educational technology elearning redirects here it is not to be confused with online machine learning education disciplines evaluation history organization philosophy psychologyschool technologyelectronic marking international education school counseling special education teacher education curricular domains arts business early childhood engineering language literacy mathematics science social science technology vocational methods case method conversation analysis discourse analysis factor analysis factorial experiment focus group metaanalysis multivariate statistics participant observation vte educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources educational technology is the use of both physical hardware and educational theoretic it encompasses several domains including learning theory computerbased training online learning and where mobile technologies are used mlearning accordingly there are several discrete aspects to describing the intellectual and technical development of educational technology educational technology as the theory and practice of educational approaches to learning educational technology as technological tools and media for instance massive online courses that assist in the communication of knowledge and its development and exchange this is usually what people are referring to when they use the term edtech educational technology for learning management systems lms such as tools for student and curriculum management and education management information systems emis educational technology as backoffice management such as training management systems for logistics and budget management and learning record store lrs for learning data storage and analysis educational technology itself as an educational subject such courses may be called computer studies or information and communications technology ict definition the association for educational communications and technology aect defined educational technology as the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources as such educational technology refers to all valid and reliable applied education sciences such as equipment as well as processes and procedures that are derived from scientific research and in a given context may refer to theoretical algorithmic or heuristic processes it does not necessarily imply physical technology educational technology is the process of integrating technology into education in a positive manner that promotes a more diverse learning environment and a way for students to learn how to use technology as well as their common assignments related terms early 20th century abacus used in a danish elementary school educational technology is an inclusive term for both the material tools and the theoretical foundations for supporting learning and teaching educational technology is not restricted to high technology but is anything that enhances classroom learning in the utilization of blended face to face or online learning an educational technologist is someone who is trained in the field of educational technology educational technologists try to analyze design develop implement and evaluate process and tools to enhance learning as well as canada modern electronic educational technology is an important part of society today internetbased training ibt flexible learning webbased training wbt online education digital educational collaboration distributed learning computermediated communication cyberlearning and multimodal instruction virtual education personal learning environments networked learning virtual learning environments vle which are also called learning platforms mlearning ubiquitous learning and digital education each of these numerous terms has had its advocates who point up potential distinctive features in practice as technology has advanced the particular narrowly defined terminological aspect that was initially emphasized by name has blended into the general field of educational technology educational content pervasively embedded in objects is all around the learner who may not even be conscious of the learning process history educational software 19th century classroom auckland helping people and children learn in ways that are easier faster more accurate or less expensive can be traced back to the emergence of very early tools such as paintings on cave walls with the introduction of educational films 1900s and sidney presseys mechanical teaching machines 1920s the first all multiple choice largescale assessment was the army alpha used to assess the intelligence and more specifically the aptitudes of world war i military recruits further largescale use of technologies was employed in training soldiers during and after wwii using films and other mediated materials such as overhead projectors the concept of hypertext is traced to the description of memex by vannevar bush in 1945 cuisenaire rods slide projectors were widely used during the 1950s in educational institutional settings cuisenaire rods were devised in the 1920s and saw widespread use from the late 1950s in the mid 1960s stanford university psychology professors patrick suppes and richard c atkinson experimented with using computers to teach arithmetic and spelling via teletypes to elementary school students in the palo alto unified school district in california stanfords education program for gifted youth is descended from those early experiments online education originated from the university of illinois in 1960 although internet would not be created for another nine years students were able to access class information with linked computer terminals the first online course was offered in 1986 by the electronic university network for dos and commodore 64 computers computer assisted learning eventually offered the first online courses with real interaction in 2002 mit began providing online classes free of charge as of 2009 multimedia space moldova alliance franaise in 1971 ivan illich published a hugely influential book called deschooling society in which he envisioned learning webs as a model for people to network the learning they needed the 1970s and 1980s saw notable contributions in computerbased learning by murray turoff and starr roxanne hiltz at the new jersey institute of technology 197377 and the microelectronics education programme 198086 by the mid1980s accessing course content became possible at many college libraries in computerbased training cbt or computerbased learning cbl the learning interaction was between the student and computer drills or microworld simulations