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EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY THEN AND NOW

Article · October 2014

DOI: 10.13140/2.1.1048.5766

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Ajit Arjun Irkal

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EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY THEN AND NOW
Abstract:
It is always said that,

“What an individual can learn, and how he learns it, depends on what
models he has available”.

By publishing this article here, on ‘Researchgate’ platform, I do share

that, it is a real life experience and an exercise in an applied ‘Educational
Technology’ extended beyond boundaries, and built an intellectual revolution
to include a concern with the relation between ‘Teacher’ and ‘Learner’,
figuring how a technology can be used, and also had become an accessible,
and reliable friend to the student, in educational field.

Educational technology ‘THEN’:

At the time when I was ten-twelve years old, I had developed an intense
involvement with subjects like Algebra and Mathematics. I was particularly
proud of knowing about the various formulas and tactics of the solving the
numerical problems, and logical systems used to solve the mathematics
questions. It was, of course, ‘Feel-good’ situation for me at that time. But once
I did, playing with algebra’s theorem became a favorite pastime. I loved
calculating numbers and equations against one another and tried to resolve
the problems on my own. Unless I did face any difficulty, I was supposed to go
and visit my respective teachers on bicycle, or by road, for at least 5-6 km.
from our home. I was sure that my teacher will definitely resolve the problem
I do have faced while studying but I wasn’t sure that, that time I would
definitely able to meet my teacher, because, there were no other connectivity
medium was developed at that time in our village. We just have to visit at
Teacher’s home and then we can think of any solution. Naturally, it wasn’t my
first or last experience, but it was regular process.
 I found specific pleasure in such method of problem solving, due to
unavailability of any other option. I remember quite vividly my excitement at
learning system at that time. A learning system or Education technology at
that time could not be completely understandable without being flexible and
enthusiastic for me. I believe that experiencing my learnings, with differential
condition like this did more for my mathematical and logical development
than anything, I was taught in basic school.

Educational technology ‘NOW’:

Many years later in 2008, when I read about ‘KHAN ACEDEMY’. One of the
most followed Educational Technology of current time. I was immediately
struck by this technology, and it does more as well. I am sure that such
integrations and developments in educational technology are helping to
promote the Online learnings, whether it is mathematics, algebra, science, or
else. For me, with a positive affective tone that can be traced back to my
childhood experiences with coaching solutions.

Although today’s educational technology initially focused on helping

individual users, who learn on their own, outside of formal institutions, Khan
Academy is now also working closely with schools to explore ways of
converting how instruction is organized, delivered, and experienced by both
students and teachers. These methods pursue to accelerate, personalize, and
deepen student learning.

About Khan Academy:

Founded in 2006, the nonprofit Khan Academy is now one of the globe’s most
popular education websites, and describes its mission as providing “a free
world-class education for anyone, anywhere.” Khan Academy offers more than
5,500 instructional videos—of which approximately 3,500 are about math—
and they continue to be extremely popular. However, Khan Academy is more
than a massive repository of teaching videos; it also offers more than 100,000
practice math problems that students can complete at their own pace. In 2013
alone, users worked on more than 700 million problems.
Khan Academy has expanded its initial focus on math, economics, and science
to include other subjects such as art history and entrepreneurship.
Additionally, Khan Academy is now partnering with a diverse array of
institutions including museums, universities, and think tanks. [Ref.]

Khan Academy’s contribution to this revolution gave me a new

framework for looking at the learning systems of my childhood. These
systems can be used to educate many "advanced" mathematical ideas, as well
as connecting with the formal knowledge of mathematics; it also connects
with the "IT knowledge". By using and learning with this technology we can
understand how it helps by involving yourself into its system and spreading
knowledge with it. It is this double relationship—both intellectual and
Logical--that gives the way to carry powerful mathematics into the mind. In a
terminology

Conclusion:
Today, teachers as well as students around the world have access to more
online learning resources than ever before, and more web technologies are in
the channel as entry costs decline and public access to high-speed internet
connectivity devices increases. With an ever-growing array of choices,
teachers need more and higher-quality information about which products can
work best in different settings and for different students, the factors that
support more effective use in schools, and the opportunity costs and
challenges of choosing one product over another.

This response is the result of my own experiences over the past 15

years to turn web learning technologies into ‘Educational Technology’, flexible
enough so that many children can each form a learning system for themselves,
something like what they were needed for me, at my childhood.

References and Links:

1. http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2013/03/then-and-now-
education-technology-1963-vs-2013
 2. http://www.faronics.com/news/blog/education-technology-then-and-
now/
3. http://www.sri.com/sites/default/files/publications/2014-03-
07_implementation_briefing.pdf

4. http://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion-story/4082608-education-then-
and-now-better-or-worse-/
5. http://stemfuse.com/blog/technology-and-education-then-and-now

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