Education via Technology

In search of a Humane Touch

Prof. Someswar Bhowmik
Officer-in-charge, Centre for Online Education, NSOU
Sophisticated economic development strategies based on statistical matrices and
theoretical models are so abstract and objective that these more often than not
ignore or bypass the micro-level human factors, engendering individual, local or
regional needs and preferences, to accommodate macro-level ‘national’ and
‘international’ priorities. This ‘problem of scale’, as economists term it, has
come to afflict our education sector although in a different manner.

The latter half of the 20 th century witnessed an intertwining between education

and ICT-driven media. The intertwining has gone deeper with the rapid
development of the New Media in the 21 st century. The scale of dissemination
has also increased. But the question remains, with what result?

Education empowers the spirit and persona of target human being(s) by triggering
specific behavioural and ideological changes for perceived social good. From time
immemorial, human agents known as teachers have undertaken this task through an
intimate and interpersonal process of communication in a live environment called
classroom. The problem before them has been purely pedagogic in nature.

However, the rapid developments in media technology have irreversibly changed

both the dissemination and reception of data and information with a view to
formation of knowledge. A new paradigm, called Educational Communication through
Technology or ECT, has emerged, opening the vistas to an evolving teaching-learning
practice. Online Education and Digital Education are its two facets.

Educational Communication through Technology is a technology-driven, media-based

effort to provide knowledge seekers with access to diverse methods of learning, using high-
end technology. By participating in it the teachers can reach out to students far and wide
through technology-driven media like radio, television, multimedia, satellite and Internet. In
this process they do not impart education the way they do in the classroom. They can create
their own customized, and virtual, domain—the cyber domain of knowledge. They can
disseminate what we may term as knowledge-package, compliant to the characteristics of
new media.

There are some basic differences between classroom teaching and ECT. The classroom,
being a live environment, still remains the most effective site for the dissemination of
knowledge. Here intimacy and personalised methods still play a very important role. These
create confidence in the mind of the receptor, and ultimately supplement the cognitive
process to a large extent. But, in the process of ECT, a medium always separates a teacher,
who is also a communicator, from the students or receptors. In other words, ECT is a dual-

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agency phenomenon, involving both a technological agent and a human one. So, it has two
dimensions: one is technological and the other, pedagogic.

There is no question of ignoring the developments in media technology. Yet Educational

Communication through Technology cannot allow technology to become the supreme
determinant in the effort of the teachers. More than the technological progress and
quantitative level of its utilisation, the quality of design and pedagogical approach will
largely determine the success or otherwise of this endeavour. The degree of rapport the
teachers can establish with the student receptors, overcoming the intervention of
technology, will be a major factor in this regard.

One major area of concern will be to forge a symbiotic relationship between the societal
environment and the technology deployed. More often than not cyber-dependent
educational communication or ECT has failed to reap the benefits of dissemination for
reasons of a mismatch between the two. A technology is only as good as the environment
in which it is deployed, no matter how sophisticated and powerful it potentially is. And
the most crucial elements in this environment are the human beings. Hence any talk about
the impact of development of technology on educational communication has to take into
account the ultimate beneficiaries, viz. the learners. Emerging communication
technologies may very well be exciting to the communicators, but they may prove
ineffective when put into practice indiscriminately. Not because, the communicators are
inefficient. But simply because, the people for whom these are deployed may not yet be
ready for the new technologies, rendering an environment inappropriate. Neither any
hardware nor any software will be effective unless it is relevant for its beneficiaries. And
such relevance is contingent upon the enthusiasm it creates in their mind. Hence our
choice as well as deployment of technology has to be governed by these factors. More
often than not new sophisticated technologies overwhelm, and repel, the beneficiaries. It
is the job of the teacher communicator to help the student receptors overcome this
discomfort and attract them.

All our efforts in exploring and exploiting the latest technological developments should
be weighed against the disadvantages. In our enthusiasm as communicators using
technology, we focus too much on its advantages. I am not saying that it is not required.
In fact, the advantages are considerable. With the help of technology, a teacher can reach
thousands of students simultaneously, a scenario that is unthinkable for conventional
classroom teaching. And although it is a virtual environment, in which the teacher and
her students do not meet, it is a live one given the fact that both the parties can interact
freely—through chats, and hopefully eventually through two-way video.

But we should also gauge the level of competence of the students for whom this is to be
used. We need technology for the benefit of our target group, not just for the sake of it.
More often than not sophisticated technologies only overawe, eventually repel, the
beneficiaries, namely the students. The job of the teacher communicator is to help the
student receptors get over this discomfort.

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This brings us to the pedagogical aspect of educational communication through technology.
The one-way traffic that was initially generated in the name of educational communication
induced receptor passivity once the novelty factor wore off. Gradually this passivity retarded
the cognitive process to a large extent. Educational communicators have chosen to combat
this problem with the facility of interactivity. Taking cue from the entertainment media they
have started using the two-way communication technique to encourage the receptors to be
not only receptive but also active. In a technological environment, it is not possible to
replicate the level of intimacy that exists between a teacher and a student in the classroom.
But through the deployment of an appropriate method, it may be possible to facilitate
interpersonal communication, even through the technological media, and thereby create a
comfort level reinforcing the cognitive process.

Nowadays a lot of effort goes into researching the needs and expectation of the potential
audience segment that is being targeted by the educational communicators. A mismatch of
perception levels between the resource persons and the inquisitive viewers has sometimes
been evident during experiments at various points of time. In educational interaction through
technology, the point should be not so much to impress the information-seeker with
technical terms/information as to clarify doubts in an easily comprehensible and friendly
way. This is all the more important because it is very unlikely that the questioner will call
back again to record his/her dissatisfaction. So the audience will only appreciate the
induction of good communicators as subject experts in the interactive sessions.

But simply activating the receptor or delivering a knowledge-package will not solve our
problem. While technology-driven media give emphasis to entertainment all over the
world and are redefining user-habits and practices in a large way, let us not despair. The
users are experiencing some excellent application of the media in the process. Teachers
as educational communicators through technology cannot overlook this. There is no harm
if you take some lessons from your counterparts in the entertainment media. Time may
have come for an expansion of the scope and purpose of knowledge-package. Perhaps
there is a strong case for developing edutainment modules that will seek to arouse the
interests of the users, whet their appetite, broaden their horizon and fire their imagination.
These will not only satiate the receptors’ needs but also stimulate their minds.

The learners definitely need knowledge, but they sure deserve the joy of learning. Can we
afford to deny them that pleasure?

So, what does all this imply? Technology and media are being touted as the most
effective means of dissemination. Maybe quantitatively they are. Yet overdependence on
these can create complications—in a qualitative sense. Perhaps it is advisable not to move
too far away from the human/humane aspects of education. Communication technology
can at best help you put your message across, but to mould the mind(s) and reap
behavioural changes you need more than that—you not only need a human presence but
humane touch also. The way forward for Educational Communication through
Technology or ECT is to explore ways of HUMANISING Information and
Communication Technology or ICT.