digitized communication and networking in education started in the mid1980s educational institutions began to take advantage of the new medium by offering distance learning courses using computer networking for information early elearning systems based on computerbased learningtraining often replicated autocratic teaching styles whereby the role of the elearning system was assumed to be for transferring knowledge as opposed to systems developed later based on computer supported collaborative learning cscl which encouraged the shared development of knowledge videoconferencing was an important forerunner to the educational technologies known today this work was especially popular with museum education even in recent years videoconferencing has risen in popularity to reach over 20000 students across the united states and canada in 20082009 disadvantages of this form of educational technology are readily apparent image and sound quality is often grainy or pixelated videoconferencing requires setting up a type of minitelevision studio within the museum for broadcast space becomes an issue and specialised equipment is required for both the provider and the participant the open university in britain put heavy emphasis on the use of learning networks with the advent of world wide web in the 1990s teachers embarked on the method using emerging technologies to employ multiobject oriented sites which are textbased online virtual reality systems to create course websites along with simple sets of instructions for its students by 1994 the first online high school had been founded in 1997 graziadei described criteria for evaluating products and developing technologybased courses that include being portable replicable scalable affordable and having a high probability of longterm costeffectiveness improved internet functionality enabled new schemes of communication with multimedia or webcams the national center for education statistics estimate the number of k12 students enrolled in online distance learning programs increased by 65 percent from 2002 to 2005 with greater flexibility ease of communication between teacher and student and quick lecture and assignment feedback according to a 2008 study conducted by the us department of education during the 20062007 academic year about 66 of postsecondary public and private schools participating in student financial aid programs offered some distance learning courses records show 77 of enrollment in forcredit courses with an online component computermediated communication cmc is between learners and instructors mediated by the computer in contrast cbtcbl usually means individualized selfstudy learning while cmc involves educatortutor facilitation and requires scenarization of flexible learning activities in addition modern ict provides education with tools for sustaining learning communities and associated knowledge management tasks students growing up in this digital age have extensive exposure to a variety of media 2015 was the first year that private nonprofit organizations enrolled more online students than forprofits although public universities still enrolled the highest number of online students in the fall of 2015 more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course theory educational psychology elearning theory learning theory education and educational philosophies various pedagogical perspectives or learning theories may be considered in designing and interacting with educational technology elearning theory examines these approaches these theoretical perspectives are grouped into three main theoretical schools or philosophical frameworks behaviorism cognitivism and constructivism behaviorism this theoretical framework was developed in the early 20th century based on animal learning experiments by ivan pavlov edward thorndike edward c tolman clark l hull and bf skinner many psychologists used these results to develop theories of human learning but modern educators generally see behaviorism as one aspect of a holistic synthesis teaching in behaviorism has been linked to training emphasizing the animal learning experiments since behaviorism consists of the view of teaching people how to do something with rewards and punishments it is related to training people bf skinner wrote extensively on improvements of teaching based on his functional analysis of verbal behavior an attempt to dispel the myths underlying contemporary education as well as promote his system he called programmed instruction ogden lindsley developed a learning system named celeration that was based on behavior analysis but that substantially differed from kellers and skinners models cognitivism cognitive science underwent significant change in the 1960s and 1970s while retaining the empirical framework of behaviorism cognitive psychology theories look beyond behavior to explain brainbased learning by considering how human memory works to promote learning the atkinsonshiffrin memory model and baddeleys working memory model were established as theoretical frameworks computer science and information technology have had a major influence on cognitive science theory the cognitive concepts of working memory formerly known as short term memory and long term memory have been facilitated by research and technology from the field of computer science another major influence on the field of cognitive science is noam chomsky today researchers are concentrating on topics like cognitive load information processing and media psychology these theoretical perspectives influence instructional design constructivism educational psychologists distinguish between several types of constructivism individual or psychological constructivism such as piagets theory of cognitive development and social constructivism this form of constructivism has a primary focus on how learners construct their own meaning from new information as they interact with reality and with other learners who bring different perspectives constructivist learning environments require students to use their prior knowledge and experiences to formulate new related andor adaptive concepts in learning termos 2012 from a constructivist approach the research works on the human learning process as a complex adaptive system developed by peter belohlavek showed that it is the concept that the individual has that drives the accommodation process to assimilate new knowledge in the longterm memory defining learning as an intrinsically freedomoriented and active process practice see also instructional design the extent to