The document discusses the roles and functions of educational technology in 21st century education. It argues that education should be collaborative, with students working together in small groups on structured activities. This allows students to both share their strengths and develop weaker skills, while also improving their understanding of subjects and developing interpersonal skills. The document also lists several reasons why flexible learning spaces that facilitate active and experiential learning are important for today's students, including that they help students stay focused amid distractions and allow different learning activities and styles.

1. “Roles and Functions of
Educational Technology in
21st Century Education”

2. Education should be collaborative

3. In cooperative learning, students work together in a small groups
on a structured activity. They are individually accountable for
their work, and the work of the group as a whole is also assessed.
Cooperative groups work face-to-face and learn to work as a team.
In small groups, students can share strengths and also develop their
weaker skills.
They develop their interpersonal skills. They learn to deal
with conflict. When cooperative are guided by clear objectives,
students engage in numerous activities that improve their
understanding of subjects explored.

4. REASONS
• Learning spaces impact learning: space whether physical or
virtual can have an impact on learning. It can bring people
together; it can encourage exploration, collaboration, and
discussion.
• The power of active learning: “Many of today’s learners favor
active, participatory, experiential learning- the learning style they
exhibit in their personal lives. But their behavior may not match
their self expressed learning preferences when sitting in a large
lecture hall with chairs bolted to the floor”.

5. • Facilitate focus: “Today’s students are being pulled in many
directions- many have to work, there are all of those technology
distractions, attention spans are commonly considered to be
shortening.
• Flexibility: a group of learners should be able to move from
listening to one speaker (traditional lecture) to working in groups
(team or project-based activities) to working independently(writing,
reading, or accessing print or electronic resources). While
specialized places for each kind of work, the flow of activities is
often immediate. It makes better sense to construct spaces capable
of quick reconfiguration to support different kinds of activity.

6. • Comfort- the “living and learning” space: why shouldn’t
students and teachers be comfortable while learning? A
comfortable, fun, flexible learning space can facilitate
dialogue, stimulate the senses, and encourage interactions.
Conversely, discomfort can be a significant distraction to
learning.
• The psychology of learning environments: The book offers
numerous insights that help to illuminate the impact of
learning environment design on student’s ability and desire
to learn.

7. • De centeredness: “Emphasizing the principles of socio
constructivism, spaces must convey co-learning and co-
construction of knowledge. Implications for architecture include
thinking of the whole campus as a learning spaces rather than
emphasizing classrooms. Within the classroom, it means
avoiding the message that the room has a front or a
“privileged” space”.
• Community: Learning has been a community activity for
hundreds of years. A social setting encourages social learning.
We need to continue to evolve learning spaces that encourage
connections, not compartmentalization.

8. Many consider Vygotsky as the father of “social learning”.
Vygotsky was an education rebel in many ways. Vygotsky
controversially argued for educators to assess student’s ability to
solve problems, rather than knowledge acquisition.
The idea of collaborative learning has a lot to do with Vygotsky’s
idea of the “zone of proximal development”. It considers what a
student can do if aided by peers and adults. By considering this
model for learning we might consider collaboration to increase
student’s awareness of other concepts
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zz3ymKvH5qo