions to those problems, involved in all aspects of human learning.By 1994, AECT (as cited by Reseir, 2012) worked on a new definition, as provided below:Instructional Technology is the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning.And in 2008, AECT (as cited by Reseir, 2012) improved the 1994 definition, as follows:Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources.Finally, Reseir (2012) after considering all the changes that Instructional Technology had gone though, offers the following lengthy definition:The field of instructional design and technology (also known as instructional technology) encompasses the analysis of learning and performance problems, and the design, development, implementation, evaluation and management of instructional and non-instructional processes and resources intended to improve learning and performance in a variety of settings, particularly educational institutions and the workplace.Professionals in the field instructional design and technology often use systematic instructional design procedures and employ instructional media to accomplish their goals. Moreover, in recent years, they have paid increasing attention to non-instructional solutions to some performance problems. Research and theory related to each of the afore-mentioned areas is also an important part of the field (p.5).Reference: Heinich, R., Molenda, M. and Russell, J. 1982. Instructional Media and the New Technologies of Instruction. U.S.A.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Reiser, R.A. (2012). What field did you say you were in?: Defining and naming our field. In R.A. Reiser & J.V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education. URL: samplechapter/0132563584.pdf ................
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