Effects+of+Educational+Technology

=**Introduction **=

Development of technology plays a significant role in the educational process. In the past few years, toc technology has been gradually incorporated into the teaching and learning process. When technology is used as cognitive tools rather than for the dissemination of content and information, it allows students to engage more meaningfully with tasks, and ‘to assume ownership of their knowledge, rather than reproducing the teacher’s’. [10] Technology has opened tremendous opportunities for students as well as teachers, which makes it one of the most important continuing investments. It offers some advantages and shows great potentials for facilitating students’ learning process, therefore, improving the learning outcome and the individual development. While several studies have shown that usage of technology in the classroom is generally beneficial, it might not always be the case. Inappropriate use of technology can lead to serious consequences such as plagiarism, distraction, or disparity of access to the devices outside the classroom. To make the best out of the use of technology, it is important to understand how educational technology applies in the classroom as well as how technology affects the educational process and to avoid the adverse outcomes.

=**Applications **=

In recent years, a lot of schools and institutes have developed a technological learning and teaching environment for students to enhance the quality of learning process. Most of the applications of educational technology in the classroom include interactive whiteboards, computers/ laptops, and mobile devices. Of the many forms of technological applications, interactive whiteboards are the most common technology; 98 percent of secondary and 100 percent of primary schools had interactive whiteboards incorporated in each classroom, with an average of 28 desktop computers and 8 interactive whiteboards per school. Laptops were available in nine-tenths of 92 percent of primary schools, with an average of 14 laptops per school. [1] Educational technology makes “flipped classrooms” possible. Flipped classrooms are a teaching and learning strategy that is a reverse of the traditional classroom, where the students are engaged in active learning, and it also focuses more on students’ conceptual knowledge. Flipped classroom requires tablets or computers to access online materials and resources, because of the out of class reading and activities as well as the in-class practice of working through problems.  According to the study on language learning and technology, it was demonstrated that the student response system integrated flipped classrooms are capable of providing interactive learning opportunities that enhance learners’ willingness to communicate, aiding in their development of speaking skills and increasing their satisfaction with such learning experiences. [6]

Additionally, educational technology enables students to take online classes, which creates a blended learning environment. Blended learning is a learning process that combines traditional face-to-face teaching and online technology. Studies have shown that traditional team teaching had a positive impact overall, but blended learning had a positive impact for most of the participants. [11] Moreover, the data collected by Emmanuel College have shown that the greatest strength of the blended course was the level of interactions that combining face-to-face methods with online tools permitted. Students in class were highly motivated and skilled in time management and self-efficacy, which led to higher levels of satisfaction. [12]

=**Behavior/ Attitudes **=

There are several studies and surveys which demonstrate the effects of students and teachers’ attitudes toward the educational technology used in the classroom. Knezek and Christensen (2002) demonstrated in their research based on CAQ information gathered from 1507 grade 7–12 Texas students during 1999–2000, secondary school students appear to have positive attitudes toward information technology and most learning-related dispositions. Their information technology skills showed healthy growth during the 1999–2000 school year, to a point where they approached the level of their teachers. [3] Another more recent study specifically examined students’ attitudes toward the application of technology in the classroom. Pruet, Ang, and Farzin (2014) found that there is no significant difference between male and female technology experience through a multinomial logistic regression model. Furthermore, their research showed that both boys and girls enjoyed using the tablet computer and had a high acceptance level of tablet computers and a positive attitude towards tablet productivity. [4]

=**Positive and Negative Outcomes **=

The use of technology in the learning process shows a significant overall education improvement. These applications allow teachers to have diverse and flexible teaching process. According to the research conducted at National Central University in Taiwan (2013), mobile learning devices, wireless communication and network technologies enable the teacher and students to concentrate on teaching and learning itself rather than spend too much time and effort on tedious tasks. It helps the teacher to monitor, easily, each student’s learning status for further guidance, engages students in learning activities, facilitates students’ group collaboration. [2] Additionally, it provides a variety of innovative learning, which creates, even more, learning opportunities for students. Although such improvements have been found, studies have also shown that effects of technology differ between different subject areas. Preliminary evidence indicates that effective use of educational technology is generally associated with courses that are traditionally linked to technology, including business (Mackinnon and Vibert, 2002), programming (Barak et al., 2006) and engineering (Kolar et al., 2002; Nicol and MacLeod, 2005). On the other hand, social science courses in psychology (Fried, 2008) and communications (Grace-Martin and Gay, 2001) have shown limited success or negative results. [9] <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> The survey data analysis produced by research group at Utah State University focuses in the mathematical area, it demonstrates that with the use of mathematics educational technology, students and their parents have easy access to mathematics instruction that can provide remediation and acceleration, which shows the promise of programs such as ALEKS, EdReady, and MathXL in providing individualized instruction, practice, and automatic feedback to students. [5]

