| dc.description.abstract | Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and
improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological
processes and resources. From the perspective of technology used in education,
educational technology could be understood as the use of emerging and existing
technologies to improve learning experiences in a variety of instructional settings,
such as formal learning, informal learning, non-formal learning, lifelong learning,
learning on demand, and just-in-time learning. Educational technology approaches
have evolved from early uses of audiovisual aids to individual and networked
computers, and now have evolved to include various mobile and smart technologies,
as well as virtual and augmented realities, avatar-based immersive environments,
cloud computing, and wearable and location-aware devices. Various terms
have been used along the way to refer to educational technologies, such as learning
technologies/environments and instructional technologies/systems. We have
embraced a broad interpretation in this book to cover instructional design
approaches, learning strategies, and hardware and software. Our view is that anything
that consistently can support learning and instruction can be considered an
educational technology. Some educational technologies are simple and have existed
for many years; others are complex, and new ones are finding their way into
educational settings every day.
Educational technology focuses on both the technical and pedagogical ways and
means of supporting learning and instruction. It is the basis for the success of the
e-learning revolution in recent years. Technology-based instruction can surpass
traditional classroom-based instruction in quality by providing a wide variety of
affordances and capabilities that can promote motivation and result in engaging,
efficient, and effective learning. | en_US |
