THE NATURE OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY & EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN LEARNING Day 1

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2. Hopefully, on the completion of the course, you will be able to:
1. Understand and explain the concept of educational technology.
2. Analyze the role of educational technology in learning.
3. Discuss the criteria of writing objectives in behavioural terms.
4. Recognize, and discriminate between cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains of objectives.
5. Apply theories of instruction into teaching learning process.
6. Inculcate instructional process for motivation and distinguish between different instructional strategies.
7. Discuss and apply the best instructional media to make teaching more effective.
8. Explain the nature of communication and select the best suitable media to make teaching learning process
more fruitful.
9. Discuss the production process of instructional materials.
10. Analyze the organization and management of instructional media.
11. Identify new trends in educational technology.
12. Use best suitable educational technology tools in classrooms.

3. THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

4. After reading this unit, students will be able to:
Understand the concept and scope of educational technology.
Comprehend the nature of educational technology.
Grasp the changing concept of educational technology.
Know the need of educational technology.

5.  Kumar (2017) elaborated the concept of educational technology by compiling different definitions related with educational
technology.
 G.O. Leith: “Educational Technology is the application of scientific knowledge and learning and the conditions of learning to
improve the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching and training.”
 Robert A. Cox: “Educational Technology is the application of scientific process to man’s learning conditions.”
 John P. Dececco: “Educational Technology is the form of detailed application of psychology of learning to practical teaching
problems”
 E.E. Hadden: “Educational Technology is that branch of educational theory and practice concerned primarily with the design
and use of messages which control the learning process.”
 Richmond:“Educational Technology is concerned to provide appropriately designed learning situations which, holding in
view of objectives of the Teaching of Training, being to bear the best means of instruction.”
 S.S.Kulkarni: “Educational Technology may be defined as the application of the laws as well as recent discoveries of science
and technology to the process of education.”
 S.K. Mitra: “Educational Technology can be conceived as a science of techniques and methods by which educational goals
could be realized.”
 Robert: “A. Cox A Tool for Development 1970). The application of scientific man’s learning conditions is what has come
recently to be called ‘educational instructional’ technology.”

6.  Analysis of the process of teaching and learning
 Spelling out the educational goals or objectives
 Development of the curriculum
 Development of teaching-learning material
 To provide essential feedback and control through evaluation
 Educational technology:
Behavioral Technology
Instructional Technology
Teaching Technology
Instructional Design
Training Psychology
Cybernetic Psychology
System Analysis

7. Curriculum Construction,
Teaching-Learning Strategies,
Audio-Visual materials,
Determining Educational Objectives,
Training the teachers,
Feedback,
Hardware and Software etc

8. Kumar (2017) elaborated following characteristics of Educational Technology:
 It is based on scientific and technological advancements.
 It is more a practical discipline and less a theoretical one.
 It is a fast growing modern discipline.
 It makes use of the research findings of psychology, sociology, engineering, sciences and
social psychology etc., and applies the same to the field of education.
 It brings pupils, teachers and technical means together in an effective way.
 It is the science of techniques and methods. It locates the problems in the field of education,
remedies them and ultimately aims at improving the educational system.
 It is bound to improve the teacher, the learner and the teaching learning process.

9.  Identify educational needs of the community.
 Determine the aims of education.
 Develop a suitable curriculum.
 Determine appropriate strategies.
 Identify the resources-human and non-human.
 Locate the major obstacles in the way of proper development of
learners.
 Suggest remedies to overcome the above traced out obstacles.
 Manage the whole system of education (Kumar, 2017).

10. The following 4 M's are the major components of Educational
Technology: (i) Methods, (ii) Materials, (iii) Media, (iv) Manpower.
 Methods: It is concerned with the devices such as Programmed
Learning Team Teaching Micro Teaching, and Personalized System of
Instruction in Teaching Learning situations.
 Materials: Instructional materials such as Programmed Text book the
material of this may be handwritten or printed.
 Media: The media used here are audio, or visual or audiovisual. A few
examples are radio, tape recorder, charts, films, educational television
etc.
 Man Power: Man power controls educational technology in every way.
Educational Technology without man is zero.

11. Kumar (2017) explains the nature of educational technology as following:
 The basis of educational technology is science.
 Educational Technology studies the effect of science and technology upon education. In other words, science and
technology are used under educational technology.
 Educational Technology is a continuous dynamic, progressive and effect-producing method.
 New conceptions are possible only due to educational technology such as pro learning, micro-teaching, simulated teaching,
interaction analysis, video-tape recorder, projector and computer, etc.
 Educational Technology accepts schools as a system. In this system, the school furniture and teachers act as input while
various methods, techniques, strategic teaching and examination with the help of audio-visual aids function in the I process.
 Audio-visual aids cannot be termed as educational technology. It is because its only with the process-aspect of educational
technology and not with the input a aspects. But if these A.V. aids are used to achieve educational objectives, then put in
the category of Educational technology.
 Programmed Instruction is also different from Educational Technology.
 Hence, it can be used only for limited objectives and limited subject-matter. Therefore programmed instruction is merely a
part of educational technology.
 Engineering Technology is not the educational technology because the engineering technology has manufactured radio,
tape-recorder, video-tape and T.V., etc. which are used in teaching as audio-visual aids, but still engineering technology is
different from educational technology.
 Educational Technology cannot solve each and every problem of education. It can be used successfully in teaching and
instructional system only.