which elearning assists or replaces other learning and teaching approaches is variable ranging on a continuum from none to fully online distance learning synchronous and asynchronous elearning may either be synchronous or asynchronous synchronous learning occurs in realtime with all participants interacting at the same time while asynchronous learning is selfpaced and allows participants to engage in the exchange of ideas or information without the dependency of other participants involvement at the same time synchronous learning refers to the exchange of ideas and information with one or more participants during the same period examples are facetoface discussion online realtime live teacher instruction and feedback skype conversations and chat rooms or virtual classrooms where everyone is online and working collaboratively at the same time since students are working collaboratively synchronized learning helps students become more open minded because they have to actively listen and learn from their peers synchronized learning fosters online awareness and improves many students writing skills asynchronous learning may use technologies such as learning management systems email blogs wikis and discussion boards as well as websupported textbooks in asynchronous online courses students proceed at their own pace if they need to listen to a lecture a second time or think about a question for a while they may do so without fearing that they will hold back the rest of the class through online courses students can earn their diplomas more quickly or repeat failed courses without the embarrassment of being in a class with younger students students have access to an incredible variety of enrichment courses in online learning and can participate in college courses internships sports or work and still graduate with their class linear learning computerbased training cbt refers to selfpaced learning activities delivered on a computer or handheld device such as a tablet or smartphone cbt initially delivered content via cdrom and typically presented content linearly much like reading an online book or manual for this reason cbt is often used to teach static processes such as using software or completing mathematical equations computerbased training is conceptually similar to webbased training wbt which are delivered via internet using a web browser assessing learning in a cbt is often by assessments that can be easily scored by a computer such as multiple choice questions draganddrop radio button simulation or other interactive means assessments are easily scored and recorded via online software providing immediate enduser feedback and completion status users are often able to print completion records in the form of certificates cbts provide learning stimulus beyond traditional learning methodology from textbook manual or classroombased instruction cbts can be a good alternative to printed learning materials since rich media including videos or animations can be embedded to enhance the learning help cbts pose some learning challenges typically the creation of effective cbts requires enormous resources the software for developing cbts is often more complex than a subject matter expert or teacher is able to use the lack of human interaction can limit both the type of content that can be presented and the type of assessment that can be performed and may need supplementation with online discussion or other interactive elements collaborative learning computersupported collaborative learning computersupported collaborative learning cscl uses instructional methods designed to encourage or require students to work together on learning tasks allowing social learning cscl is similar in concept to the terminology elearning 20 social networks have been used to foster online learning communities around subjects as diverse as test preparation and language education mobileassisted language learning mall is the use of handheld computers or cell phones to assist in language learning collaborative apps allow students and teachers to interact while studying apps are designed after games which provide a fun way to revise when the experience is enjoyable the students become more engaged games also usually come with a sense of progression which can help keep students motivated and consistent while trying to improve classroom 20 refers to online multiuser virtual environments muves that connect schools across geographical frontiers known as etwinning computersupported collaborative learning cscl allows learners in one school to communicate with learners in another that they would not get to know otherwise and cultural integration further many researchers distinguish between collaborative and cooperative approaches to group learning for example roschelle and teasley 1995 argue that cooperation is accomplished by the division of labour among participants as an activity where each person is responsible for a portion of the problem solving in contrast with collaboration that involves the mutual engagement of participants in a coordinated effort to solve the problem together flipped classroom flipped classroom this is an instructional strategy in which computerassisted teaching is integrated with classroom instruction students are given basic essential instruction such as lectures before class instead of during class instructional content is delivered outside of the classroom often online this frees up classroom time for teachers to more actively engage with learners media a 25m teaching slide rule compared to a normal sized model educational media and tools can be used for task structuring support help with how to do a task procedures and processes access to knowledge bases help user find information needed alternate forms of knowledge representation multiple representations of knowledge eg video audio text image data numerous types of physical technology are currently used digital cameras video cameras interactive whiteboard tools document cameras electronic media and lcd projectors combinations of these techniques include blogs collaborative software eportfolios and virtual classrooms the current design of this type of applications includes the evaluation through tools of cognitive analysis that allow to identify which elements optimize the use of these platforms audio and video radio offers a synchronous educational vehicle while streaming audio over the internet with webcasts and podcasts can be asynchronous classroom microphones often wireless can enable learners and educators to interact more clearly video