DIFFERENT CONCEPTS OF TECHNOLOGY

Technology as the use of gadgets, tools, or equipment to perform a task expediently and
efficiently
It is the knowing, making, modifying, and using of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, and methods of
organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a pre-existing solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an
applied input/output relation or perform a specific function.
- Students use their cell phones to communicate to their parents.
- A teacher can ask her students to inform her about their progress in the class through email.
- A student uses a printer to get a copy of his paper to be submitted to the teacher easily and neatly.
- Another student can send his paper via electronic mail to the teacher to meet the deadline for submission.

Technology as the collection of tools, including machinery, modifications, arrangements and

procedures.
This refers to reliable devices that enable one to make presentations repeatedly.
- Teachers and students show PowerPoint presentation to enhance teaching and learning.
- Digital story telling immerses the learner into the dynamics of digital communication and self-expression. It
includes a collection of photo stories and arranged sequentially to capture certain events in ones life like a
memorable field trip in a factory, celebrating the school's foundation day, and communicating through the use
of television or computer, and LCD memorable moments in a students life like graduation, school fair, and
other events.
Other Gadgets as Technology
Some people need to use washing machine, rice cooker, hair blower, electric fan, floor polisher, electric food mixers,
blenders, and grinders. Other technology-related appliances are radio, television, music player, and digital camera.

The Teacher as a Technology

The teacher facilitates learning through the use of varied instructional materials like the books, the
blackboard, magazines, newspaper, library materials and visual aids. Furthermore the teacher
creates situations through the use of a repertoire of teaching methods and strategies to facilitate
learning. All the teacher's effort and creativity in teaching are considered technology.
The teacher uses visual technology, verbal technology, sound technology, and manipulative
technology. These technologies cater to the use of the senses to enhance perception and grasp of
knowledge among students.
The teacher uses gadgets and tools to make learning fast, efficient, and effective. The teacher
uses many teachings aids such as real objects (realias), pictures, show cards, charts, bulletin
board, blackboard and chalk, handouts, workbooks, practice exercises, audio visual materials like
radio, tape recorder, tape and videotapes in introducing new lessons. The teacher develops
modules for students' learning depending upon their ability levels.
In evaluating the students, the teacher may use rating scale, scorecard , checklist, tests and
rubrics.

Assumptions about Technology

1. Technology is more than hardware. It is made up of any reliable technique or method of
engaging learning, such as cognitive learning strategies and critical thinking.
Example: The use of metaphor. If you are an insect, which insect would you like to be? Probable
answers: A firefly. Why? So I can give light to others. A butterfly. Why? So I can enjoy the colorful
wings.
2. Learning technologies can be any environment or definable set of activities that engage
learners in active, constructive, intentional, and authentic learning. Technology can be

introduced in a form of a game.

3. Technologies are not simply conveyors or communicators of meaning but the y can also serve as
resource materials for reflection and other thinking skills.
Example: The students may surf information from the computer but they should be asked to give
their own understanding by clarifying, illustrating, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing or
explaining.

The students can download researches about learning styles as well as questionnaires about
learning styles. In this case, they undertake activities as a result of downloading materials
from the computer learning styles by downloading.

4. Technologies support learning when:

They fulfill a learning need.
Example: Students can download sample rubrics to enable them to create their own rubric.
Interactions with technologies are learner-initiated and learner-controlled. Example: The
students develop PowerPoint presentation to make a clear and interesting report within a given
time limit. When slides are presented, the classmates can easily understand the ideas being
presented.
5. Interactions with the technologies are conceptually and intellectually engaging. Exampl e: The
students create diagrams to show relationships between two variables in presenting frameworks
like achievement in Algebra is significantly related to achievement in Mathematics.
6. Technologies should function as intellectual tool kits that enable learners to build more
meaningful personal interpretations and representations of the world. These tool kits must support
the intellectual functions that are required by a course of study.
Example: Computer programs like word processing, provides the user with tool kits like speller, thesaurus,
grammar checker, download of varied information, and many other tools which help the students in their
research, paper presentation, games, animation, using of colors, fonts, pictures, and desktop publishing.
7. Learners and technologies should be intellectual partners in the learning process, where cognitive
responsibility for performing is distributed to the part of the partnership that performs it the best.
Technology tools like laptop serves as a study gadget and partners of students.
Example: Many students have laptop, which serve as a technological partner in their studies. They also
make materials using the different tool kits to facilitate the preparation of schoolwork in the different
subjects of their courses.

CONCEPTS OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Educational technology as the selection, development, managing and use of appropriate

technological processes and resources.

