Thursday, August 31, 2006

The History of Technology's Use in Education

Although the audiovisual movement started in the 1900s, it was the Second World War that boosted the popularity of audiovisual instruction in the industry and military (Saettler, 1990). Generous grants given by both the government and private organizations enabled the growth of educational broadcasting in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, about the same time educational television started in Singapore. I remember how eager we elementary school kids were when our teacher brought us to the AV laboratory for lessons. Although the videos we watched were boring talking heads or drama of lame acting, we were excited to ‘escape’ from routine classroom learning. This concept of ‘learning beyond the classroom’ is not a new phenomenon as educators around the world continuously embark on different ways to enhance teaching and learning beyond the classroom walls, especially with the advancement of technology.

As highlighted by Bishop (2006), the longevity of certain educational technology tools such as the language laboratories and projectors (now upgraded to ‘visualizers’) are due to their effectiveness in enhancing the comprehension of a language skill or a mathematical problem. Students love to fiddle with gadgets. Thus, educators need to use ‘toys’ to entice students. In today’s world where our children are exposed to the Internet, LAN gaming and other sophisticated equipment, educators and instructional technologists need to up the ante by incorporating the latest technology into their teaching. Computers must no longer be used to teach word processing or simple spreadsheets applications as it was set to do in the early 1990s. In my opinion, a revamp of certain computer lessons or even a more advance form of technology to teach certain subjects must be done to keep up with rapid changes.

I am also a firm advocate of the indirect infusion of knowledge through fun activities. The Schools Video Awards, a nation wide video competition that I had the opportunity of chairing 2 years ago, is an excellent platform for students to use technology in producing short documentary, drama or advertisement. Students beamed with pride when they saw their own work being showcased to other students. Indirect learning takes place as students learn to respect intellectual property and work in teams. This is in line with one of the guiding principles for technology education as highlighted by Raizen, Sellwood, Todd and Vickers (1995) which is to develop “…personal skills necessary for working effectively with people”. Education should not only be about grades. A total education will not only equip a person with essential academic knowledge but the social skills and graces to interact with others.

Students, I believe, will have no problems keeping up with technological changes but the question remains with our teachers. Among some of the issues raised by Fouts (2000) are the training needed to help teachers use high quality instructional programs and the time needed for them to absorb discoveries and design engaging learning experiences. In order to be effective educators, we too must keep abreast with technology.

References:

Bishop, M.J. (2006, August). The History of Technology in Education or what goes around…, LST401 Seminar 1.

Fouts, Jeffrey T. (2000). Research on Computers in Education: Past, Present and Future. Retrieved September 2, 2006, from http://www.esd189.org/tlp/documents/TotalReport3.pdf

Raizen, S., Sellwood, P., Todd, R., Vickers, M. (1995). Technology Education in the Classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. P. 39

Saettler, P. (1990). The evolution of American Educational Technology. Englewood, CO: Libraries Limited (as cited in Raiser, Robert A. 2001).

Schools Video Awards. http://www.evideo.edu.sg/sva/ Retrieved September 3, 2006.