Impact Technology Towards Education

Specific purpose:
To give information about the technology and its impacts in the education system in Malaysia.

Central idea:
By exposing the technology environment in Malaysia, it helps to determine the advantage and disadvantages of the technology in education system and also encourage students to be an excellent person in their studies using the technology education.

1. Introduction

1.1 Education

Education can be defined as 'to draw out', facilitating realisation of self-potential and latent talents of an individual. It is an application of pedagogy, a body of theoretical and applied research relating to teaching and learning and draws on many disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, computer science, linguistics, neuroscience, sociology and anthropology.

1.2 Technology education

A typical Managed Learning Environment with a navigation menu and iconsTechnology is an increasingly influential factor in education. Computers and mobile phones are being widely used in developed countries both to complement established education practices and develop new ways of learning such as online education (a type of distance education). This gives students the opportunity to choose what they are interested in learning. The proliferation of computers also means the increase of programming and blogging. Technology offers powerful learning tools that demand new skills and understandings of students, including Multimedia literacy, and provides new ways to engage students, such as classroom management software. Technology is being used more not only in administrative duties in education but also in the instruction of students. The use of technologies such as PowerPoint and interactive whiteboard is capturing the attention of students in the classroom. Technology is also being used in the assessment of students. One example is the Audience Response System (ARS), which allows immediate feedback tests and classroom discussions.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a “diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information.” These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television), and telephony. There is increasing interest in how computers and the Internet can improve education at all levels, in both formal and non-formal settings. Older ICT technologies, such as radio and television, have for over forty years been used for open and distance learning, although print remains the cheapest, most accessible and therefore most dominant delivery mechanism in both developed and developing countries. The use of computers and the Internet is still in its infancy in developing countries, if these are used at all, due to limited infrastructure and the attendant high costs of access. Usually, various technologies are used in combination rather than as the sole delivery mechanism. For example, the Kothmale Community Radio Internet uses both radio broadcasts and computer and Internet technologies to facilitate the sharing of information and provide educational opportunities in a rural community in Sri Lanka.The Open University of the United Kingdom (UKOU), established in 1969 as the first educational institution in the world wholly dedicated to open and distance learning, still relies heavily on print-based materials supplemented by radio, television and, in recent years, online programming. Similarly, the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India combines the use of print, recorded audio and video, broadcast radio and television, and audioconferencing technologies.

1.3 Education history

A depiction of the world's oldest university, the University of Bologna, Italy

The history of education according to Dieter Lenzen, president of the Freie Universität Berlin 1994 "began either millions of years ago or at the end of 1770". Education as a science cannot be separated from the educational traditions that existed before. Education was the natural response of early civilizations to the struggle of surviving and thriving as a culture. Adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on. The evolution of culture, and human beings as a species depended on this practice of transmitting knowledge. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. Oral language developed into written symbols and letters. The depth and breadth of knowledge that could be preserved and passed soon increased exponentially. When cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond the basic skills of communicating, trading, gathering food, religious practices, etc, formal education, and schooling, eventually followed. Schooling in this sense was already in place in Egypt between 3000 and 500BC.

1.4 Primary education

Primary School in "open air".

Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842.Primary or elementary education consists of the first years of formal, structured education that occur during childhood. In most countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education (though in many jurisdictions it is permissible for parents to provide it). Primary education generally begins when children are four to eight years of age. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age (adolescence); some educational systems have separate middle schools with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, etc., schools which provide primary education are referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior schools.

1.5 Secondary education

In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education consists of the second years of formal education that occur during adolescence. It is characterised by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors to the optional, selective tertiary, "post-secondary", or "higher" education (e.g., university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period or a part of it may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these varies between the systems. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of education. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States and Canada primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for either higher education or vocational education, or to train directly to a profession.


1.6 Higher education


The University of Cambridge is an institute of higher learning.

Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage or post secondary education, often known as academia, is the non-compulsory educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, or gymnasium.
Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education (sometimes known collectively as tertiary institutions). Examples of institutions that provide post-secondary education are vocational schools, community colleges and universities in the United States, the TAFEs in Australia, CEGEPs in Quebec,and the IEKs in Greece. They are sometimes known collectively as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees. Higher education includes teaching, research and social services activities of universities, and within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school).

In the United Kingdom post-secondary education below the level of higher education is referred to as further education. Higher education in that country generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy.


2. Main Point

2.1 Types of Technology Education

A) Services

E-learning services have evolved since computers were first used in education. There is a trend to move toward blended learning services, where computer-based activities are integrated with practical or classroom-based situations.

B) Computer Based Learning

Computer Based Learning, sometimes abbreviated CBL, refers to the use of computers as a key component of the educational environment. While this can refer to the use of computers in a classroom, the term more broadly refers to a structured environment in which computers are used for teaching purposes. The concept is generally seen as being distinct from the use of computers in ways where learning is at least a peripheral element of the experience (e.g. computer games and web browsing).

