ASSIGNMENTS

SPECIALIZEDAREA: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

MASTER OFARTS (EDUCATION)-2nd YEAR
January 2019 & July 2019

MES-031: ET: AN OVERVIEW

a) Differentiate between evaluation of educational technology as a process and evaluation of

educational technology as a product. Illustrate, with an example, how you can evaluate
educational technology. (500 words)

b) What is meant by ‘Constructivism’? Explain how constructivist teaching-learning process

is different from traditional teaching-learning process. (500 words)

c) Explain teaching-learning as a system. Describe, with an example, how an instructional

system can be designed and developed. (500 words)
Answers
a) Differentiate between evaluation of educational technology as a process and evaluation of
educational technology as a product. Illustrate, with an example, how you can evaluate
educational technology.
Ans.: The term ‘educational technology’ by splitting it into ‘Education’ and ‘Technology’.
Technology refers to the systematic application of techniques and principles of science to
achieve an objective effectively and efficiently. ‘Technology’ is that branch of advanced
scientific study which involves highly designed and sophisticated engineering software and
hardware. It deals with the application of knowledge for practical ends. Technology results in
new designs and devices to improve human productivity. Education is the process of
modification of behaviour, socialization, social efficiency, acculturation, and adjustment to
the environment, harmonious and all round development of the human personality. Hence,
educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving
performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and
resources. As a field of study, educational technology emphasizes communication skills and
approaches to teaching and learning through the judicious use and integration of diverse
media. Practitioners in educational technology seek new and effective ways of organizing the
teaching-learning process through the best possible application of technological
developments. These activities rely upon a body of knowledge for successful and ethical
implementation, rather than as routine tasks or as isolated technical skills.
As technology has changed over the years, so, too, has its importance in the teaching and
learning process. Educational technology performs two important functions - communication
and information storage and these functions have evolved from the pre-mechanical to the
mechanical and to the electronic and now digital forms.
Digital information communication technologies have become more accessible to the general
public these days. In the pre-mechanical era, teachers used real objects and face-to-face

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communication with their students to describe the past, explain the present, and encourage
thinking about the future. In that era neither technologies nor its products were used
extensively in educational settings
In the digital era, more sophisticated communication tools were developed. Word processors,
digital cameras, e-mail, cellular phones, and an array of information and communication tools
were developed. High power storage, retrieval systems and software became more accessible
to the educational sectors. For example, you might access your textbooks through online
databases or websites, or listen to entire books as audio files on your MP3 player. Further
modern technologies came to be used in professional practices such as providing lifelong
learning opportunities, promoting creativity and innovation, assessing students’ instructional
needs, evaluating their performances, encouraging the equitable use of existing resources, as
well as facilitating professional growth and leadership through the effective use of digital
tools and resources. In this process of development, the use of the computer for a variety of
purposes is also remarkable.
The scope of any subject depends upon its understanding in a broader connotation. In the
preceding section you have learnt that educational technology is concerned with bringing
improvement in the teaching-learning process. You have also studied that educational
technology is an applied or practical study which aims at maximising educational effects by
controlling various factors such as educational purposes, content, learning environment,
teaching materials, behaviour of students and teachers and interrelation between students and
teachers. We have discussed as to how the hardware and the software approaches can be used
to make the educational process more effective and productive. The scope of educational
technology encompasses educational objectives, the selection and use of media and methods,
the management of resources and evaluation.
b) What is meant by ‘Constructivism’? Explain how constructivist teaching-learning process
is different from traditional teaching-learning process.
Ans.: Constructivism is basically a theory – based on observation and scientific study -- about
how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the
world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter
something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe
changing what we believe, or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any
case, we are active creators of our own knowledge. To do this, we must ask questions,
explore, and assess what we know.
In the classroom, the constructivist view of learning can point towards a number of different
teaching practices. In the most general sense, it usually means encouraging students to use
active techniques (experiments, real-world problem solving) to create more knowledge and
then to reflect on and talk about what they are doing and how their understanding is
changing. The teacher makes sure she understands the students' preexisting conceptions, and
guides the activity to address them and then build on them.
Constructivism is not a single theory of learning. It is based on ideas proposed by various
philosophers, psychologists, anthropologists and educationists. You must have heard of

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names like Piaget, Vygotsky, Novok or sometimes Dewey as contributors to this new
paradigm of learning.
This approach is contrary to traditional objectivist approach which establishes knowledge as
something to be imparted into learners by some means like teacher. Objectivists assume
knowledge as complete, real, objective and external to the learner. This basic assumption was
being questioned by a new approach which believes that knowledge “is a function of how the
individual creates meaning from his or her own experiences”. Thus constructivism has
emerged.
Constructivism has emerged as one leading theory of knowledge and learning. It seeks to
answer questions like what is knowledge? How does one acquire knowledge? Traditionally it
was believed that the world was real, struc)ured and therefore knowable. Like knowledge, the
meaning that we produce through our thought processes is external to us. The meaning is not
determined by us; it is determined by the structure of the outside world. This was the
objectivists' view of reality and knowledge.
Constructivism provides a refreshing alternative to the traditional view of knowledge and
learning. According to constructivism, knowledge is actively constructed by each one of us; it
is built piece by piece, through experience, including our action on objects around us and
observing the result of our action. Consmctivism is the cumulative and at the same time
collective outcome of researches in various disciplines e.g. philosophy, psychology,
education and history of science. Jean Piaget, John Dewey, Edmund Husserl, E.V. Glaserfeld,
Lev Vjgotsky and Joseph Novak are some of the theorists who have made signif~cant
contribution to constructivism.
Dewey emphasized the role of experience in learning. He observed that " When we
experience something we act upon it, we do something with it.. . we do something to the
thing and then it does something to us in return. . .. The comection of these two phases of
experience measures the fruitfulness or value of the experience . . . When an activity is
continued into the undergoing of conseqhences, when change made by action is reflected
back into a change made in us . . . We learn something".
'Constructivism' is sometimes used interchangeably with 'constructionism'. In fact,
'constructionism' is a much broader concept; it includes Piaget's views on 'constructivism' and
also goes beyond. While constructivism tells us that knowledge is built by the learner and not
supplied by the teacher, tonstructivism tells us that this happens relatively more easily when
the learner is busy in constructing some object e.g. a machine, a computer program, a
learning aid.
Educational uses of constructivism have been derived fbm both radical constructivism and
social constructivism. Human constructivism as said before, is still in its formative stage and
to state its educational implications at this stage would be quite premature. To teachers,
constructivism represents a view of learning in which learners construct their understanding
on the basis of their personal experiences: understandings that make sense to them. They do
so instead of receiving fully organized understanding delivered to them by the teacher.
According to Brophy (1992), "Current research . . . recognizes that students do not passively

