Roles of Technology in Learning

Technology has many roles in learning. In terms of  traditional role, technology is a delivery vehicles for instructional lessons. In this role, he learner learns from the technology and the technology serves as a teacher. In other words, the learner learns the content presented by the technology  in the same way that the learner learns knowledge presented by the teacher.   From the traditional point of view, technology serves as sourse and preseter of knowledge and it is assumed that knowledge is embedded in  technology.

      From the constructivist point of  view, educational technology serves as learning tools that learners learn with.   It engages learners in" active ,constructive, intentional, authentic, and cooperative learning. It provides opportunities for technology and learner interaction for meaningful learning.  Technology  serves as  supporter of knowledge construction such as representing learner's ideas, understanding and beliefs,producing organized,multimedia knowledge bases by learners. It serves as information  vehicles for exploring knowledge to support learning by constructing such as accesing needed informatin,comparing perspectives ,beliefs and world views.It serves as context to support learning -by - doing like representing and simulating meaningful real- world problems,situation and contexts,defining a safe ,controllable problem space for student thinking.  It serves as a social medium to support learning by conversing like for  instance  collaborating wih others, discussing, arguing,and building consensus among members of the community. It serves as  intellectual partner to support learning- by- reflecting such as helping learners articluate and represent what they know,reflecting of what they have learned and  how they come to know it,supporting learner's internal  negotiatins  and meaning making.

      Whether  used from traditional or constructivist point of view,when used effectively, research indicates that techology increases student's learning, undrestanding,and achievement but also augments motivtion to learn , encourages collaborative learning and supports the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.By effectively using the technology, I can now apply my learning.

Both teachers and the students are convinced about the important contributions educational technology can offer. If properly selected and used, instructional materials can do the following:

1.) Arouse and sustain the interest and attention of the pupils/students to learn.

2.) Concretize abstract concepts/ideas to promote meaningful learning.

3.) Makes learning more permanent because of the rich experiences that they provide.

4.) Provide self-activities for independent learning.

5.) Increae vocabulary by eliminating verbalism.

6.) Develop continuity of thought.

7.) Increase the quality of learning while decreasing the time spent.

8.) Check pupils preparedness.

9.) Make learning more interactive, hence learning is improved.