Course Title: Technology in Education
Course No: 1
Instructor:
Name: Generis Browne
Date: December 12, 2008
TITLE: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE MEDIA IN EDUCATION
According to the Ginn International dictionary
Technology - defined as the use of science to serve man in commerce and industry.
Media - any means by which something is relayed or accomplish and
Education - is knowledge gained from study or instruction.
Technology and the media in education can therefore be explained as enabling tools in the acquisition and application of knowledge.
Technology is designed to make life easier for humans. It provides a gateway for students to learn. Therefore the use of technology and its media in education is designed to enhance students leaning and making the school environment a place where students will want to be, because it makes the learning experience fun. The many aids available today allow teachers to fine innovative ways to cater for the needs of all the learners in their classrooms. Woolfolk, A (2005) Educational Psychology. Added to that Neal, E. (June 1998) states that ‘…students are provided with the tools to construct their own learning at their own pace’.
Despite the foregoing, many people caution of the possible harmful effects of using technology in the classroom. This emphasis is placed mainly on computers. Will children lose their ability to relate to other human beings? Will they become dependent on technology to learn? Will they find inappropriate materials? The same was perhaps said about the invention of the printing press, radio, and television. Yet they played and continue to play a major role in today’s society and particularly the teaching/learning environment. They all can be used inappropriately, but all of them have given people limitless access to information which can be turned into valuable knowledge, good or bad. This fact only proves that, when appropriately used, interactively...