MODERN EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY WITH
CREATIVITY EDUCATION
R.KARTHICK
ASST., PROF., IN EDUCATION (ENGLISH)
SIVANTHI COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
UDANGUDI.
ABSTRACT
At present, the multi-media technology, network
technology and satellite transmission
technology, as
the representative of the information technology is developing very quickly.
Modern
educational technology based on information technology play a significant role
in
promoting the
modernization of education. Modern education technology will have a
significant
impact on ideas, forms, process, methods, teaching and management of education.
Application of
modern education technology in continuing education will be a driving force to
continuing
education innovation. Using modern education theory and modern information
technology in
design, development, utilization, evaluation and management of the teaching
process and
then teaching resources will help to achieve the efficient development of
continuing
education.
INTRODUCTION
Modern educational
technology changed people’s traditional continuing education
idea Firstly,
modern educational technology made open educational concept become a reality.
Through Radio
and Television University, distance education, internet training, and other
open
education, a
large number of eager learners can easily get learning opportunities and learn
more
to change their
career. On the second hand, modern educational technology changed the single
teachers and student’s relationship in the past, into relationships of teachers
and students, students and teaching resources, students and students. The
change of education elements became a positive contributing factor to the
development of education itself. Thirdly, modern educational technology made personalized
learning one of the characteristics of modern continuing education. With widely
utilization of modern educational technology, personalized learning gain
conditions for rapid development. Educational mode customized for each learner
met the needs of personalized learning, and improved the quality of education
greatly. Fourthly, modern educational technology expanded the connotation of
life-long education. Continuous learning and anytime, anywhere learning became
landmark signs of an efficient learning community. Fifthly, modern educational
technology improved the efficiency and effectiveness of teaching drastically.
Widely application of modern educational technology increased the number of
participants dramatically and promoted the reform of education system of China.
At the same
time, the
teaching efficiency got fundamental changes. The social and economic benefits
of continuing education have been greatly developed.
Modern society
has special requirements of life-long learning. Employees need further
education
without leaving their post, technical
staff working in special hours need learning in
special time,
farmers in remote regions need suitable cultivation technology. Because of
different
conditions,
there are different needs for the form of continuing education. Modern
educational technology changed the single teaching form to a variety of
teaching methods. Kinds of real-time or non-real-time distance learning methods
solve the difficulties such as learning without leaving post. Various forms of
mobile storage of courses, delivered to the same hands of learners, help to
match the scattered learning needs of learners.
Modern
technologies have become a ubiquitous component of our daily lives. As Warschauer
and Grimes (2007) point out, millions of people now use modern technology to
interact, collaborate, network, and entertain through blogs, wikis, social
networking tools, and multiplayer games; many of these individuals enjoy the
thrill of instant self-publishing and feel stimulated by their dynamic
interactions online. During the past decade, the shift from Web 1.0 to 2.0 has
been remarkable. People do not merely read and retrieve information, but also
create and share information.
The aim of this study was to explore ELT
(English Language Teaching) student teachers’ perspectives on the use of modern
technologies in language learning contexts. In order to do so, 139 student
teachers from a state university in Turkey were given training on web technologies
along with their practical usages. Three months after this training, a
questionnaire adapted from previous instruments was administered to
participating student teachers. Moreover, the follow up interviews were carried
out with only 20 student teachers in five groups, the aim of which was to take
a deeper insight about the items in the questionnaire. Both the questionnaire
and the interview results revealed that student teachers seemed to have
positive feelings about the use of web technologies despite some challenges
such as lack of technological devices encountered.
Globalization
has always been the subject of profound debate and concern in a number of
circles. In his influential book, Friedman (2005) analyzes globalization,
primarily in the early 21st century and defines ten flatteners that he
recognizes as leveling the global playing field. One of the most important
flatteners, he claims, is “the steroids” which include wireless, voice over
Internet, and file sharing. Furthermore, personal digital devices like mobile
phones, iPods, personal digital assistants, instant messaging, and voice over
Internet Protocol can be classified, according to Friedman (2005) as the new
technologies that cause the world to be flattened each day. Tsui and Tollefson
(2007) maintain that “globalization is effected by two inseparable mediation
tools: technology and English to respond to the rapid changes brought about by
globalization" (p.1). In other words, technology and English are two
pioneering aspects of the current age that bring about societal and political
changes. New technologies and services are among recent developments that
foster participation in formal and informal networks, giving individuals and
groups access to global communities. Application of these technologies is,
obviously, manipulating different dimensions of people’s lives, such as the way
they think, communicate, learn and teach. In a sharp contrast with Web 1.0
applications including browsing and searching on the net and reading an
operation, Web 2.0 technologies allow users to construct, that is, to write to
the web. This shift from a tool of passive reference to
one of collaboration to active exciting opportunities for
individuals in a variety of ways has been commented in various levels thus far.
In order to accommodate this shift, many adults struggle with the use of new
technologies in their own lives. Because once the world has been flattened and
the new forms of collaboration made available to more and more people, the
winners will be those who learn the habits, processes and skills of digital age
most quickly. As far as education is concerned, Web 2.0 technologies seem to
have profound potentials in education due to their open nature, ease of use and
support for effective collaboration and communication. It is a fact that
today’s students, as Prensky (2001) calls “digital natives”, employ technology
differently and learn differently from their parents and teachers. Digital
natives are technology savy, and confident in the positive value of technology.
They believe in the importance of technology as “an essential and preferred
component of every aspect of their lives. In order to teach these digital
natives properly, it is mandatory that teachers themselves be aware and
proficient users of technology. In recent years, teacher technology preparation
has been given more importance as “the single most important step toward
integrating technology into education”. A lot of studies carried out on
teachers’ perceptions about the use of technology indicate that most teachers
are somewhat aware of the importance of using technology in their classrooms to
address 21st century students, but this awareness is not reflected in practice.
There is a lot of evidence that the majority of teachers do not use technology
when they teach with the exceptions of using PowerPoint presentations and email
exchanges.
CONCLUSION:
Thus,
teacher education programmers’ are obliged to provide pre-service teachers with
recent innovations that occupy key roles in education. This way it is expected
that teacher trainees are likely to utilize technologies in their own future
classrooms to cater for the increasing needs of 21st century kids. Otherwise,
there would be unfilled gaps between teachers and learners.
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