technology computers tablets and mobile devices teaching and learning online collaborative learning is a groupbased learning approach in which learners are mutually engaged in a coordinated fashion to achieve a learning goal or complete a learning task with recent developments in smartphone technology the processing powers and storage capabilities of modern mobiles allow for advanced development and use of apps many app developers and education experts have been exploring smartphone and tablet apps as a medium for collaborative learning computers and tablets enable learners and educators to access websites as well as applications many mobile devices support mlearning mobile devices such as clickers and smartphones can be used for interactive audience response feedback such devices as ipads are used for helping disabled visually impaired or with multiple disabilities children in communication development as well as in improving physiological activity according to the istimulation practice report social networks further information social media in education group webpages blogs wikis and twitter allow learners and educators to post thoughts ideas and comments on a website in an interactive learning environment webcams webcams and webcasting have enabled creation of virtual classrooms and virtual learning environment webcams are also being used to counter plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty that might occur in an elearning environment combination whiteboard and bulletin board whiteboards whiteboard and interactive whiteboard interactive whiteboard in 2007there are three types of whiteboards screencasting screencasting allows users to share their screens directly from their browser and make the video available online so that other viewers can stream the video directly the presenter thus has the ability to show their ideas and flow of thoughts rather than simply explain them as simple text content in combination with audio and video the educator can mimic the oneonone experience of the classroom learners have an ability to pause and rewind to review at their own pace something a classroom cannot always offer virtual classroom virtual learning environment and muve a virtual learning environment vle also known as a learning platform simulates a virtual classroom or meetings by simultaneously mixing several communication technologies web conferencing software enables students and instructors to communicate with each other via webcam microphone and realtime chatting in a group setting participants can raise hands answer polls or take tests students are able to whiteboard and screencast when given rights by the instructor who sets permission levels for text notes microphone rights and mouse control a virtual classroom provides the opportunity for students to receive direct instruction from a qualified teacher in an interactive environment learners can have direct and immediate access to their instructor for instant feedback and direction the virtual classroom provides a structured schedule of classes which can be helpful for students who may find the freedom of asynchronous learning to be overwhelming in addition the virtual classroom provides a social learning environment that replicates the traditional brick and mortar classroom most virtual classroom applications provide a recording feature each class is recorded and stored on a server which allows for instant playback of any class over the course of the school year this can be extremely useful for students to retrieve missed material or review concepts for an upcoming exam parents and auditors have the conceptual ability to monitor any classroom to ensure that they are satisfied with the education the learner is receiving in higher education especially a virtual learning environment vle is sometimes combined with a management information system mis to create a managed learning environment in which all aspects of a course are handled through a consistent user interface throughout the institution physical universities and newer onlineonly colleges offer select academic degrees and certificate programs via the internet some programs require students to attend some campus classes or orientations but many are delivered completely online several universities offer online student support services such as online advising and registration ecounseling online textbook purchases student governments and student newspapers augmented reality ar provides students and teachers the opportunity to create layers of digital information that includes both virtual world and real world elements to interact with in real time there are already a variety of apps which offer a lot of variations and possibilities media psychology involves the application of theories in psychology to media and is a growing specialty in learning and educational technology learning management system learning management system a learning management system lms is software used for delivering tracking and managing training and education it tracks data about attendance time on task and student progress educators can post announcements grade assignments check on course activity and participate in class discussions students can submit their work read and respond to discussion questions and take quizzes internetbased learning management systems include canvas blackboard inc and moodle these types of lms allow educators to run a learning system partially or fully online asynchronously or synchronously learning management systems also offer a nonlinear presentation of content and curricular goals giving students the choice of pace and order of information learned eliademy is a free cloudbased course management system that provides blended learning opportunities as well as platforms for distance learning courses learning content management system a learning content management system lcms is software for author content courses reusable content objects an lcms may be solely dedicated to producing and publishing content that is hosted on an lms or it can host the content itself the aviation industry computerbased training committee aicc specification provides support for content that is hosted separately from the lms a recent trend in lcmss is to address this issue through crowdsourcing cfslidewiki computeraided assessment computeraided assessment eassessment ranges from automated multiplechoice tests to more sophisticated systems with some systems feedback can be geared towards a students specific mistakes or the computer can navigate the student through a