The definition of educational technology varies according to who defines the term, to an educator, it will include any media that can be used for instructional purposes to enhance and enrich learning, while a tech guru will see educational technology as all hard and software that can be used for instructional purposes, but from whatever perspective one looks at it, the use of technology has changed the way we teach and learn. (Lever-Duffy 7 McDonald, 2008) Technology has come to stay, love of or hate it, irrespective of our opinion; technology is not showing any sign of slowing down. We have a lot of catching up to do, especially all the “technology immigrants.” (Prenskey, 2010). The 21st century educators have no place to hide, we need to catch up with the “digital natives” we all have in our classrooms. (Thornburg, 2010) declared that the use of technology is no longer a matter of option, but a reasonable expectation, if we want to produce the caliber of students that will compete successfully in the 21st century economy.
Technology has made possible 24/7 anywhere any time learning possible, it has shrunk the line between school and community. (Dede, 2010). Teachers are no longer the only repertoire of knowledge; the learners can access information on the web anywhere anytime wherever they have connection to the web. If anything, the school is not yet in full speed as far as technology is concern; all the stake holders in education have a duty to the students to step up the use of technology in the school, so that the students can have a competitive advantage in the 21st century economy.
References
Thornburg, D. (2004). Technology and education: Expectations, not options. (Executive
Briefing No. 401). Retrieved from
http://www.tcpdpodcast.org/briefings/expectations.pdf
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010c). Program number 3: The third wave [DVD].
Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD:
Author.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful tools for classrooms (3rd
ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
