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As an educator, I am required to plan my lessons before going to the classroom. Lesson planning requires the use of various instructional resources that can help guide the selection of appropriate content, tasks, teaching strategies, and feedback mechanisms that teachers can use to enhance learners’ understanding. These instructional resources can include the use of print and non-print materials as well as technology resources.  As an experienced classroom teacher and a science education lecturer, I have had the opportunity to use various hardware, like projectors and laptops, and software, like the Unity app, simulations, and ed apps, in my class. These hardware and software resources encompass a subset of what is called ‘educational technology.”

Reflecting back to how technology was used in my primary and secondary school days, educational technology was more about the use of audio aids (recordings), visual aids (VHS videos) and audiovisual aids (television programs), particularly during special events at schools or in the home. Unfortunately, these technologies did not promote active learning because they were more centred on the presenters (teachers) and the material itself. However, the emergence of modern technologies has provided more opportunity for enhancing the learning and communication process, thereby promoting students active engagement and encouraging personalized learning. In line with the arguments of Bates in his book titled “Teaching in a Digital Age,”  educational technology has also been viewed from the perspective of oral communications and written communications.

According to Kozma (1994), technology can be understood as a tool characterized by specific attributes that determine its functionality, and its ability to represent information and assist learners in creating and manipulating mental models. In other words, one can consider educational technology as tools, technologies, and resources that can enhance learning experiences. This includes hardware like computers and software like simulations and LMS, as well as emerging technologies like AR and VR (Huang et al., 2019). It’s grounded in educational theories on behavior, cognition, processes, and knowledge construction that are applied in technology development (Ouyang & Stanley, 2014).

References

1. Huang, R., Spector, J. M., & Yang, J. (2019). Educational Technology: A Primer for the 21st. Springer: USA, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6643-7_1
2. Ouyang, J. R., & Stanley, N. (2014). Theories and research in educational technology and distance learning instruction through Blackboard. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 2(2), 161-172. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1053980