series of questions adapting to what the student appears to have learned or not learned formative assessment sifts out the incorrect answers and these questions are then explained by the teacher the learner then practices with slight variations of the sifted out questions the process is completed by summative assessment using a new set of questions that only cover the topics previously taught electronic performance support system an electronic performance support system epss is according to barry raybould a computerbased system that improves worker productivity by providing onthejob access to integrated information advice and learning experiences training management system a training management system or training resource management system is a software designed to optimize instructorled training management similar to an enterprise resource planning erp it is a back office tool which aims at streamlining every aspect of the training process planning training plan and budget forecasting logistics scheduling and resource management financials cost tracking profitability reporting and sales forprofit training providers a training management system can be used to schedule instructors venues and equipment through graphical agendas optimize resource utilization create a training plan and track remaining budgets generate reports and share data between different teams while training management systems focus on managing instructorled training they can complete an lms in this situation an lms will manage elearning delivery and assessment while a training management system will manage ilt and backoffice budget planning logistic and reporting learning objects learning object content content and design architecture issues include pedagogy and learning object reuse one approach looks at five aspects fact unique data eg symbols for excel formula or the parts that make up a learning objective concept a category that includes multiple examples eg excel formulas or the various typestheories of instructional design process a flow of events or activities eg how a spreadsheet works or the five phases in addie procedure stepbystep task eg entering a formula into a spreadsheet or the steps that should be followed within a phase in addie strategic principle task performed by adapting guidelines eg doing a financial projection in a spreadsheet or using a framework for designing learning environments pedagogical elements pedagogical elements are defined as structures or units of educational material they are the educational content that is to be delivered these units are independent of format meaning that although the unit may be delivered in various ways the pedagogical structures themselves are not the textbook web page video conference podcast lesson assignment multiple choice question quiz discussion group or a case study all of which are possible methods of delivery learning objects standards much effort has been put into the technical reuse of electronically based teaching materials and in particular creating or reusing learning objects these are selfcontained units that are properly tagged with keywords or other metadata and often stored in an xml file format creating a course requires putting together a sequence of learning objects there are both proprietary and open noncommercial and commercial peerreviewed repositories of learning objects such as the merlot repository sharable content object reference model scorm is a collection of standards and specifications that applies to certain webbased elearning other specifications such as schools framework allow for the transporting of learning objects or for categorizing metadata lom settings preschool various forms of electronic media can be a feature of preschool life the age when a given child might start using a particular technology such as a cellphone or computer might depend on matching a technological resource to the recipients developmental capabilities such as the ageanticipated stages labeled by swiss psychologist jean piaget at the preschool level technology can be introduced in several ways at the most basic is the use of computers tablets and audio and video resources in classrooms k12 teacher showing primary school students how to work a program at a primary school in santa fe mexico city elearning is utilized by public k12 schools in the united states as well as private schools some elearning environments take place in a traditional classroom others allow students to attend classes from home or other locations there are several states that are utilizing virtual school platforms for elearning across the country that continue to increase virtual school enables students to log into synchronous learning or asynchronous learning courses anywhere there is an internet connection elearning is increasingly being utilized by students who may not want to go to traditional brick and mortar schools due to severe allergies or other medical issues fear of school violence and school bullying and students whose parents would like to homeschool but do not feel qualified elearning also has been rising as a supplement to the traditional classroom students with special talents or interests outside of the available curricula use elearning to advance their skills or exceed grade restrictions some online institutions connect students with instructors via web conference technology to form a digital classroom national private schools are also available online these provide the benefits of elearning to students in states where charter online schools are not available they also may allow students greater flexibility and exemption from state testing some of these schools are available at the high school level and offer college prep courses to students virtual education in k12 schooling often refers to virtual schools and in higher education to virtual universities virtual schools are cybercharter schools higher education online learning in higher education online college course enrollment has seen a 29 increase in enrollment with nearly one third of all college students or an estimated 67 million students are currently enrolled in online classes although a large proportion of forprofit higher education institutions now offer online classes only about half of private nonprofit schools do so private institutions may become more involved with online presentations as the costs decrease properly trained staff must also be hired to work with students online although massive open online courses moocs may have limitations that preclude them from fully replacing