The rise of technology within the education sector over the last few decades has been astounding. This is certainly the case if we consider that teaching with technology has become pervasive in almost every classroom environment. Within today’s classroom, for example, we find ourselves surrounded by devices such as smart boards, AV, computers, laptops, tablets and phones, to name but a few technologies which are now being integrated into teaching.
We have also seen the rise of the virtual learning environment and blended learning, alongside a significant rise in online education. This has allowed distance learning to take new forms and shapes and to reach greater audiences around the world. educational technology is now a real part of education and something which, when used effectively, can make a significant impact on teaching and learning.
While it may seem inconceivable to imagine technology not being used within our classrooms today, it is important to note that the road to integrating it was not without its problems. In fact, a number of the technologies which students consider to be core to their studies today were rejected at first by a large number of academics and teachers. They preferred to use more traditional teaching methods and did not want to try something new, different and with which they were not familiar.
A further issue in the introduction of educational technology is that we frequently saw such tools being driven by technologists or IT departments who were pushing to see technology being used persuasively within the classroom, without necessarily considering their pedagogical purposes. In other words, implementing technologies simply for the sake of introducing new technologies.
What we have, therefore, learnt from these experiences is that the pedagogical perspective should drive the introduction of new technology, rather than considering the pedagogical purpose of the technology after it has already been introduced. When technology is introduced without considering its purpose we usually see the replication of traditional forms of teaching and learning using online tools.