12. UNIT–2
EDUCATIONAL
TECHNOLOGY IN
LEARNING

13. After studying the material, it is hoped that you will
be able to:
Define the term learning;
Discuss various theories of learning;
Evaluate educational implications of theories of
learning;
Explain the process of learning; and
Specify the role of teacher in learning.

14.  Firstly, all living is learning i.e. the individual is in active relation with his environment.
 Secondly, it results in a change in behaviour. We can note a change in the student's response to the teacher
questions after lecture. It is a change of behaviour influenced by previous behavior.
 Thirdly, learning is an adjustment. Most learning in children, consists in modifying, adapting and developing their
original nature. In later life individuals acquire new forms of behaviour.
 Fourthly, it comes about as a result of practice. This characteristic eliminates such phases of change as illness and
maturation. Potent effects of motivation on behaviour are worth consideration here.
 Fifthly, learning is universal. Every creature that lives learns. Man learns most. Human children have the longest
period of immaturity and helplessness, and hence the longer period for opportunity for learning. The human nervous
system is very complex, so are human reactions and human acquisitions.
 Sixthly, learning is a relatively permanent change. After a rat wakes from his nap he still remembers the path to the
food.
 Seventhly, learning is growth. It is never-ending growth. At each stage the learner acquires new visions of his future
growth and new ideals of achievement in the direction of his effort.
 Lastly, learning is not directly observable. The only way to study learning is through some observable behaviour.

15. Various theories of learning have been put forward to explain
the nature of the learning process.
All these can he broadly classified into two categories:
1. Connectionist or Behaviourist or Mechanicalist or
Associative or S-R-theories.
2. Cognitive or Gestalt or purpose or Organismic or Field or
S-O-R theories.

16. Generally a student of psychology understands the paradigm S-R,which means that
stimulus is connected with and leads to response. Stimulus is any change in external
energy which excites the nervous system and brings about a response. Thus, response is
the end product of the S-R chain. Complex responses from behaviour. Certain responses
follow certain stimuli. Learning is a matter of connection between S and R.
When these circumstances are studied and put together in some logical form, we have a
theory. Within this broad category, the following three theories will be discussed in detail:
Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory. Dog
Thorndike's Trial and Error Theory. Cat
Skinner's Operant Conditioning Theory. Rat

17.  An American behaviourist, B. F. Skinner introduced his learning theory of operant
conditioning. His theory is based upon the concept that learning is a function of change in
overt behaviour.
 Changes in behaviour are the result of an individual’s response to events (stimuli) that occur
in environment. A response produces a consequence such as singing a song, defining a
word, hitting a ball, or solving a math problem.
 When a particular stimulus. Response (S-R) pattern is reinforced (rewarded), the individual
is conditioned to respond.
 Reinforcement is the key element in Skinner’s S-R theory. It could be verbal praise, a good
grade or a feeling of increased accomplishment or satisfaction. It also includes negative
reinforcement which is punishment.
 Skinner’s theory is widely applied in clinical setting and in teaching-learning environment.
 Within this broad category the following two theories will be discussed in detail:

18.  Wulf (1996) says that Gestalt theory focused on the mind’s perspective. The word
“Gestalt” came from German Language which is used for pattern, figure, shape or form.
 Gestalt became one of the main theories of learning.
 The three main German Gestalt theorists were Wertheimer, Kohler and Koffka. The
Gestalt theory proposes that learning consists of the grasping of a structural whole and
not just a mechanistic response to a stimulus.
 Experimental work of Gestalt learning is primarily about problem-solving capacities of
animals (chimps).
 Gestalt theory encourages learner to discover the underlying nature of a topic or problem.
In other words, how do the elements relate to each other? How can they be restructured
so that learner gains knowledge?

19.  Lewin was a neo-gestaltist, who transferred the Gestalt learning model to everyday
situations. He believed that behavior is a function of the field that exists at the time the
behavior occurs.
 He proposed that human behavior is a function of both the person and the environment
in which the behavior takes place, including the social parameters. He also understood a
dynamic interaction of elements in the field. He believed that behavior was purposeful
and visualized the individual as existing in a field of forces which included two things:
 + Valence forces, which attract the people, and;
 – Valence forces, which repel the people.
 The blending of these fields produced an approach/avoidance dynamic. According to
Lewin, learning is essential to coping with these opposing force fields.
For a thorough understanding, the following diagram will suffice the purpose.