college education corporate and professional companies with spread out distribution chains use elearning for staff training and development and to bring customers information about the latest product developments continuing professional development cpd can deliver regulatory compliance updates and staff development of valuable workplace skills for effectiveness and competitive learning performance scoring systems are designed to give live feedback on decisionmaking in complex mobile learning scenarios public health there is an important need for recent reliable and highquality health information to be made available to the public as well as in summarized form for public health providers in low and middle income countries mhealth is most frequently used as oneway text messages or phone reminders to promote treatment adherence and gather data adhd there has also been a growing interest in elearning as a beneficial educational method for students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder adhd with the growing popularity in elearning among k12 and higher education the opportunity to take online classes is becoming increasingly important for students of all ages wolf lists 12 executive function skills necessary for students to succeed in postsecondary education plan set goals organize initiate sustain attentioneffort flexibility monitor use feedback structure manage time manage materials and follow through some have noted that current elearning models are moving towards applying a constructivism learning theory despite the limitations students with special needs including adhd have expressed an overall enthusiasm for elearning and have identified a number elearning benefits including availability of online course notes materials and additional resources the ability to work at an independent pace and spend extra time formulating thoughtful responses in class discussions help in understanding course lecturecontent ability to review lectures multiple times and enhanced access to and communication with the course instructor disabilities the design of elearning platforms in ways that enable universal access has received attention from several directions including the world wide web consortiums web accessibility initiative wai wai provides universal formatting standards for websites so they can remain accessible to people with disabilities for example developing or adopting elearning material can enable accessibility for people with visual impairment online education may appear to be a promising alternative for students with physical and sensory disabilities because they get to work at their own pace and in their own home however not all online programs are equal when it comes to their resources for students with disabilities students with disabilities who wish to enroll in online education must either be able to advocate for themselves and their own rights or have a person who is willing to advocate for them the american with disabilities act states that online programs must provide appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities but has not specifically defined what that means once students with disabilities are accepted into an online program they should prepare to be direct and open about what they need to succeed experts say haynie identity options educational technology particularly in online learning environments can allow students to use real identity pseudonym or anonymous identity during classroom communication advantages in anonymizing race age and gender are increased student participation benefits effective technology use deploys multiple evidencebased strategies concurrently eg adaptive content frequent testing immediate feedback etc as do effective teachers modern educational technology can improve access to education including full degree programs although some aspects of a classroom setting are missed by using these resources they are helpful tools to add additional support to the educational system the necessity to pay for transport to the educational facility is removed students appreciate the convenience of elearning but report greater engagement in facetoface learning environments according to james kulik who studies the effectiveness of computers used for instruction students usually learn more in less time when receiving computerbased instruction and they like classes more and develop more positive attitudes toward computers in computerbased classes students can independently solve problems in addition attitudes toward technology as a learning tool by parents students and teachers are also improved employers acceptance of online education has risen over time the use of educational apps generally has positive effect on learning pre and post tests reveal that the use of apps on mobile devices reduces the achievement gap between struggling and average students some educational apps improve group work by allowing students to receive feedback on answers and promoting collaboration in solving problems examples of these apps can be found in the third paragraph the benefits of appassisted learning have been exhibited in all age groups kindergarten students that use ipads show much higher rates of literacy than nonusers medical students at university of california irvine that utilized ipad academically have been reported to score 23 higher on national exams than previous classes that did not disadvantages many us states spend large sums of money on technology however as of 2013 new technologies are frequently accompanied by unrealistic hype and promise regarding their transformative power to change education for the better or in allowing better educational opportunities to reach the masses examples include silent film broadcast radio and television none of which have maintained much of a foothold in the daily practices of mainstream formal education according to branford et al technology does not guarantee effective learning and inappropriate use of technology can even hinder it adaptive instructional materials tailor questions to each students ability and calculate their scores but this encourages students to work individually rather than socially or collaboratively kruse 2013 social relationships are important but hightech environments may compromise the balance of trust care and respect between teacher and student massively open online courses moocs although quite popular in discussions of technology and education in developed countries more so in us are not a major concern in most developing or lowincome countries one of the