As someone in education for about twenty years, being first a primary school teacher

before becoming a university lecturer in Educational Administration, when I think of educational

technology, my thoughts closely resemble those shared by Bates and Poole (2003). This is simply

because of my education, training and experience in classroom teaching. So like the authors, I

appreciate that educational technology cannot only be a type of ‘equipment or device’.

Educational technology, which includes the whiteboard, computer and web-conferencing

equipment, are not just used to support teaching and learning but also encompasses the modes of

presenting information and what is known. Moreover in order to be used, individuals require

skills to both develop the technologies and to use them and so ‘skills’ must form part of one’s

conceptualization of educational technology. So too is

an understanding of how to appropriately

select the tools and equipment that would best

assist in achieving any learning outcomes set. Such

an understanding cannot be divorced from sound content knowledge, pedagogical skill and

understanding of the ways that people learn. Also part of this ‘system’, according to Bates and

Poole (2003), is the human support – technical personnel, programmers, and IT specialists – who

solve our ‘tech’ problems.

1
 As a teacher and educator, technology has always been a part of my teaching. I love to

pique students’ desire to learn. I seek to bring content alive and draw relevance to the real world.

I encourage students to strive for the power of knowledge or at least to develop the competence in

finding out and to cultivate an enquiring mind to want to know and create, not always accepting

but willing to critique. It is the use of technological tools, particularly recent 21st century

technologies, that facilitate all of this through easy access to a ‘sea’ of information (my favourite),

captivating presentations of information, knowledge sharing and enhanced modes of teacher-

student collaboration and student interaction. These are why I use the technologies that I do.

In fact, these enhanced technologies make teaching very exciting for me with all their

possibilities. When once I would have used chalk, a blackboard, a television, photocopy machine

and occasionally a CD player to facilitate classroom teaching and learning, these have been either

replaced or augmented with whiteboards; computers; internet; video conferencing tools, such as

Zoom for meeting with students I supervise; teaching-learning platforms;

presentation software and wonderful online tools and ‘apps’, such as

google docs, padlets, polleverywhere, youtube as well as data storage

software. I have used and encouraged my adult students to use all of these technological tools.

We have even used smart phones to vote on matters and play online quizzes that I have developed

using free online software. My department is now considering the use of video recording of

student teachers’ teaching practice as an alternative to lecturers visiting schools across the

country, which offers a number of advantages. Oh how I love technology!

I do acknowledge the challenges that the use of educational technology presents, such as

distraction, which incidentally do not pose much discomfort to my teaching. Instead, there are

2
technologies that I prefer not to use in my teaching and communication with students. I tend to

stay clear of some of the more popular social media tools for the

purposes of teaching and learning because I believe that a

professional distance needs to be maintained between

teachers/lecturers and students, even if not in its purest sense.

Therefore, I do not use WhatsApp, Facebook and similar technologies in teaching. I know that

other lecturers and teachers maintain group chats using these technologies; however, I have also

observed the misuse of these tools and the blurring of lines of respect. I also find them

particularly invasive, allowing intrusions into my personal time and space; not to mention adding

to my stress levels in having to regularly free phone storage or entertain communication that is

unrelated to educational purposes. Limited social media use even for personal reasons is, in

general, all that I can entertain.

In making choices about educational technology, I use five criteria: (1) achievement of

learning outcomes, (2) cost, (3) student accessibility, (4) classroom setting and (5) continuity.

Achievement of learning outcomes – The educational technology that I choose must enable the

effective presentation of information, creation of knowledge and student engagement within the

duration of the lesson or outside of class, particularly in a flipped classroom arrangement. Thus, I

may choose a youtube video that demonstrates the technique of educational scaffolding rather

than tell students or have them read an article on the topic in class before we discuss how it has

been or may be applied within their school contexts.

Cost – There are some educational technologies in existence that can make my pedagogical dreams

a reality but unfortunately they are out of my financial reach. When I was a primary school

teacher, this was a major concern; however, now in academia, I am afforded the use of some of

3
these without my being ‘out of pocket’. Additionally, I usually opt for online applications or tools

that I can use with my class for ‘free’.

Student accessibility – the technologies that I choose for a lesson must also be easily accessible to

students especially for in-class interactions and activities as well as for their assignments.

Therefore, I may use a padlet as an article repository rather than print sheets for the class or use a

google doc as a platform that groups can view the brainstorming of other groups, which students

can easily access using their devices.

Classroom setting – This determines to some extent which technologies can be used. For instance

PowerPoint presentation slides in which videos, charts, etc can be embedded are really useful

when I am teaching an auditorium full of over 200 students. In a distance education situation as

when there is a Tobago cohort in my Masters classes, video conferencing becomes useful;

although, I have in times past travelled to have face-to-face sessions with the group. Other

considerations may be for example the position of electrical outlets in a room, which would be a

factor in determining if I use my laptop’s battery power or cord when I visit secondary schools to

evaluate clinical supervision. I wouldn’t want to cause anyone to trip.

Continuity – This involves determining the versatility of the technology for not only easy use but

use in as wide a scope as possible in my professional and personal life. My selection is usually one

that is reliable and that is compatible with resources that I already own.

The only trouble, at least in my opinion, with the technologies I do use is the fast pace at

which the technology is evolving. One is left with the option of move with the times or be left

behind. For instance, my own comfort level with web 2.0 technologies has reached to a somewhat

satisfactory level; yet, in order to stay current and in the know, I will soon be expected to readily

4
and quickly embrace web 3.0 technologies. Notwithstanding, my use of technology is central to

my teaching philosophy. For me, facilitating learning necessitates not only my use of technology

to broaden students’ content knowledge, enhance their critical thinking, enrich their student

experience and support their learning but also providing opportunities for students’ engagement

with technology that ensures that they in turn provide high quality learning opportunities to their

secondary school students. Moreover, with access to such versatile educational technologies, my

commitment to life-long learning is a reality that enables my development as a teacher.

Reference:

Bates, A.W. & G. Poole (2003). Effective teaching with technology in higher education: Foundations

for success. CA: Jossey-Bass.