Labour study Assignment

br Technology and Teaching 1

Technology and Teaching

Evolving trends and future of teaching Technology and Teaching 2

Technology can be rightly said to have impacted every occupation . Technology application and the changes it brings are in fact intended and necessitated , as it is a part of the larger development of the society . Technology has been introduced in all fields and occupations , either directly or indirectly , and its benefits are evident in terms of time , quality , process etc . As technology has been broadly introduced in all walks of life , no occupation

can claim to be independent of either direct or indirect use of technology , since it is integrated to the society . It is therefore obvious that the fields of education and learning has also incorporated technology , resulting in unprecedented possibilities and results . The work and responsibilities of a teacher is no exception to technology benefits . New technologies are redefining teaching and teacher 's role . However , like in all other fields , the success of technology implementation depends not only on the teacher 's ability to teach , but also to use the technology effectively to benefit the students . Apart from changing teacher 's role and classroom activities , the use of technology has also restructured the nature or use of time , resources , and student support

The teacher has now become more of a learning facilitator rather than an instructor or information provider . Of course , these changes have also incorporated current research on brain functioning and effective learning . Students are moving away from passive learning , given the lesser lecturing , towards cooperative learning , which even stretches beyond their classrooms . Focusing more on information literacy , the teacher helps in guiding students to identify and access required information . With students being capable of resourcing all relevant information , the teacher now needs to Technology and Teaching 3

help them to analyze , evaluate and judge the suitability of the information , they required (Sebastian , 1996 . The teacher inculcates critical analytical skills on the students to use the gathered in formation for problem solving . Thus the teacher 's methodology has changed from traditional , teacher-centered teaching to learner-centered interactive teaching . The teacher has moved away from being a fact teller and an expert to being a collaborator and occasionally an expert with learning emphasis being on relationships and inquiry rather than facts and reproduction . The student 's role as also changed from being a listener and a learner to being a collaborator and a learner . Teachers and student transform from being users of information to producers of information

The use of digital technologies in teaching science is more effective than any earlier curricular or instructional implementation . The use of digital technologies have changed the ways teacher interact with students , when dealing with science . Using 3D and color technologies , students can better understand intricate subjects like geometry , molecules and atoms etc . The effect of social factors in the classroom , and the way of organizing and associating information for better understanding , are all influenced by the use of digital technologies . The change in courses not only reflect a change in curricula , but also changes in instructional approaches , mainly in directing use of digital technologies . Teachers and students access web resources for course related contents . Digital technologies enable teachers and students to interact in newer ways . They can have virtual discussions with regard to advice , counseling on course subjects independent of pace and time , using cell phones , e-mail or web portals (Flick Bell , Technology and Teaching 4

2000 . Online databases and innumerable other online books and libraries provide a plethora of sources for teachers and students , facilitated by sophisticated transfer capabilities

Apart from changes in the classroom setting , as a consequence of technology introduction , the teacher has also been sought for an unprecedented role , in the concept of e-learning E-Learning may be defined as instruction oriented content or learning experiences put forth through electronic technology . E-Learning incorporating online learning and web-based training have revolutionized learning . By this , the transfer of knowledge , across bs and continents too , have become possible . If the statistics are to be believed , e-learning in the US is growing at an exploding pace . The number of students doing higher education courses online has increased to twenty percent from less that one percent in 1995 . The Sloan Consortium , which is an association of institutions and organizations involved in online education , estimates that the actual online enrollment rate in post secondary education is 18 .2 percent . The use of e-learning technologies in promoting post secondary education is considered important , given the funding strains . Here , the teacher conducts online classes through conference sessions at remote locations Teachers and students communicate with each other in several ways during a learning session . Depending on the resources available and the level of support required , the setup can have video conferencing , voice chat , text chat etc . during learning sessions . Using multimedia technologies , students at a remote location attend learning sessions take up assignments and subject themselves to assessments . The teacher and Technology and Teaching 5

students must be proficient in the use of the technology . The teacher should also understand the limitations of the teaching media and be alive to any significant learning handicaps or improved learning prospects through upgradation of the used technology . Such sessions may occasionally be necessitated in traditional classes too , apart from the normal technological use . Since there is no face-to-face interaction between the teacher and the learner , this role of teacher is perhaps a fundamental change in traditional teaching . Several studies have shown that significant student success is achieved through technology-backed learning environments . Attitudes , interest and involvement of students are considerably improved under a technology-backed leaning environment Implementation of technology is also the answer for poor and disabled students