stated goals of moocs is to provide less fortunate populations ie in developing countries an opportunity to experience courses with usstyle content and structure however research shows only 3 of the registrants are from lowincome countries and although many courses have thousands of registered students only 510 of them complete the course with the internet and social media using educational apps makes the students highly susceptible to distraction and sidetracking even though proper use has shown to increase student performances being distracted would be detrimental another disadvantage is increased potential for cheating smartphones can be very easy to hide and use inconspicuously especially if their use is normalized in the classroom these disadvantages can be managed with strict rules and regulations on mobile phone use overstimulation electronic devices such as cellphones and computers facilitate rapid access to a stream of sources each of which may receive cursory attention michel rich an associate professor at harvard medical school and executive director of the center on media and child health in boston said of the digital generation their brains are rewarded not for staying on task but for jumping to the next thing the worry is were raising a generation of kids in front of screens whose brains are going to be wired differently technology is rapidly and profoundly altering our brains media psychology is an emerging specialty field that embraces electronic devices and the sensory behaviors occurring from the use of educational technology in learning sociocultural criticism according to lai the learning environment is a complex system where the interplay and interactions of many things impact the outcome of learning leo marx considered the word technology itself as problematicix39 these critiques would have us ask not how do we maximize the role or advancement of technology in education but rather what are the social and human consequences of adopting any particular technology winner viewed technology as a form of life that not only aids human activity but that also represents a powerful force in reshaping that activity and its meaningix39 for example the use of robots in the industrial workplace may increase productivity but they also radically change the process of production itself thereby redefining what is meant by work in such a setting in education standardized testing has arguably redefined the notions of learning and assessment we rarely explicitly reflect on how strange a notion it is that a number between say 0 and 100 could accurately reflect a persons knowledge about the world according to winner the recurring patterns in everyday life tend to become an unconscious process that we learn to take for granted winner writes by far the greatest latitude of choice exists the very first time a particular instrument system or technique is introduced because choices tend to become strongly fixed in material equipment economic investment and social habit the original flexibility vanishes for all practical purposes once the initial commitments are made in that sense technological innovations are similar to legislative acts or political foundings that establish a framework for public order that will endure over many generations p 29 when adopting new technologies there may be one best chance to get it right seymour papert p32 points out a good example of a bad choice that has become strongly fixed in social habit and material equipment our choice to use the qwerty keyboard the qwerty arrangement of letters on the keyboard was originally chosen not because it was the most efficient for typing but because early typewriters were prone to jam when adjacent keys were struck in quick succession now that typing has become a digital process this is no longer an issue but the qwerty arrangement lives on as a social habit one that is very difficult to change neil postman endorsed the notion that technology impacts human cultures including the culture of classrooms and that this is a consideration even more important than considering the efficiency of a new technology as a tool for teaching regarding the computers impact on education postman writes p19 what we need to consider about the computer has nothing to do with its efficiency as a teaching tool we need to know in what ways it is altering our conception of learning and how in conjunction with television it undermines the old idea of schoolthere is an assumption that technology is inherently interesting so it must be helpful in education based on research by daniel willingham that is not always the case he argues that it does not necessarily matter what the technological medium is but whether or not the content is engaging and utilizes the medium in a beneficial way digital divide digital divide the concept of the digital divide is a gap between those who have access to digital technologies and those who do not data protection according to a report by the electronic frontier foundation large amounts of personal data on children is collected by electronic devices that are distributed in schools in the united states often far more information than necessary is collected uploaded and stored indefinitely aside name and date of birth this information can include the childs browsing history search terms location data contact lists as well as behavioral information7 teacher training since technology is not the end goal of education but rather a means by which it can be accomplished educators must have a good grasp of the technology and its advantages and disadvantages teacher training aims for effective integration of classroom technology the evolving nature of technology may unsettle teachers who may experience themselves as perpetual novices according to jenkins rather than dealing with each technology in isolation we would do better to take an ecological approach thinking about the interrelationship among different communication technologies the cultural communities that grow up around them and the activities they support assessment educational assessment and electronic assessment there are two distinct issues of assessment the assessment of educational technology assessments of educational technology have included the follow through project educational assessment with technology may be either formative assessment or summative assessment instructors use both types of assessment to understand student progress and learning in the classroom technology has helped teachers create better assessments to help understand where