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Key takeaways from this lesson are:
- Technologies are merely tools that
can be used in a variety of ways. What matters more is how technologies are
applied. The same technology can be applied in different ways, especially in
education. So, in judging the value of a technology, we need to look more
closely at the ways in which it is being used or could be used. In essence,
this means focusing more on media, which represents the more holistic use of
technologies than on individual tools or technologies themselves. We
should recognize the fact that technology is an essential component of almost
all media.
- By focusing on media rather than
technologies, we can include face-to-face teaching as a medium. It enables
comparison with more technology-based media to be made along with a number of
dimensions or characteristics.
- Media differ in terms of
their formats, symbols, systems, and cultural values. These unique features are
increasingly referred to as the affordances of media or technology. Thus
different media can be used to assist learners to learn in different ways and
achieve different outcomes. It also helps in individualizing learning more.
- The Internet is an extremely powerful
medium. Through a combination of tools and media, it can encompass all the
characteristics and dimensions of educational media.
- 5Learning goals that are appropriate
for learners in the digital age need to be set. The skills students need should
be embedded within their subject domain, and these skills should
be formally assessed.
- There is increasing pressure from
employers, the business community, learners themselves, and also from a
significant number of educators to develop the type of knowledge and the
kinds of skills that they will need in the digital age.
- To develop such knowledge and skills,
teachers and instructors need to set clear learning outcomes. They should
select teaching methods that will support the development of such
knowledge and skills. Since all skills require practice and feedback to
develop, learners must be given ample opportunity to practice such skills. This
requires moving away from a model of information transmission to greater
student engagement, more learner-centered teaching, and new methods of
assessment that measure skills as well as mastery of content.
- Governments, institutions, and
learners themselves can do a great deal to ensure success in teaching and
learning. But in the end, the responsibility and to some extent the power to
change lies within teachers and instructors themselves.
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