The benefits of technology in learning is not just restricted to classroom learning alone , but also to workplace learning . The workplace trainer here needs to have appropriate teaching skills to help the understanding of remote students . The remote workplace trainer requires technology-based instructing skills comparable to that of an academic teacher . In the coming years , probably all teachers , academic or workplace , would be trained to handle remote teaching , given the trend of e-learning . Successful e-learning for the American workforce calls for combined action by the public and private sectors . Quality issues , assessment and certification , and access to e-learning opportunities are vital areas that need to be focused to make e-learning more beneficial The prospects of achieving this at the shortest time is very high as the return on investment is enormous for both , the private and public sectors . Business houses need to Technology and Teaching 6

realize the potential of e-learning and integrate e-learning into their strategies and operations . The government on its part , forms policies to nurture e-learning by removing barriers , which restrict access to e-learning . The government also intends to promote self-regulation in the industry while maintaining the needs and interests of its citizens With the environment facilitating advancement of e-learning , the teachers should be fully prepared to meet the challenges of imparting e-learning

Such technology induction on the part of teachers demand newer work skills , while allowing them to do away with many of them . The teacher 's involvement in teaching , as said before , is more focused on facilitating rather than providing information Therefore , the responsibilities of teacher now requires identification of course content , facilitate learning , planning and scheduling . As the assignments and assessments can be submitted electronically by the students , the teacher role in assessing them has similarly changed too The teachers need not spend considerable time in evaluating assessment in detail . Teachers can be aided to evaluate them using appropriate macros and programs , where the mistakes , solutions and suggestions can be appropriately generated and given to students . Here too , the teachers can concentrate more on the outcomes of the assessment and feedback rather than the assessment itself

Among the new demands on the part of the teacher the teacher now requires administrative and presentation skills too . The teacher needs to hold the interest of the remote students , focused on the of study , and ensure successful understanding on Technology and Teaching 7

the part of the learner . It was easier to command these in a face-to-face class . Coordination among teachers is improved by the use of technologies , which helps them in sharing and implementing strategies . They can get mutual advice on optimizing the use of technology , to help them improve their teaching and increase student performance . The use of e-mail , computers and the Internet has revolutionized learning , and it is important that teachers are trained to effectively use these in teaching . Many teachers particularly in the early years of teaching find it difficult to use computers in teaching (Lewis , 2002 . They also find it difficult in identifying the appropriate need and time for using Internet . Junior teachers do not know to use computers in helping students to learn and also for the benefit of students having learning difficulties . The teachers of tomorrow would need to focus and adopt more instructional strategies inline with newer tools for teaching and learning . Teacher practices utilizing technologies have showed that teachers need to cope up with the difficulties of managing classrooms (Laborde , 2008 . The teachers should adopt between old and new procedures like between -pencil systems and computer systems . When computers and calculators are freely used in mathematics classrooms , the teacher becomes more of a catalyst facilitating interactions between students and technology

The role of the teacher taking more to technology is no different from that happening in all other fields Technology simplifies processes , reduces costs and can be adapted easily to requirements , which is why many professions include these in their fields . For instance the increasing role of technology in medicine is widely known . In Technology and Teaching 8

education , technology has benefited individualized learning , setting it at one 's own pace , simplified implementation of tests and its evaluation . For instance the teacher now only needs to send his instructions on a email and ask students to mail back their responses Earlier the teacher would have to provide a hard copy of the test to each student , collect the completed responses from each and manually evaluate . The trend now emphasizes on the training needs of the teacher The teacher needs to be proficient in using technology to benefit students . It has been estimated that in the next decade , over 2 .2 million teachers would be required to replace the retired teachers and accommodate an increased student population . It is very important for these future teachers to be proficient in the use of technologies Future teachers will take simultaneous classes for students at multi locations , from his or her own desk , while still being able to track individual performances and lapses . Technology and Teaching 9

REFERENCES

Lewis S (2002 ) Helping future teachers use the technology of the future The Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales . Press release

Sebastian J (1996 ) Education Technology : The Teachers ' Role . Arizona Education Association , Phoenix

Flick , L Bell , R (2000 . Preparing tomorrow 's science teachers to use technology : Guidelines for Science educators . Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education [Online serial] , 1 (1 ) [Electronic Version] Downloaded on 4th March 2008 from HYPERLINK "http /www .citejournal .org /vol1 /iss1 /currentissues /science /article1 .htm br http /www .citejournal .org /vol1 /iss1 /currentissues /science /article1 .htm

Laborde C (2008 ) University Joseph Fourier , Grenoble Technology as an instrument for teachers . [Electronic Version] Downloaded on 4th March 2008 from HYPERLINK "http /www .unige .ch /math /EnsMath /Rome2008 /WG4 /s /LABORD .pdf http /www .unige .ch /math /EnsMath /Rome2008 /WG4 /s /LABORD .pdf ...