Evaluation of Educational Technology and its Current Application Evaluation means considering the merits of the material used, its strengths and weaknesses as a tool for learning. It includes many aspects of consideration like size, attractiveness, relevance and economy, ease of handling, novelty and practicality. Technology is the science of the application of knowledge to practical purposes in a particular field. It means the totality of the means employed by a group of people to provide itself with the objects of material culture. Educational Technology is the development, application and evaluation of systems, techniques and aids to improve the process of human learning (Council for Educational Technology for the United Kingdom 1997).It is a systematic way of designing, implementing and evaluating the total learning and teaching process in terms of specific objectives based on research on human learning and communication and employing a combination of human and non-human resources to bring about more effective instruction (cited by Lucido, 1997) Garo (2004) also stated that educational technology is the application of the results of researches or scientific studies which may be material or non-material to improve teaching and learning. The Internet defined it as a field of study of human learning and deals with complex, integrated process involving people, procedures, ideas, devices and strategies for analyzing problems and devising solutions to those problems. Another definition which is so simple for any student to understand is the one found at URL: http://webinstituteforteachers.org/talks/jones/1.htm (cited at De La Salle University Pathfinder, 2003) which runs thus: Educational Technology is the use of tools by teachers to improve their capacity to educate students. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) refers to the use of electronic communication system which has made the sharing of information faster and more effective. ICT tools refer to the computer and its various applications like word processing, PowerPoint, excel, publisher, particularly the Internet and the E-mail. Classifications of Educational Technology Material Technology Traditional or Low-Tech Instructional Materials are the indigenous materials usually real objects or those that are made of paper and cardboards. Pictures or photographs, illustrations, drawings, cartoons, posters, graphs, charts, flash cards and maps done n paper are examples of these High-Tech Materials or the Mediated Technology includes those which are presented using media equipment or hardware. This includes the educational television, motion pictures, overhead projectors (OHP), opaque projector, slide projector and more importantly the computer and its peripherals like the LCD, printer and scanner. Non-Material Educational Technology on the other hand includes the theories, laws, principles, methods and strategies of teaching. They evolved as results of researches and studies in order to facilitate teaching and learning. More specifically, educational technology is very useful in the classroom. If properly and selected and used they can do the following: Arouse and sustain the interest and attention of the students Concretize concepts and ideas to promote meaningful learning Mae learning more permanent by providing rich experiences Provide self activities for independent learning Increase ones vocabulary by eliminating verbalism Promote continuity of thought Increase the quality of learning while decreasing the time spent Check students preparedness Make learning more interactive. Procedures in Using Specific Technology for Teaching Previewing. This step requires that the teacher should be very familiar with the technology or the material he has chosen. Effective timing refers to the phase of the lesson where the technology can best be used. Tying experiences together refers to the connection or the relatedness that should be built between and among experiences provided by various educational technologies. Re-view or Follow up. Is there a need for re-view or follow up? The question can be answered by an evaluation of the results of prior teaching. Criteria in Evaluating Educational Technology Size. The teacher must make sure that the text or the picture is seen very clearly by the farthest pupils. Relevance. The content of the educational technology must be related to the learning task on hand and the maturity level and experiences of the pupils or students. Color. Color adds life and attraction to the materials. Students and pupils are fascinated with colors especially the bright ones. The materials can be more effective if they are colorful. Economy. Cheap but properly chosen educational technology can be effective also as long as the teacher utilizes them alongside with pedagogical practices. Durability. This refers to the length of time the material can be used over and over again. Easy to handle. Is the technology light, easy to put up and manipulate? Can it be brought anywhere? Novelty. This refers to the newness and uniqueness of the material. The Synergy of Technology with Basic Learning Theories, Principles and Practices Synergy is compounded words taken from synchronize and energy which can be stated also as synchronized energy. The term is rather long though so some parts are clipped to come up with the new term, synergy. This implies that energy comes from various sources or factors which are made to act simultaneously upon a certain teaching and learning situation. This has been taken to mean that the effect of the individual factors or sources becomes more pronounced and felt if they are in operation at the same time rather than if they act singly one after the other. This is in line with Gestalt Psychology, which states that the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of aggregate parts. Synergy, as seen along teaching and learning involves the concerted effects of many factors, like methodologies and strategies of teaching, principles of teaching and learning, application of appropriate educational technology and evaluate materials which are appropriate to the content. Technology and the Development of the 21st Century Skills Digital Age Literacy Skill. This means the ability to use the computer and its various applications to search and process the information. The students should not just be mere computer literate: he/she should be fluent so as to allow him to work on the computer, particularly with ease and confidence. He should know the appropriate software to use for a particular project. Effective Communication Skill. Communication is a reciprocal influence of man which maybe face to face or thru different media. It is the sharing of information, thoughts, feelings and emotions, a process of encoding and decoding ideas and concepts. One such powerful medium is the computer and its applications. Critical Thinking Skills. This involves the higher order thinking skills like analysis, synthesis and evaluation (Blooms Taxonomy). Activities or questions must be planned so as to enable the students to transcend from low level thinking to the more advanced level. It is only when students develop a critical mind that he/she can become creative and dynamic in solving day to day problems and in coming out with innovations to promote progress. High Productivity Skills. Thru technology, teachers students can accomplish more targets because it facilitates the execution of the different learning processes such as providing information, explanation of concepts, illustrating principles, giving examples, outlining procedures, demonstrating processes, advancing arguments, highlighting points, asking questions, giving feedbacks, exchanging ideas and performing tasks. Societal Values Skills. This involves the development of favorable relationship and concern for the welfare of others. Teaching and learning must not be purely technology driven, it must still be based on the needs and problems of the learners or the students during a specific stage of their development. Basic Learning Theories vis a vis Technology Application Constructivist Theory underscored that learning is an active process where learners acquire and construct new ideas or concepts based on their past or current knowledge and experiences. Cognitive Learning Theory. This was popularized