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receive or copy input hm teachers, but instead actively mediate it by trying to make sense gf
it and relate it to what they already know (or think they know) about the topic. Thus students
develop new knowledge through the process of active construction".
c) Explain teaching-learning as a system. Describe, with an example, how an instructional
system can be designed and developed.
Ans.: Teaching learning Systems are embedded in different learning environments and social
spaces which impact the educational process. These learning environments have been broadly
categorized by educationists into three categories of learning systems: informal, formal and
non-formal systems. Let us understand the characteristics of each of these learning systems
and their impact on the education of the masses.
Humans learn in any kind of environment. Truly speaking, learning of an individual begins
from the time of birth and continues through infancy to childhood to adulthood to old age and
beyond. The family or the home is the first learning environment that the child encounters.
This kind of education is a bit primitive yet diverse, comprising a range of tasks a child learns
in a family setting. All these activities, and behaviours, and actions lead to what may be
termed as “informal learning” and may occur inside the home or may be institutional, such as
i) excursion, fairs, visit to neighbourhood places for funmaking, entertainment, etc. ii)
listening to radio/audio programmes, iii) watching television, playing games on a mobile
phone or outdoor games/activities in groups, iv) attending a play school or joining
community functions, visit to fairs, farms and religious places, markets etc. v) entering the
world of work – as a farmer, labourer, shopkeeper or some other profession so as to earn
one’s own livelihood and thus become an ‘independent human being’ or a ‘citizen’.
During the process of teaching-learning, teachers have to guide them through various steps in
the method being used. If the method chosen is discussion, for example, teachers have to
convey the objectives of holding the discussion, get the student ready to participate in the
discussion and focus the discussion. As the discussion progresses, teachers have to monitor,
enforce the ground rules, keep records of the points raised and even add their ideas at
appropriate places. As the discussion comes to an end, they have to end it and debrief it in
which they have to get the students look at the discussion analytically.
Teaching like any other practical art, may be performed dexterously or awkwardly,
professionally or amateurishly, competently or ineffectively, intelligently or stupidly.
Successful teachers have a large number of techniques and methods in their repertoires and
they always select the most appropriate way of looking into the nature of content to be taught,
the objectives to be accomplished, and the readiness level of the learners whom they are
teaching. They have their unique style of teaching and managing their classroom. Learning,
however, does not totally depend on teaching alone. A number of learner factors can also
impact learning. Let us discuss the relationship of teaching with learning and learners.
Instructional design is a process that decides the best methods of teaching and learning for
achieving objectives. Instructional design is usually the initial stage of systematic instruction
which includes development, delivery and evaluation of learning materials. It is the process
of analyzing learning1 training needs, statement of learning objectives and development of

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delivery system to meet those learning needs. It also includes development of learning
materials and activities, and try out and evaluation of all learner activities. Instructional
design is the alignment of learning needs with appropriate instructional inputs. Instructional
design inputs include pedagogical design, preparation of materialslcourseware, production
materials, delivery of materials and evaluation. It ensures that learning occurs systematically
and at a faster pace.
Instructional design has been used for a long time. In the beginning, cognitive basis of
learning and memory was the main factor for designing the teaching-learning process. Later
on, 'experience of the student' was considered main factor for gaining knowledge. Gradually
the emphasis shifted from rote learning to learning by doing. Educational Psychology became
increasingly important to understand the concept of learning. In 1920s, attention was paid to
'productivity' and hence behaviourists applied mechanized technology to increase the
efficiency of the learning process. As a result of the movement of instructional media
research and development in the 1940s standardized methods of delivery were evolved. In
1954, B. F. Skinner sanctifiedlpurified the basic behaviourist principles of stimulus-response
(S-R), feedback and reinforcement. Based on operant conditioning, programmed instruction
was evolved which comprised statement of behavioural objectives, division of content into
small steps, sequencing of steps, feedback, and reinforcement.
Instructional design has direct connection with theories or approaches to learning. You can
understand the concept of instructional design by analyzing the pedagogical implications of
various approaches to learning. Let us considered the following three approaches and see how
these have influenced design of self-learning materials. You have studied about these
approaches in Block 2 of Course 2: Psychology of Learning and Teaching in detail. We shall
discuss these approaches briefly with special reference to designing of self-learning materials.
Hudson discussed the systematic design and development of self- learning materials (SLMs).
He stated that in order to ensure the quality and effectiveness of self-learning materials, it is
important that all aspects should be planned systematically before you start preparing the
materials. This does not mean that the .plans cannot be modified once you put them into
practice. Each decision of planning of learning materials can be modified in the light of
feedback collected at each step. While planning various factors, such as target learners.
learningltraining needs analysis, learning objectives, etc., need to be taken into account.
Aplan for all the stages of the material development should be drawn up at this point.