Technology and Facilitation (Essay Sample)

Technology and facilitation
Name
Institutional affiliation
Course
Date
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has played a significant role in ensuring that technology is effectively applied in education. The ISTE standards ensure that standards for learning and teaching are effectively applied in this digital age and are recognized as one of the core tools for educational transformation. The standards for technology improve facilitation in the digital age by improving the high –order thinking skills and improved creativity in schools. The standards prepare students for their educational future in education and the digital world. The standards are also known to guide student in creating a digital environment for their learning process.
The standards meant for the K-12 are transferable to adult learners because like the k-12 learners, adult learners too are affected by the technology around them. The use of technology is not discriminatory of age. Therefore, adult learners are also affected by technology. It would be important if the standards are transferred to them since the world requires that every student use technology in their activities. Adult learners also require similar learning strategies like those of K-12 students since in most cases the contents for learning are not much different.
Technology such as the use of computer and software application in computer has shown improved productivity in the learning institutions (Ausband, 2006). One of the ways through which technology has improved learning is through communication. The standards for technology lay down a variety of regulation and strategies for both teachers and student on how to use technology in communication. The standards have designed student –centered technologies and strategies that improve online learning environments. Through online learning, student and teachers are able to communicate easily through long distances. Communication also becomes faster. Through visual enhancement designed by the standards students are able to learn and understand complex activities easily through the use of technology. The use of the internet in communication provides both learners and teachers with information to their work that they can share with their teachers, and amongst themselves. Through sharing of information, communication becomes easy (Grabe& Grabe, 2007). Communication is a necessity in any collaborative work. Therefore, when student and teachers communicate easily they are able to collaborate effectively in all their activities. The connection in the classroom creates an environment where students are able to contribute to what they learn and their new ideas in a collaborative manner.
For a very long period, instructors have been using technology as a management tool. However in the recent past they are seamlessly integrating technology into the learning environment. Most of the instructors have realized the importance of technology in teaching, learning and lading. In the year 2000, about 80% of instructors used technology for administration purposes only. However, by the year 2005 about 70 % are using technology for both education and administrative purposes (Ausband, 2006). This shows that many instructors have realized that integrating technology in the learning environment provides a rich context through which students can learn. It also offers teachers an easy way through which they can make students understand what they are being taught. Through effective designing of the technology in the classroom, technology can be used as a too l that identifies and solves problems in learning environments. Teachers can use the integrated technology to design and implement learning experiences that solve issues concerning the concepts taught in classrooms. Instructors have realized the use of technology ensures that learning goes beyond classroom levels. Teachers can keep in touch with student outside classroom. They can also link student with useful materials outside their school setting as government agencies and other useful institutions in their learning process. Technology helps the teachers and learners in conducting research and compares their finding with other institutions in the same filed. Through activities like research, student knowledge is en enhanced. The complexity in carrying out the activities is reduced significantly. Technology, therefore, increases diversity in learning process and increase students’ inventiveness. It develops the teacher’s experiential approaches in teaching and makes students enhance their thinking capacity.
The ISTE standards used have made teachers understand the specific types of learning experiences they should design for students. Through the planning procedures used in the standards teachers are able to access clear descriptions of various types of learning experience they can accommodate in their classrooms. Some of the tools that the standards provide for teachers included the framework for working, enactors for engaged learning and criteria for implementations.
The ISTE standards also provide models of the types of technology used in classrooms. In addition, these models also provide teachers with sample lesson plans and other materials for learning such as videos, pictures that will be used in the learning process. Through these models, teachers are best placed in using technology in the learning process. The models also assist teachers avoid ...