Abstract
No generation is more at ease with technology than today's young people. This generation of students has grown up in an immersive computing environment and come to the school equipped with latest electronic gadgets such as smart phones, laptops and iPods. Educational technology supports meaningful learning and facilitates group interaction. The technology-based learning is especially useful in helping students conceptualize phenomena and processes. This chapter examines the role of technology in shaping the future of higher education by providing unique opportunities of learning. The chapter also discusses challenges of technology-enabled learning and offer specific recommendations to overcome these challenges.
TopThis section offers a discussion of the commonly used technology tools used in learning as well as other tools that are used to present and keep track of educational content, structure courses, monitor class enrolment, and evaluate the learning process and progress.
SMS
SMS messages are short 160 characters messages. These messages can be used to provide learning and evaluation support to educators. FrontlineSMS is popular open-source software that provides SMS communication. The SMS campaigns can help educators increase knowledge retention, facilitate long-term behavior changes and improve the quality of education. Instant messaging and chat applications are being used by teachers and students to develop proficiency in core subjects and 21st century skills. Teachers are using instant messaging for optional after-school study, such as lab group work and exam preparation. It was reported that students reluctant to participate in class discussions took active part in chat sessions which they accessed from the comfort of their homes while doing other things (Consortium for School Networking (2007).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Aural Learning: Auditory learning, sometimes called aural learning, is one of the three main ways or modalities we use to process information.
Educational Technology: Educational technology is the effective use of technological tools in learning.
Learning: Learning is the act of acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing, existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences.
Generation Y: Generation Y is the generation born in the 1980s and 1990s, comprising primarily the children of the baby boomers and typically perceived as increasingly familiar with digital and electronic technology.
Collaborative Technologies: Collaborative technologies relate to the notion of collaborative work systems which are conceived as any form of human organization that emerges any time that collaboration takes place, whether it is formal or informal, intentional or unintentional.
Generation X: Generation X is the generation born after that of the baby boomers (roughly from the early 1960s to mid 1970s), typically perceived to be disaffected and directionless.