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Additionally, the findings of another case study that focuses on literature and English learning reveals a significant gap between the attainment of online and traditional learners in pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. 25 percent of the online learners obtained 100 percent score in listening and speaking, and 30 percent of them obtained 90 percent accuracy in pronunciation. On the contrary, none of the traditional learners obtained 80-100 percent marks in listening and speaking skills. [7] <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Through the use of technology, students are able to handle more complex projects and perform with strong skills. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Furthermore, according to the database of educational technology usage, some schools have terminated the educational technology application programs. It was observed that the student was being abusive to the machines and devices, also teachers claimed the technological programs did not fit into the lesson plans. The surveys analyzed the top issues of technology integration from different school districts, and found 75.9 percent cited the issue of budget limits, 53.9 percent cited teachers lack of adequate professional training and 41.4 percent cited teachers’ resistant to change.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">A notable example of the issues is, in 2005, Broward County which shelved a $275 million proposal to issue laptops to each of their more than 260,000 students after re-evaluating the costs of a pilot project. The district paid $7.2 million to lease 6,000 laptops for the pilot at four schools and ended up spending more than $100,000 a year for repairs to screens and keyboards that were not covered by warranties. [8]

=**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Conclusion **=

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The cited research studies give an insight into the how educational technology is applied at schools and the effects as well as the challenges of it. While most schools and institutions incorporate technology into educational system to replace a number of traditional teaching methods, potential drawbacks are also noted by some of the school districts. Perhaps rather than analyzing and finding solutions to the challenges, it is more important to obtain the balance between the benefits and the risks to bring out the best of the educational technology.

=**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Cited References **=

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[1] S. Kitchen, S. Finch, R. Sinclair, “Harnessing technology schools,” //Nat. Cent. for Soc. research//. 2007

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[2] T. Liu, H. Wang, J. Liang, T. Chan, H. Ko, J. Yang, “Wireless and mobile technologies to enhance teaching and learning,” vol. 19, pp. 371-382, 2013

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[3] G. Knezek, R. Christensen, “Impact of new information technologies on teachers and students,” vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 369-376, 2002

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[4] P. Pruet et al., C. Ang, D. Farzin, “Understanding tablet computer usage among primary school students in underdeveloped areas: Students’ technology experience, learning styles and attitudes,” vol. 55, pp. 1131-1144, 2016

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[5] S. Brasiel, S. Jeong, C. Ames, K. Lawanto, M. Yuan, “Effects of educational technology on mathematics achievement for K-12 students in Utah,” vol, 2, pp. 205-226, 2016

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[6] H. Hung, “The integration of a student response system in flipped classrooms,” vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 16-27, 2017

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[7] J. Ahmad, “Technology assisted language learning is a silver bullet for enhancing language competence and performance,” vol. 5, no. 7, 2016

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[8] L. Holcomb, “Results and lessons learned from 1:1 laptop initiatives,” vol. 53, no. 6, 2009

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[9] R. Kay, S. Lauricella, “Exploring the benefits and challenges of using laptop computers in higher education classrooms,” vol. 37, 2011

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[10] J. Herrington, L. Kervin, “Authentic learning supported by technology: ten suggestions and cases of integration in classrooms,” //Edu. Med. Intern//. vol. 44, pp. 219-236, 2007

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[11] L. Jenkins, R. Crawford. “The impact of blended learning and team teaching in tertiary pre-service education classes,” vol. 13, 2016

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[12] G. Banerjee, “Blended environments: learning effectiveness and student satisfaction at a small college in transition,” vol.15, 2011