THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE MODERN EDUCATIVE PROCESS

The author is Teacher Fernando

RIA D. GUARTE

Technology has significantly changed and affected the educative process. It had greatly affected the way the teachers teach and the way the learners learn. Since learners are now exposed with varied information coming from the internet and many other sources, how will now the teacher compete with educating the learner. And with the higher student expectations and higher education landscapes, how will the educator nowadays do their role as mentors of the youth of this fast changing generation. The real challenge is now given to the modern educators as to how to infuse technology into the learner’s teaching learning process, thus the use of educational technologies in teaching and learning challenges the educators. If the teacher will simply combine multimedia technology in developing his/ her instructional materials to deliver the knowledge to his/her students, then this use of technology is still a traditional concept. The real challenge for educators will be how and when will be the best time to use technology into the classroom. As an educator, the 21st century teacher should be known to be a constructivist and as a constructivist, theteachershouldusetechnologytoallowhis/herlearnerstorepresent their ideas, articulate what they know, and explore, manipulate, and process information, while actively collaborating with each other. However, using technology in the classroom by itself is not effective unless the lecturer has a theory to model the instruction with. It is not what equipment is used, but how the equipment is used which makes it relevant to a constructivist classroom.

An example of this is by giving project-based learning activity that allows the learners to use software to support them in solving their problem. Computer software used as Mind tools support interactive, collaborative, and student-centered classrooms. The concept of Mind tools describes a way to use computer programs to foster critical thinking. Mind tools are computer applications that facilitate cognitive processing and engage students in critical, higher order thinking about the content. For example, the learner is responsible for recognizing and organizing patterns of information, whereas the computer performs the calculations, and stores and retrieves the information necessary to create and reflect on the patterns. In this way, the students learn with technology rather than receive information from the computer. — oOo—

I at Northville High School, City of San