C) Computer Based Training

Computer-based training (CBT) services are where a student learns by executing special training programs on a computer relating to their occupation. CBT is especially effective for training people to use computer applications because the CBT program can be integrated with the applications so that students can practice using the application as they learn. The increase in PC computing power, and especially the growing prevalence of computers equipped with CD-ROMs, is making CBT a more viable option for corporations and individuals alike. Many PC applications now come with some modest form of CBT, often called a tutorial.[citation needed] Web-based training (WBT) is a type of training that is similar to CBT; however, it is delivered over the Internet using a web browser. Web-based training frequently includes interactive methods, such as bulletin boards, chat rooms, instant messaging, videoconferencing, and discussion threads. WBT is usually a self-paced learning medium, however some systems allow for online testing and evaluation at specific times.


2.2 Advantages of Technology Education


A) Flexibility, convenience and the ability to work at any place where an internet connection is available and at one’s own pace.

E-classes are asynchronous which allows learners to participate and complete coursework in accordance with their daily commitments. This makes an E-learning education a viable option for those that have other commitments such as family or work or cannot participate easily e.g. depending on a disablility. There are also transportation cost (and time) benefits with not having to commute to and from campus.

B) Teachers became comfortable with the technology, they reported they were enjoying their work more and feeling more successful with their students.

Over time, they also reported that they interact differently with their students - more as guides or mentors and less like lecturers. In fact, their personal efforts to make technology an integral part of their classrooms caused them to rethink their most basic beliefs about education and opened them to the possibilities of redefining how they went about providing opportunities for students to learn

C) Technology offers the opportunity to change the roles that teachers and students have traditionally played.

With technology dispensing information, teachers are free to coach and facilitate students learning. With technology monitoring learning, students can become active learners, working to effectively acquire new skills as they solve problems. If the goal of creating high-performance learning organizations is to be realized, the reinvention of American education has to incorporate these new tools.

D) Technology create easiest practice of learning

Technology today has created easiest way for student to construct their learning. Technologies such as advancement in internet make them easy to find more information to settle their work. Other such as e-mail, video conferring and power point presentation are the solution for the student in make their performance in the highest level of education towards the challenges in the globalization environment.

E) Benefits to Educational Practices:

"New technologies provide the potential for drawing the policymakers themselves, information resources, and all other components of the system 'toward a politics of collaboration.'"
"Computers and telecommunication systems are driving changes in how we manage educational organizations, how we teach, and how our students learn."
"Technology: Equity is addressed by an increase in state and local funding, school-business partnerships, development of tech-based community learning centers."
"Technology-rich classrooms are most successful when advanced technologies are linked with advanced teaching strategies; such as cooperative learning, thinking skills, guided inquiry, and thematic teaching."


2.3 Disadvantages of Technology Education

A) Lack of face-to-face interaction with a teacher.

Critics of E-learning argue that the process is no longer "educational" in the highest philosophical sense (for example, as defined by RS Peters, a philosopher of education). Supporters of E-learning claim that this criticism is largely unfounded, as human interactions can readily be encouraged through audio or video-based web-conferencing programs, threaded discussion boards, of fact, many in K12 would support E-learning if it was not associated with the more extreme versions that attempt to cut out the directed teacher-student relationship.

B) There is less "teaching" when learning is happening online.

When advance in technology, teachers now are less teaching compare to the era of starting the education system. The example of this issue is such as learning without instruction from the teacher using the video conferring technology education. Student can get more information without referring to their teacher.

C) Abuse technology for education

Technology in education become not effectively if students not use the technology appropriately such playing games which is wasting their time and their assignment cannot be done. Then, students use the internet but for other purpose such chatting, porno web that resulting of their low performance.

D) Costly

It is very expensive in cost to adapt in technology education such to have personal computer or desktop, setting the internet network, buying computer for every school and more. In addition, if computer at school having a system problem, it will cause higher cost of maintenance.

3. Conclusion

In conclusion, it is depending on the person to accept the technology as the easiest way in education environment or not. Technology education has advantages and disadvantages. To eliminate disadvantages of technology education, people must know how to conduct themselves of using education technology. Many of them are not realizing that the advantages of the technology towards education are more than the disadvantages. Changing on behavior from the negative to the positive way of thinking will help them to perform the technology education according to their real task. Students should realize that the technology education actually help them to get successful performing in their leaning system. Technology such as computer, software, internet, power point, projector and more are really helping them to complete their job. Lastly, community now must appreciate the changing in technology which affects the system of education through the “Technology Education”.

4. Recommendation

1. To avoid misuse of technology education, the lecturer or the teachers should monitor their students when using internet for doing their task.

2. Even students get information from the internet for completing their job assignment; they must refer the information to their lecturer. It is important to avoid information that not related to their assignment task. It is because not all information are relevance for their learning environment such political information which influence students to change the way of their thinking. As students, they should focus on their education and not participate in any kind of political environment.





BIBLIOGRAPHY:


Technology Education. Retrieved Aug. 25, 2007, from World Wide Web: http://www.wikipedia.com/education technology/.html


Technology Education. Retrieved Aug. 25, 2007, from World Wide Web: http://www.netsupportschool.com

Technology Education. Retrieved Aug. 25, 2007, from World Wide Web: http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/tne.html


Technology Education. Retrieved Aug. 22, 2007, from World Wide Web: http://www.educationalworld.com