The teacher and the learner should be able to select technologies which can help learners attain
the intended outcomes of instruction. If there are principles to be learned, experiments can be used.
For instance, in teaching the principle "acid reacts on metal, the students can use a metal container
and heat vinegar in it. Later, the students can investigate the discoloration in the metal container. The
application of this principle can be applied in keeping acidic food. For instance, fruit salads with
pineapple should never be kept in metal container because pineapple is acidic. The result will be
spoilage of the food. The process of performing the experiment is a technology.
The development of a storyboard by taking pictures using a digital camera about a ce rtain event
like a field trip to the farm is an application of technology in developing materials for presenting
stories in a class. The pictures taken can be transferred to a computer as a story is woven according
to the varied events demonstrated by the farmer.

The teacher can give modules to the students to work on their own during important meetings held
during class time. In this case, a module is a technology which enables the students to work on their
lessons in the absence of a teacher. Sometimes, modular instruc tions are downloaded from the
computer, so students can avail of it even if at home, in the library or in any place where they can
hook on line.

Educational Technology as the choice of appropriate principles in the preparation and utilization of
conventional and non-conventional technology tools as well as traditional and alternative teaching
strategies.

As application of theory and practice, Educational Technology has five domains namely, design,
development, utilization, management and evaluation of processes and resources for learning
(Association for Educational Communication and technology or AECT).

Design

Evaluation

Development

Theory
and
Practice

Management

Utilization

Five Domains of Technology

Domains
Design
Development
Utilization
Evaluation
Management

Description
Establishing a framework to guide in planning the educational
technology.
Using the design or framework, materials are produced and developed.
Implementing and using the learning materials used to enhance
knowledge and skills of learners. It is also known as the action phase.
Monitoring, assessing, and giving judgment on the extent of usefulness
of the learning material in achieving the expected outcomes.
It is applied in the implementation of all different domains and its effect
on the outcome of learning.

DOMAINS OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Domain 1 Design
The theory and practice of design includes Instructional System Design, (I instructional strategies,
and learners characteristics.
Technology is based on a theory. Theories are results of experts stu dies. Technology utilizes

theories to build or develop tools and gadgets. The most re theory to technology is constructivism,
Here are some reasons why constructivism facilitates knowledge construction:
1. Constructivism provides representation of reality. Designing programs can be meaningful if
the learner experienced the activities which are familiar and rea l. The senses are involved in
its use and the activities designed are built on the learners past experiences. Example is
answering exercises about experiments which the learner underwent. Law of gravity can be
publicized by dropping two objects (one light weighed and one is heavy). The learner can
answer the following questions: Which object reached the ground faster? Which of the objects
reached the ground slower? What is the time difference after each object touched the ground?
2. Constructivism represents the natural complexity of the real world
Design the life cycle of a butterfly starting from a worm to a full blown butterfly. The students
may be asked to show the stages by taking pictures through a digital camera. Later when the
cycle is completed, a story can be written using the computer and downloading the story in a
PowerPoint presentation.
3. Constructivism represents authentic tasks which focus on contextualizing rather than
abstracting. The teacher can design evaluation tools with the use of samples for very well made cell phone holder made from beads, satisfactory made cell-phone holder from beads,
and poorly-made cell-phone holder out of beads. Upon finishing the project, the students can
rate their works by comparing it with the evaluation samples. The design of the evaluation
instrument is a technology.
4. Constructivism provides real world case-based learning environments rather than predetermined instructional events. The constructivist uses technology from past experiences
and knowledge to come up with something new and unique. An example is the experience
from the real-world of keeping oneself healthy through proper nutrition in preparing vegetable
like leafy green malunggay leaves into varied recipes like malunggay juice, malunggay ice
cream, and malunggay okoy.
5. Constructivism fosters reflective practice. The teacher can request the students to create
scenarios of their learning experiences on the teacher's way of motivation. They can be asked
to write reflective journals about the motivation applied by the teacher and react on the extent
of its effectiveness using their own opinion. Motivation is a form of technology.
6. Constructivism promotes context and content. Context and content are the bases of
student's reflection and understanding about the lesson. The teacher designs situations where
the students recall the context and content of certain issues or events which the students have
experienced watching or hearing. For instance, the context of an erupting volcano will have an
adverse effect on the lives and crops of the people. Likewise, the students can write their
reflections about this event. The content of the volcanos lava will surely be harmful to the
people living near the volcano but the people prefer to stay in their houses. Some social
negotiations for the collaborative effort to convince the people to vacate the area can be
offshoots of students' ideas on how to conduct collaborative construction of knowledge through
social negotiations. Here, social negotiation is a form of technology.
Practice is repeated action in applying a particular theory. It promotes continuous im plementation
or use of a particular gadget, tool, or activity. Through continuous practice, mastery eventually takes
place
Technology starts with design which includes Instructional System Design, (ISD), Instructional
strategies, and learners characteristics. ISD provides a framework to guide the program designer.
Just like a tailor, a pattern is necessary in sewing well -fitted pants for the customer. A recipe is
needed to yield a good dish to be served as meals. A teaching guide will help the teachers use a
textbook effectively.
In designing technology, instructional strategies follow the identification of the instructional
design. The strategies might involve single learner or group of learners. It may also include the
teaching method like direct or indirect teaching.
Computer games frequently involve one or two players. Usually, tutorial programs involve one

