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Contents
What is
Lifelong Learning
Misguided Solution
Report on
Educational Technology
Learn SQL
Thru Query Analyzer
SQL
Test Codes
SQL
Review Notes
Java Test
Codes
Notes on
Learning Java
TCP/IP
C++ CGI
Learning Project
Windows NT
Overview
Working
with Red Hat Linux
Overview
of JINI Networking Technology
Remote
Access for VPNs
The Author
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Learning
In A Digital Age: Current And Future Trends In Educational Technology
As
the 20th century was drawing to a close, the world has once
again experienced a quite revolution that has transformed man's life on
earth forever. The invention of the personal computer coupled with
advances in networking and communication technologies has ushered in a new
era which is commonly referred to as the digital age. These developments
have enabled man to transcend the barriers of physical distance turning
the world in which we live in at present into what the media commonly
refer to as a global village.
Information and Communications Technology has had a profound effect on
almost all aspects of human existence. Business and governmental
organizations dealing with the complexities and challenges in today's
world were the first to make use of the tools and technologies brought
about by the Information Revolution. Soon, each specific field of human
endeavor went along with the trend and applications in various fields of
endeavor were developed and used.
IT
applications in the field of education focused firstly on processing
administrative and financial information and then migrated into the
pedagogical areas such as computer aided instruction and distance
education. I will report primarily on the current trends in technology
education and deal briefly with future trends.
Current
Trends
The
following trends will highlight how information and communication
technology exerted a profound influence in the field of education.
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Education As A Life-long Process.
The very fast pace
of technological developments had cause the early obsolescence of
knowledge gained through formal education. This is especially true in
the field of information technology wherein we have to be truly
circumspect in the way we choose what programming language to study
because the language may already be obsolete by the time that we learned
them. This new outlook in education asserts that education does not stop
after a college degree. It emphasizes on the need to keep up with
current information in your field of professional expertise. It also
implies the workers must be ready to shift to different careers which
the new business environment dictates.
-
New Educational Technologies.
Information Technology
has made available new tools and techniques that can enable students to
explore areas of knowledge which have not been studied because of
inadequate tools and technologies. IT has brought about new symbol
systems and visualization techniques that enable them to understand not
only the complex observable phenomena but also the phenomena that lie
outside of human perception. The power of visualization made available
had enabled scientists to utilize fractal geometry to study natural
forms where Euclidean geometry has provided inadequate results. Through
virtual reality, students are afforded experimentation on
three-dimensional space where physical variables can be controlled.
-
Redefinition of the Meaning of Knowledge.
We used to
believe that to know something means to have information about a topic
in our own brain. This concept is now being deprecated in favor of a new
meaning which states that to know is now equivalent to having access to
information about a particular topic and knowing how to use it.
-
Information Literacy.
The theory of three R's in elementary education had stood the test of
time since the beginning of the public school system. Increasingly,
however, it is being challenged and the new thinking favors the addition
of a new R that would mean Information Literacy. This new skill means
the ability to look for and use information to solve problems.
-
Technology Enhanced Classroom.
The ideal school for the 21st century needs to have
multimedia and robotics technology in order to facilitate the learning
process. This setup features a computer with probes connected to it for
measuring different aspects of the physical world.
-
Global Classroom.
This new concept operationalizes the idea of a classroom connected to
the World Wide Web. It enables supplementary and current information
from the experts to be readily available inside the classroom by
accessing the relevant web sites.
-
Multimedia Approach.
The challenge of making lessons more
interesting especially for young students had been addressed with the
introduction of audio and video capabilities for interactive computer
based lessons.
-
Integrated Learning Systems.
This is a new form of
educational material that includes everything a learner needs to master
a particular topic of study. There are at present commercially available
materials that teaches computer programming for students wishing to
self-study the programming language they want to learn. The set is
composed of books and CD ROMS from which you can install the development
environment and compiler programs in your computer and copy the sample
programs to your hard disk. The set is usually tied in to a web site
where you can interact with other students or experts on the subject
matter.
-
Rebirth of Distance Education.
Distance Education has assumed a new lease of life since the advent of
the Internet. The old correspondence schools had given way to
universities in cyberspace. It is now possible to get a college degree
through the Internet.
Future Trends
-
Increase in Web Enabled Courses.
It is predicted that
there will be more and more courses that will be offered through the
Internet. With the fast increase in population and the physical constraint
of the existing colleges and universities, the only way to go is in
cyberspace.
-
More home Schoolers.
Home schooling is an
alternative to sending children to school with parents assuming the role
of teachers and lessons undertaken in a home setting. A study has
concluded that home schoolers are better prepared for the requirements of
life in the digital age than students taught in the conventional schools.
Home schoolers in the U. S. are estimated currently to be from 700,000 to
1 million students. It is projected that this figure will increase by a
big percentage in the coming years.
-
New Role for Teachers.
As more and more of the routine teaching are done either through home
schooling or the Internet, the role of teachers are predicted to evolve
into more of being facilitators and concentrating on the teaching of
social skills rather than academic or technical expertise.
-
Paradigm Shift in Primary Education.
It is predicted that more and more activities in the primary education
will shift away from classroom lectures into projects and activities that
emphasize group efforts and held outside of the classroom. The effect is
like a paradigm shift in what used to be extra-curricular activities will
now become the main curriculum.
-
New Role for Schools.
The schools will cease
to become like a mill where students undergo academic processing but will
evolve into becoming community centers where students may engage in a
variety of activities and projects.
-
Centralization of Curriculum and Instructional
Development.
With most of the actual learning process undertaken in cyberspace,
curriculum and instructional development are expected to be centralized to
organizations which are considered centers of excellence in the particular
subject matter.
These are some of the ways by which the educational system is currently
responding and expected to evolve in the future as developments in
information and communications technology continue its onslaught in almost
all aspects of human existence.
For
more information, please visit the following web sites.
-
Digital Learning. Why tomorrow's school must learn to
let go of the past.
http://www.electronic-school.com/2000/09/0900f1.html.
-
Computers in Education: A Brief History.
http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A1681.cfm.
-
Overview of Information Technology in Education.
http://www.iste.org/research/background/Overview.html.
-
Future Perspective: A Vision of Education in the 21st
Century.
http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A2598.cfm.
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Home Learning, Technology, and Tomorrow's Workplace.
http://www.technos.net/journal/volume4/1rieseberg.htm.
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