Educational technology plays several important roles in 21st century education. It allows for student-centered, collaborative learning with real-world context. Technology provides 24/7 access to information and opportunities for constant social interaction and digital content creation. It is important to embrace students' interests in technology and embed it into teaching. Educational technology can improve teaching and learning, enhance educational goals, develop curriculum and materials, and identify community needs through analysis, training, and various functions like developing audio/visual aids.

1. Eleiza Mae Igot
BEED-II

2. Roles and
Functions of
Educational
Technology in 21st
Century Education

3. Society has changed so
globalization has opened up
to the word and allowed
people to connect in new and
exciting ways.
The role of education is to
prepare students to become
active, successful, and
contributing society that exists
today or will exist tomorrow.

4. Instruction should be student-
centered
Students would gather information on
their, under the guidance of their
teacher. Different learning styles are
encouraged, and students have an
enhanced sense of motivation and
responsibility.

5. Instruction should be
collaborative
Students should be encouraged to
work together to discover information,
piece it together, and construct
meaning. Students should learn how to
recognize the different strengths and
talents each person can bring to a
project, and change roles depending
on the attributes.

6. Learning should have context
Students are encouraged to learn in
different ways and the teacher still provides
guidance as to the skills that need to be
acquired. The teacher can make a point
helping students to understand how the
skills they are building can be applied in
their lives and the students will be much
more motivated to learn something that
they can see the value in.

7. Roles of Technology in
21st Century Learning

8. Technology allows for 24/7
access to information
Constant social interaction
Easily created and shared digital
content

9. It is important for our students to learn in global
classroom, acknowledging that the classroom
extends beyond the physical walls. And our
students are more inclined to find information
by accessing the Internet through cell phones
and computers or chatting with friends on a
social networking site.

10. If this is the case,
It is necessary to embrace this
highly motivational interest and
embed it in our teaching.

11. Important
Functions of
Educational
Technology

12. Improvement of Teaching
Tries to find out the different
variables of teaching, their
interlinks, effects upon each other,
relationships, theories of teaching,
phases of teaching principles of
teaching, maxims of teaching etc.
By developing the theories of
teaching, it helps in improving the
quality of education.

13. Analysis of the Teaching-Learning
Process
Tries to find out the different
variables of teaching their interlinks
effects upon each other, relationship
etc. It is also concerned with various
phases of teaching. The principles of
teaching and the maxims of teaching
are also analyzed by it. Over all, it
tries to establish better and better
relationship between teaching and
learning.

14. Improvement of Learning
It facilitates more and more of
learning in less time. It takes
the help of various empirically
established generalizations
from psychology, sociology,
physical sciences, engineering
etc.

15. Enhancing Goals of Education
Everything in this universe is
undergoing tremendous changes and
with a very fast speed. The needs and
requirements of the people and hence
education need be revised from
moment to moment. Educational
Technology helps in fixing up the right
objectives in the light of the changed
circumstances and changed
environment.

16. Training to Teachers
 The teachers equipped with old
strategies and methodologies of
teaching will remain misfits. Right type
of training to the teachers is the need of
the hour. Educational Technology can
render its valuable help in the training
of teachers also. The use of video tapes
and close circuit T.V. will help the
teachers to remodel and reshape their
teaching behaviors suitably.

17. Development of Curriculum
Only a suitable type of curriculum
will help in the attainment of
goals. Curriculum is the total
teaching-learning environment
which has to be modified and
remodeled in the light of latest
thoughts. Only educational
technology can do this job of
developing a suitable curriculum
appropriately.

18. Development of Teaching-Learning
Materials
Everything of the society including
values of life need be reflected in
the materials. Only right type of
materials will able to modify the
behavior of the learner suitably
making him a fit person for the
society. Only educational
technology can develop the
required and the desired type of
teaching-learning materials.

19. Teaching-Learning Strategies
The strategy has to be the right
one which should be according to
the materials and is able to bring
about effective teaching-learning.
The different strategies are being
evolved by educational
technology. The knowledge of
those strategies is a must for every
teacher. Then only the teachers
will be able to do justice to their
jobs.

20. Development of Audio-Visual
Aids
The software aids, the hardware
aids, the computer and other such
appliances, equipment etc., have
“to be used in the present type of
teaching-learning environment.
Computer assisted instructions
will help the learner as well as the
teacher to achieve the goals of
education more conveniently.

21. Help in Overall Improvement
Evaluation of the teaching-
learning process is also made better
because through feedback, things
are improved thoroughly and there
is better control over the process of
education. Thus, educational
technology can revolutionize the
whole process of teaching-learning.

22. Identification of Needs of the
Community
It helps in providing equal
education opportunities to
backward people, disadvantaged
students and deprived sections of
the society. It helps education to
reach the remotest corner of the
country. The needs and
requirements of the community
are fast changing.

23. Technology can also enhance the
opportunities for
communication and community
within education. Educational
Technology elaborates the ways
and means of choosing
appropriate evaluation
techniques and selection of
materials in attaining the
learning outcomes.