Educational Technology – Definition, Role, Pillars, and More

Educational Technology Definition

Educational technology is a set of Information and Communication resources, processes, and tools applied to the educational system’s structure and activities in its various fields and levels.

The digital age has revolutionized every aspect of our daily lives, and in education, it was no different. The computer age is replacing the industrial age, so new challenges and needs are anticipated in the educational field.

This phenomenon is part of the digital transformation that technology participation in education, also known as “educational technology,” has introduced.

The incorporation of new technologies within schools has changed educational methods to such an extent that spaces open for digital culture in classrooms.

Do you know about Wrike Free accounts are made for individuals or teams of up to five that need project management software.

However, this explanation is insufficient to understand its impact today, so we must expose its role today.

What Role does in Educational Technology?

When educational problems find a solution in the use of information technology, using:

• In other words, we understand that educational technology is about the use of technological devices for educational purposes.
• Currently, the staff of educational centers can acquire.
• These facilities have adapted educational methods to the digital age, where there is a more significant number of teaching and learning resources for both teachers and students.
• Students can access much more information by implementing new technologies that, incidentally, open up new spaces for fun and expression, such as games and blogs.
• The internet is the biggest source of education in our times. You can get access to whatever you need. Whether you are looking for books, research papers, or anything else, you can always source the same from The Pirate Bay. The platform is safe, easy and contains millions of E-books.

What are the Pillars of Educational Technology?

The new educational models have been created under the awareness that our society’s future depends on three technological areas: programming, robotics, and 3D printing.

These areas are the pillars of educational technology:

1. Programming

• Teaching programming goes beyond preparing students for a technological job field. Students solve self-correction processes as they learn to locate errors in complex problems.
• Programming works by promoting the learning of logic, creativity, finding solutions, and entrepreneurship.

2. Robotics

• Robotics is the subject that allows a device or robot to be programmed, teaching it a set of instructions so that it can execute them autonomously.
• Programming a robot allows students to physically see programming errors and their limits and learn to handle precise language.
• Learning this subject provides a solution to the growing demand for science and engineering in future jobs. Thanks to the advances of the digital age, people capable of programming these devices will need them.

3. 3D Print

• 3D printing is gaining tremendous importance for designing models or prototypes in various areas of our lives.
• Medicine, engineering, textile industry, and more use this technology successfully can also use.
• Thanks to 3D printing, students learn about new technologies and their use, but it also helps them understand complex theories since it exemplifies them.

What Changes has Brought to Educational Technology?

1. Some years ago, students could only access education in person. They had large amounts of books and notebooks, and searching for information manually was much more time-consuming. Information on paper was indispensable.
2. Technology brought the ability to study online, which simplifies access to education in terms of place and time, finding information is much more comfortable, and massive databases can access quickly.
3. Today people can access information from any smart device and even attend conferences through video calls.
4. The creation of projects is much easier since technology brought new tools that supplant the paper. In short, technology in education has made learning more manageable, more comfortable, and even affordable.
5. The digital age does not stop, so teachers and specialists must be aware of new technologies to prepare their students.

What are the Advantages of Educational Technology?

The advantages of educational technology are numerous:

• Students can interact, play and learn from various platforms, fostering a climate of participation during classes. They can also learn remotely and at flexible times and customize their lessons according to their needs.
• Teachers have excellent organizational, planning, and teaching tools, saving a great deal of time to review or move forward faster.
• Technology platforms can integrate all school staff, as students share concerns, teachers manage their groups, and administrators monitor class achievements.
• Thanks to educational technology, school personnel can be aware of their students and attend to their needs. There is an educational software to identify early the risk of dropping out to provide support to students.
• We will also mention that betting on educational technology implies, in the long run, significant economic savings and even ecological care, since class materials and even transportation to attend a lesson may not be necessary.

What are the Challenges of Educational Technology?

1. The implementation of technological tools and solutions in the educational field faces challenges that must overcome.
2. The benefits of using technology are apparent, but there are also responsibilities. Adapting to change is the main task of any educational institution.
3. The education methodology has changed since the student, instead of memorizing, focuses on searching, analyzing, and interpreting information.
4. By introducing technology to classrooms, school staff and students learn to work collaboratively.
5. There is a want to train teachers to use new technologies to incorporate them into their classes. Teachers must regularly update themselves in technological advances to provide quality education.
6. Let’s not forget that the digital age requires a paradigm shift in which students are no longer preparing for an industrial world but a computer world.
7. The task and evaluation systems must be adapted to the technologies to face the current reality’s challenges.

What Examples of Educational Technology Tools are there?

• We have already seen the pillars that support educational technology. It is time to discuss the most used tools that are in force today.
• The first of these is LMS ( Learning Management System ), a tool that manages study and online learning.
• The various activities can be administered, distributed, and evaluated in virtual training. The idea is that learning is accessible, flexible, and friendly and involves all school personnel, from administrators to students.
• Another tool is virtual reality, which is the visual perception of a specific moment or environment. It is the educational field that provides the opportunity to recreate scenarios that only find in books.
• The student will have admission to a virtual collection that will allow them to learn from experience.
• Students and teachers also have access to educational video games where memory, logical reasoning, concentration, spatial orientation, and coordination exercise.
• Such experiences will help students develop competencies useful for careers in engineering, arts, and even architecture.
• Finally, in higher grades, students aim to manage curricular value tools, organizational tools capable of instantly sharing files, communication and debate platforms, and programs they will find in future jobs.

What can we expect from Educational Technology in the Future?

1. The digital age is moving by leaps and bounds; technology-focused education cannot and should not be left behind.
2. One of the most important aspects to focus on is controlling student learning. Monitoring and review of students is an essential factor for the incorporation of technologies within any class.
3. The technological tools are focusing on providing a solution for monitoring the students and, above all, learning and adapting to the constant changes in technology.
4. Another aspect is that students no longer have to follow the teacher’s rhythm, eliminating their tension towards learning.
5. In this way, the student develops skills and aptitudes in his own time, form, and taste in a personalized way.
6. Simplicity, monitoring, and user adaptation are the main aspects in which educational technology can focus on innovating new tools and new working methods in the future.
7. Education technology tools predict to find their way into mobile telephony in a much better way than they do today.
8. Banning these devices in classrooms will be a thing of the past. The training of teachers capable of creating educational content for the cell phone will be necessary.
9. Another area of ​​opportunity for education technology is artificial intelligence. The development of this technology has overgrown, but its implementation in classrooms will take a little longer.
10. Your drive can focus on better smart tutoring systems. We can imagine cognitive tutors who mimic teachers’ roles to guide the lessons in different disciplines.
11. Let’s think about virtual teaching that will offer solutions when students have learning problems.
12. We know that there are already platforms or programs that practice the role of a teacher. However, the development of artificial intelligence will reach new levels.

Conclusion

The educational environment is in the process of transition. Society is evolving from an industrial mindset to a fully computerized approach.

People’s daily lives are changing, and they face new tools that manage to make old methods of exercising an activity disappear.

An example of this is the success of shopping online and companies’ approach through social networks. Such everyday interactions with technology have changed the world and, therefore, educational methods.

Schools have to leave behind the old paradigms that prepare people for a world that is ceasing to exist, that is, for an industrial society.

The way schools manage time, the division of subjects, the school’s bureaucracy, and the hierarchy between administration, teachers, and students is a preview of what would await the student in an industrial world.

Technological development brought a change in mentality and a transition to the educational field’s very structure. People are already preparing for the digital age, and some jobs could not dream of before.