Technology in Education

Concluding - E learning has come as a boon for the teaching fraternity, the learners as well as the parents. It is invasion of computers in our day today life that has conquered the distance as well as time. Now just by a click we can get in touch with anybody anywhere in the world. Not only that we can lay hands on any reference material that we want to. The learner can now learn at his own pace, at his own convenient time and also courses of his own choice. The learner can evaluate and monitor his understanding of the content and restructure his strategy. The learning management system enables the parents and the teachers to study the learning and understanding pattern and decide on corrective measures and strategies. This mode of learning enables the student’s world over to keep in touch with each other and understand the culture and conditions of learners in other parts of the world. The students can themselves help each other and create a unified world which will give a boost to the development of better society. Let us incorporate this latest technology and trend in our day today learning process to ensure better learning in an healthy environment and help the learners in stress free learning.

Technology in Education

E learning if planned and executed can turn out into a very effective tool of learning. The learning module for each topic/sub topic should have all the vital ingredients to complement the efforts of the teacher. The world around us is three dimensional and so the application of 3-D brings the real 3-D world within reach of the learner. The learner gets well researched condensed material to study. The availability of E content enables the learner to make selection of topic timing of viewing at his own convenience. Not only this, the learner can repeatedly view the content till he has understood the concept. After going through the content the learner can carry out self-assessment to monitor his progress. This is an excellent option for a slow learner for it avoids embarrassment in the classroom and adds to his self-confidence. In addition this gives the learner a feeling of being in command. The learning objects also include simulations that help the learner to practice the content. The interactive nature of simulations ensures that the learner is no more a silent listener. The links provided help the learner to explore the topic beyond the confines of the course. The hyperlinks ensure that the learner does not have to open up different books, dictionary etc., for reference. All these advantages make E learning most desirable tool of learning which overcomes most of the barriers of communication.

Technology in Education

We know that we have five senses, hearing, tasting, seeing, listening and feeling. The most important point the developers must keep in mind is that learning becomes concrete if more senses are involved the learning. When we talk of animations it covers some of the features advocated by Edgar Dale. But the content developers just do not stop at animation they have further added simulations, quiz, text, web links, Key words, glossary etc., to make a wholesome package.

This sort of learning object caters for most of the essentials of learning process. Having discussed the need for teaching aids and the technology based learning objects which are in tune with the teaching learning philosophy we would discuss their importance of e learning in studying mathematics.

There is a misconception that mathematics is a stale, boring, abstract, difficult etc., subject, on the contrary if the teacher is innovative, thinks out of the hat and incorporates the latest technologies, he can make this lively subject the most sought after one.

The teacher has to take into consideration the wider range, academic readiness, learning approach, and the background of the children while making learning strategies.  He must plan the instructional approach in response to the learner’s needs.

Technology in Education

4.    The topic of Technology in Education is very vast, what I am attempting is trying to share my experience of 40 years in the field of education. During earlier times the only teaching aids which a teacher used, if at all he did, were Chart, chalk board, Overhead projector, cutouts, models etc.  

Edgar Dale (April 27, 1900 – March 8, 1985) was an American educationist who developed the Cone of Experience. He made several contributions to audio and visual instruction, including a methodology for analyzing the content of motion pictures. Born and raised in North Dakota he received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of North Dakota and a Ph.D from the University of Chicago. His doctoral thesis was titled, "Factual Basis for Curriculum Revision in Arithmetic with Special Reference to Children's Understanding of Business Terms." and is pre-cursor for his later work with vocabulary and readability. He was a professor of education at Ohio State University.

In 1933 Dale wrote a paper on how to effectively create a High School film appreciation class. This paper has been noted for having a very different view of adolescent interaction with films than that taken by the Film Control Boards of the time.

Dale's Cone of Experience gives an insight to the planners as to how the process of imparting knowledge and skills can be made lasting and easy.

  

The concept of E-learning, as we would see in our discussion further, has been developed in consonance with the philosophy of Edgar Dale.

Technology in education

4.    At the outset I would like to add that there can be no technology which can completely eliminate teacher from the learning process. What we are contemplating is what is available to a teacher today that he can make use of to make learning effective and lasting. How can the process of learning be made interesting? We can answer this question if we know what are the difficulties faced by the learner, the teacher and the parents.

The young mind is very sensitive to slightest stimulus. The children can focus / concentrate for a short span of time. They tend to forget and in addition they are allergic to sermons/ moral lectures. They like freedom and consider structured learning environment as restriction onto their freedom. They enjoy being with their peer group and are happy when involved in an activity. The barriers of communication are not confined to the ones given above but the list goes on and on. Those of us who are directly associated with the process of learning need to know all that which would make learning interesting, lasting and enjoyable. All the children are / should be treated as individuals, thus a teacher should become something like a doctor. A doctor knows most of the medicines in the market then he makes a suitable choice and administers the same to his patient, similarly we in the teaching line should keep abreast with the latest developments in the technology and then put to use the most appropriate one.

Technology in Education

The e-content is further integrated with LMS i.e., Learning Management System. LMS helps the learner, parent and the teacher in monitoring the progress as well as identifying grey areas and finding course correction requirements.  As far as the learner is concerned he can learn at his own pace and at his own convenient time. He can evaluate learning outcome by attempting quizzes. The learner can go over the content repeatedly till he is through with the module. In case of a slow learner the hesitation of asking doubts in the class can be avoided, which subsequently adds to his confidence. The accompanying simulations help the learner to practice the content in a play way method. Further the videography helps the learner to visualize the abstract facts which was impossible with conventional methods. The very slow processes like germination of seed or growth of living organism, etc., are easily seen and understood. The same is the case with processes which are very fast like flight of projectile etc. In mathematics the topics like three dimensional geometry, constructions, visualizing shapes, mensuration, trigonometry etc., which involve drawing on the board becomes very interesting for the learner if videos are used for explanation.

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In order to provide our children free and fair chance to learn we need to make sure that they are treated as individuals. They need to be given an opportunity to learn at their own pace, make selection of the courses, decide on the time for learning. We need to make effective use of the latest scientific tools available to meet the aspirations of the children. Once we successfully identify the issues involved and the potential of computers we would be able to use it for their betterment. The development in the field of hardware as well software has made this wonderful gadget, computer a very effective and versatile tool for teaching learning process.

The process of imparting learning through computers is being termed as e-learning [Electronically supported learning].  This technique has revolutionized the learning process and has taken care of most of the barriers of communication. It brings within reach of one and all the experts in the respective fields. The production houses hire the best talent to carry out research and condense the content in manageable modules. The modules have components like videos, simulations, text, quiz, key words, glossary, mind map etc.