by Piaget. The term cognitive comes from the Latin word cognoscere, which means the act or process of knowing. Cognition therefore involves the higher mental processes like thinking, reasoning, judging, inferring, interpreting, classifying and the like. 2 Fundamental Characteristics of Cognitive Functioning: Organization is the systematic arranging of perceptual and cognitive information into meaningful patterns called cognitive structures. It is actually putting the information, concepts and ideas gained together and relating them into internally organized wholes. Adaptation is the process thru which the person seeks an equilibrium or balance between what he/she perceives, knows and understands. This involves assimilation, which is the process of fitting what is perceived and experienced into existing cognitive structures. Systematic Behavior Theory. According to this theory, behavior involves an interaction between stimuli in the environment and the responses which the organism makes towards the stimuli. This is the reinforcement which means that any set of condition which when applied properly reinforces learning. It states that the quantity of exposure or experiences that learners have on a particular activity can facilitate their perception and understanding of various stimuli in their environment. This is especially true if they are actively involved in all experiences. Basic Principles of Teaching and Educational Technology Principle of Active Involvement. This implies that for learning to take place, the student must be focused or engaged directly with the activity or task where he may draw knowledge, concepts, principles, attitudes, skills or habits. This is in consonance with the principle of self activity by Froebel which states that learning is the result of the activity of the child himself. The student should take an active role in the search for knowledge. Principle of Connectivity. This involves the building of relationships or linkages between and among experiences. Learning is not seen as compartmentalized or isolated concerns of the organism. This is meaningless unless a new experience is related to the existing experiences of the individual and is of use to real life situation. In fact the process of connectivity facilitates remembering of names, dates, events, issues, processes, including spelling, number combinations, grammatical relationship and formula in mathematics. Principle of Integration. This refers to the organization or putting together diverse elements to form a unified and harmonious whole. The students should be able to combine his previous experiences together in meaningful patterns of understanding and application. Principle of Intention (Motivation and Interest). Learning does not take place unless the student has a purpose or intention for undertaking the activity. He must have a clear idea as to why he must do certain activities. In other words, learning is not by accident, learning is intentionally undertaken; there is a purpose for doing the activities to bring about the desired change in the behavior of the learner. Learning becomes a personal affair because the will to learn is largely dependent upon the intensity of the learners purpose or goal. Principle of Creativity and Innovation. This refers to the ability to produce an original concept or idea and translate it to some forms of expression. When some aspects are changed to pave the way for the introduction of new aspects, the original piece is transformed to something new. Creativity is shown in this situation. Principle of Discovery. This is what psychologists term as the Aha experience. Students are elated at the thought of being able to discover by themselves the solutions to the problems related to their topics and assignments. They feel so accomplished if they are able to discover a process, a relationship or a pattern of behavior with the least assistance from their teacher. This is situation where genuine learning happens. Principle if Socialization. One very important aspect of this integration is the development of positive values and good human relationships because to live is to be with people. One pedagogical approach relevant to the use of technology to promote social skills is cooperative learning. Here the individuals are divided into small groups and together they work on certain problems or issues. Principle of Understanding. One cannot learn anything unless he/she comprehends the situation, the process, the concept, the philosophy and the meaning of the learning task or tasks. Understanding is seeing relationship, the differences and or similarities of events and processes and how they affect his life as a student. Principle of Cooperative Process. Learning is more impressive if the students or the pupils share in planning and organizing the learning activities with the guidance of the teacher. If the pupils take part in the planning, they feel that they belong and they too take the responsibility in implementing the plan. Cooperation promotes a feeling of togetherness and belongingness. Sharing of responsibility is insured, group morale is high, motivation is intense and learning is effective. Learning through Design and Technology Principles of Designing Educational Technology Materials are specifically designed for planned purposes. Instructional materials are tools designed for teachers as well as for students/learners. The use of content in the material is planned. Instruction will give in detail the use of content. Instructional materials specify The content to be learned The techniques of presentation, practice and use of the content. The mode of teaching associated with those techniques. Lesson Plan is a written guide for trainers plans in order to achieve the intended learning outcomes. 3 Types/Format of Lesson Plan Semi-detailed Plan Detailed Plan Brief Lesson Plan Steps in Designing ICT- Based Instruction The Planning Phase. This phase is motivated by a felt need to produce an instructional material. To insure a better direction, objectives must also be clearly stated, and for whom the materials are intended. Knowing the Learners insures that there is a match between the nature and characteristics of the learners/ students and the content, the methodology and the instructional materials. General Characteristics Entry Skills Learning Styles Stating Objectives. This is stating the intent of the instruction. This may come into form of knowledge, skills, habits and attitudes which the students will possess upon completion of the learning cycle. Roles of Instructional Objectives Provide directions for the instructional process Communicate instructional intent to students, parents, administrators and others Provide a basis for student learning. Instructional Objectives are necessary to communicate to students what they are expected to do and what level of performance should they exhibit. Components of a well-stated instructional objective. An instructional objective is well stated if it contains all the three components like behavior, condition and performance standards. All of the m are inseparable and they are related with one another. Behavior Component contains the specific actions that a student is expected to show or demonstrate Condition Component describes the circumstances at which the behavior has been developed or provoked Performance condition is the end result of teaching and learning activity. Analyzing the Content. The teacher must be familiar with the characteristics of the subject matter or the topics which instructional materials whether hi-tech or the lo-tech in nature will serve. Selecting the methods, approaches or strategies. This is the phase where the teacher should look into the harmonious relationship between the methodology, approaches or strategies chosen, the specific objectives and the content. Matching Pedagogy and ICT. The main issue is putting pedagogy and ICT together and this needs the presence of a technology enabled environment so that ICT-based activities can be carried out successfully. Applying the Integration as Planned, Evaluating and Revising the Lesson Plan. This involves the actual implementation of the planned integration. Evaluating the Result of Instruction. Evaluating the quality and effectiveness of the technology as a tool for teaching and learning.

