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EdTech Lesson Plan

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EdTech Framework

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My Philosophy

          “Educational Technology is considered as a foundation in one’s learning. It includes opportunities for students to learn more and to learn better. I believe that educational technology should be widely known and utilized in every school. Educational Technology gives students a chance to explore with the use of different materials in learning. The Cone of Experience is a summary of what people can receive in terms of learning with the use of educational technology. Without these technologies, people are not able to challenge themselves in order to widen their intellectual capability and to keep up with the constant development happening in our world today.”

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What is your perception about EdTech?

          According to Corpuz and Lucido, educational technology “refers to the art or craft of responding to our educational needs” (p.14, 2008). Last November 18, I was able to interview Teacher Fatima who is handling the nursery and pre-kinder class in Bannister Academy. Although most educational technologies are currently not being used inside their classroom, she still managed to share with me her perception about it. Teacher Fatima stated that educational technology has the potential to aid learning when limited and used properly. As a future child development educator, I would focus my perception on Dale’s Cone of Experience.

           There are a lot of pros and cons when it comes to the usage of these technologies. For the Direct Purposeful Experiences, the child can practice the ability to follow instructions since they would have to follow exactly what the teacher says. Also, they could improve their senses since the senses are the tools in constructing ideas and concepts. However, it could lead to spoon-feeding since the teachers are directly giving out what should be done. Teaching with Contrived Experiences is convenient for teachers since the actual thing or object you need can sometimes be hard to find, expensive, or even extinct. That is why using models or mock ups can be very handy when discussing in the class. According to Rita May, a 2-year-old child once told her that she was only able to learn that giraffes are that tall when she visited the zoo (2010). What this means is that models of an actual thing can somehow confuse the child on what that specific thing really looks like. For the Dramatized Experiences, this could be very beneficial to children since it encourages free play and it stimulates their imagination as well. This could also improve their communication and interactions with their peers. However, when regarding the actual lesson being discussed in class, this experience could somehow complicate things or cause the diversion of the actual lesson in the minds of the children. For the Demonstrations, the children can acquire a concrete knowledge about the specific lesson being discussed since the teacher’s task in demonstrating is to fully explain or show something precisely. However, the teacher could also be inaccurate at some point. The COIK fallacy (Clear Only If Known) should be avoided since this could result to the confusion or lack of knowledge of the children. For Audio-visuals, the teachers can easily show a short film or recording of their topic for the day which is very convenient. Also, the teacher could practice before teaching the class by filming herself then view it to improve herself even more. However, there are limitations; audio-visuals encourage passivity since it is a one-way communication device; too much television could cause the child’s lack of development regarding visualizing and imagining; and there are a lot of violence found in tv that could influence a child’s behavior. Visual Symbols such as drawings and cartoons are very essential for preschoolers since this type of experience gets most children’s attention. This could also promote creativity for the child. However, visual symbols such as the diagrams and charts are not used that much inside preschool classes; but these could also help widen the knowledge of the child since it shows correlations and comparisons and contrasts. Lastly, Verbal Symbols are very essential for a preschool classroom since it includes the whiteboard/blackboard. This is the most common teaching aid and probably the most effective also since the teacher could easily write or correct mistakes; if compared to a prepared power point. One limitation however is that the teacher should be well educated with regard to using project-based multimedia learning strategies.

           Generally, these educational technologies are very convenient and effective. However, if not used properly, it could be the cause of the child’s lack of knowledge. All in all, I can say that educational technologies are very much needed nowadays and it could really help, simply with regard to educating.