students who are having trouble with the material are having issues formative assessment is more difficult as the perfect form is ongoing and allows the students to show their learning in different ways depending on their learning styles technology has helped some teachers make their formative assessments better particularly through the use of classroom response systems crs summative assessments are more common in classrooms and are usually set up to be more easily graded as they take the form of tests or projects with specific grading schemes one huge benefit to techbased testing is the option to give students immediate feedback on their answers when students get these responses they are able to know how they are doing in the class which can help push them to improve or give them confidence that they are doing well teachers can also use technology to post graded assessments online for students to have a better idea of what a good project is electronic assessment uses information technology it encompasses several potential applications which may be teacher or student oriented including educational assessment throughout the continuum of learning such as computerized classification testing computerized adaptive testing student testing and grading an exam emarking is an examiner led activity closely related to other eassessment activities such as etesting or elearning which are student led emarking allows markers to mark a scanned script or online response on a computer screen rather than on paper there are no restrictions to the types of tests that can use emarking with emarking applications designed to accommodate multiple choice written and even video submissions for performance examinations emarking software is used by individual educational institutions and can also be rolled out to the participating schools of awarding exam organisations emarking has been used to mark many well known high stakes examinations which in the united kingdom include a levels and gcse exams and in the us includes the sat test for college admissions ofqual reports that emarking is the main type of marking used for general qualifications in the united kingdom in 2014 the scottish qualifications authority sqa announced that most of the national 5 question papers would be emarked in june 2015 the odisha state government in india announced that it planned to use emarking for all plus ii papers from 2016 analytics the importance of selfassessment through tools made available on educational technology platforms has been growing selfassessment in education technology relies on students analyzing their strengths weaknesses and areas where improvement is possible to set realistic goals in learning improve their educational performances and track their progress one of the unique tools for selfassessment made possible by education technology is analytics analytics is data gathered on the students activities on the learning platform drawn into meaningful patterns that leads to a valid conclusion usually through the medium of data visualization such as graphs expenditure the five key sectors of the elearning industry are consulting content technologies services and support19 careers educational technologist and educational psychologist educational technologists and psychologists apply basic educational and psychological research into an evidencebased applied science or a technology of learning or instruction in research these professions typically require a graduate degree masters doctorate phd or dphil in a field related to educational psychology educational media experimental psychology cognitive psychology or more purely in the fields of educational instructional or human performance technology or instructional design in industry educational technology is utilized to train students and employees by a wide range of learning and communication practitioners including instructional designers technical trainers technical communication and professional communication specialists technical writers and of course primary school and college teachers of all levels the transformation of educational technology from a cottage industry to a profession is discussed by shurville et al education portal addie model andes physics tutor andragogy heutagogy assistive technology blended learning computerized adaptive testing computers in the classroom content management system distance education eassessment elearning theory educational animation educational psychology educational research educational technology in subsaharan africa humancomputer interaction information mapping instructional design instructional theory intelligent tutoring system interactive geometry software learning theory education mlearning matching person and technology model media psychology mind map mobile phone use in schools online credentials for learning online learning community open educational practices in australia open educational resources in canada qualifications framework qualifications frameworks for online learning scorm taecanet technological pedagogical content knowledge technology integration usability testing virtual school virtual university virtual world language learning washington county closedcircuit educational television project webbased simulation encyclopedia of educational technology a collection of short multimedia articles on a variety of topics related to the fields of instructional design and education and training published by the department of educational technology san diego state university wikibooks has a book on the topic of ict in education wikiversity has learning resources about teaching and learning online wikiversity has learning resources about educational technology media related to educational practices at wikimedia commons vtetopics in educationgeneral glossary index outline aims and objectives anthropology assessment economics evaluation history leadership philosophy policy politics psychology research rights sociology technology theory types of institutions by subject agricultural art bilingual business chemistry design economics engineering environmental euthenics health language legal mathematics medical military music nursing peace performing arts philosophy physical physics reading religious science sex teacher technology values vocational more alternative autodidacticism education reform gifted education homeschooling religious education special education more wikimedia books definitions images learning resources news quotes texts vtestages of 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