Evaluation of Educational Technology and its Current Application

Evaluation means considering the merits of the material used, its strengths and weaknesses as a tool for learning. It includes many aspects of consideration like size, attractiveness, relevance and economy, ease of handling, novelty and practicality.Technology is the science of the application of knowledge to practical purposes in a particular field. It means the totality of the means employed by a group of people to provide itself with the objects of material culture.Educational Technologyis the development, application and evaluation of systems, techniques and aids to improve the process of human learning (Council for Educational Technology for the United Kingdom 1997).It is a systematic way of designing, implementing and evaluating the total learning and teaching process in terms of specific objectives based on research on human learning and communication and employing a combination of human and non-human resources to bring about more effective instruction (cited by Lucido, 1997)

Information and Communications Technology (ICT)refers to the use of electronic communication system which has made the sharing of information faster and more effective. ICT tools refer to the computer and its various applications like word processing, PowerPoint, excel, publisher, particularly the Internet and the E-mailClassifications of Educational Technology

Material Technology1.Traditional or Low-Tech Instructional Materials are the indigenous materials usually real objects or those that are made of paper and cardboards. Pictures or photographs, illustrations, drawings, cartoons, posters, graphs, charts, flash cards and maps done n paper are examples of these2.High-Tech Materials or the Mediated Technology includes those which are presented using media equipment or hardware. This includes the educational television, motion pictures, overhead projectors (OHP), opaque projector, slide projector and more importantly the computer and its peripherals like the LCD, printer and scanner.Non-Material Educational Technology on the other hand includes the theories, laws, principles, methods and strategies of teaching. They evolved as results of researches and studies in order to facilitate teaching and learning.

More specifically, educational technology is very useful in the classroom. If properly and selected and used they can do the following:

Arouse and sustain the interest and attention of the studentsConcretize concepts and ideas to promote meaningful learningMae learning more permanent by providing rich experiencesProvide self activities for independent learningIncrease ones vocabulary by eliminating verbalismPromote continuity of thought Increase the quality of learning while decreasing the time spentCheck students preparednessMake learning more interactive.

Procedures in Using Specific Technology for Teaching

Previewing. This step requires that the teacher should be very familiar with the technology or the material he has chosen.Effective timing refers to the phase of the lesson where the technology can best be used.Tying experiences together refers to the connection or the relatedness that should be built between and among experiences provided by various educational technologies.Re-view or Follow up. Is there a need for re-view or follow up? The question can be answered by an evaluation of the results of prior teaching.

Criteria in Evaluating Educational Technology

Size. The teacher must make sure that the text or the picture is seen very clearly by the farthest pupils.Relevance. The content of the educational technology must be related to the learning task on hand and the maturity level and experiences of the pupils or students.Color. Color adds life and attraction to the materials. Students and pupils are fascinated with colors especially the bright ones. The materials can be more effective if they are colorful.Economy. Cheap but properly chosen educational technology can be effective also as long as the teacher utilizes them alongside with pedagogical practices.Durability. This refers to the length of time the material can be used over and over again.Easy to handle. Is the technology light, easy to put up and manipulate? Can it be brought anywhere?Novelty. This refers to the newness and uniqueness of the material.