player.
Another factor in designing instructional strategies is knowledge of the characteristics of the
learner, their interests and needs. A simple teaching program design is created for beginners while a
more complicated one is made for older mature learners. Visual aids are also designed based on the
age level of the learners. Teenagers and early adolescents enjoy adventure, and adult images rather
than characters well-loved by young children.
Digital storytelling will be interesting to learners who are fond of using digital camera, composing
and documenting events, like class field trips, school fair, and other school celebrations. Technology
gadgets like cell phone, i-pod, laptops and others are specially designed for students who are fond of
music, dances, movies, and films.

Domain 2 Development
The theory and practice of development of educational technology includes print technologies,
audio technologies, still visuals, audio-visual technologies, information and communication
technologies, electronic technologies, and integrated technologies.
Development of print technologies in the computer focuses on the senses. The varied media
corresponds to the senses in the formation of insights and perceptions. Technologies related to
printed materials cater to the sense of sight and the reading skills.
In using the computer, varied fonts, clip arts and colored figures are available to suit the artistic
skill of the user.
Audio technologies are provided to accompany presentations that cater to the sense of hearing.
Religious songs and the National Anthem are available for the opening of the program and songs for
ice breakers are available.
Other technologies under development are still visuals and audio visuals to make presentations
interesting and appealing to the senses.

Domain 3 Utilization
The theory and practice on utilization of educational technology includes media utilization,
implementation, institutionalization and policies and regulation.
Technology is the phase where learning materials are considered, implemented and used in actual
teaching and learning activities. After realizing the merit of the material, then it is institutionalized and
the policies, and regulations are set about its use, replication, and documentation.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and other materials can be taken from the
computer through surfing, paraphrasing, cutting and pasting. These materials can be sent or recorded
through electronic technologies like the electronic mail and integrated technologies through social
media like Facebook, Twitter, and others.

Domain 4 Management
The theory and practice on management of educational technology includes project management,
resources management, management of delivery and diffusion of innovation. Management of the
project starts when the materials are designed, management is undertaken during the material
development, and utilization up to monitoring and evaluation of the usefulness and worth of the
materials. It ensures management of resources and delivery systems. Management also inclu des the
use of computer laboratory, checking of electrical connections, and sharing of the materials among
the teachers and staff of the school.

Domain 5 Evaluation
The theory and practice of evaluation of educational technology includes problem analysis,
measurement, formative evaluation, and summative evaluation.
This phase shows the different processes involved in judging the worth of the materials produced.
The teacher and students use a variety of evaluation instruments depending on the skill or knowledge
being evaluated like paper-and-pencil test for knowledge, an attitude scale for attitude and feelings,

and performance test for skills. The teacher also uses rubrics, checklist, rating scale, and authentic
assessments.
A software is available to evaluate the finished learning materials. There are specifications which
may include organization, content, relevance, creativity, appropriateness, and audience impact. The
developer can also device evaluation instruments that fit well to the materials produced.
Technology Focus
The focus on integration of technology will be on facilitating and enhancing the teaching -learning
episodes undertaken by both the teachers and the students. The degree of utilization of tools and
techniques to improve student learning constitute the main concern of Educational Technology
manifested by the acquisition of the intended learning outcomes.
Technological Competence
Technological Competence refers to the ability to use with ease and confidence the equipment,
tools or gadgets mentioned above. The correct and careful use of these tools and gadgets will lead to
satisfaction of the user. Likewise, proper use will guarantee safety, good results and good product.
Well-used digital camera will lead to good pictures. Gadgets powered by electricity must be used
properly to avoid accidents and unsatisfactory products. The guiding principle in technological
competence is to master the instructions first before using the equipment, tools or gadgets.

---------------------------------------------------------------Tabbada, E. (2015) Educational Technology 1.

Adriana Publishing Co., Inc.