22. Key Takeaways


Summary

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.