Computers, Networks and Education

MATEC Web of Conferences, 2017

Capacity Building for IT in Education in Developing Countries, 1998

Worldwide a rapidly increasing number of schools is connected to the Internet, which is a way of supporting teachers, students and school administrators. Although many teachers have great expectations in regard to this medium in terms of new didactic possibilities, many telecommunication projects with schools are mostly dealing with the technical infrastructure. Based on the results and experiences made in the Upper Austrian school-net 'Education Highway' project the following questions will be discussed: What are the wishes and expectations of teachers concerning networks in schools? Do we meet the needs of schools by doing Internet projects with them? What results can we expect if schools are connected to a network? What are the MUSTs which make a network project for schools successful?

Communications of the …, 2003

There are many goals for the use of technology in schools, including preparing students for tomorrow's workplace and contributing to economic competitiveness. However, foremost among the goals for using technology in schools is the improvement of schooling itself. Advances in digital media and network technologies provide opportunities and expectations for school improvement. To that end, the U.S. Department of Education states as a primary goal that: "Digital content and networked applications will transform teaching and learning" . Expectations for improvement in teaching and learning are fueled by dramatic increases in the levels of technology in our nation's schools . The percent of schools with Internet access increased from 35% in 1994 to 95% in 1999.

1985

Educationally successful electronic network activities involving microcomputers and long-distance networks include a student newswire, joint social science projects, and joint science projects. A newswire activity, such as "The Computer Chronicles," can provide a wide range of audiences for writing, a functional environment for reading, and a context for evaluating the writing of oneself and others. Joint social science projects carried out by middle and high school students and teachers at sites in California, Israel, Japan, Alaska, and Mexico have involved students in comparing educational systems across sites, analyzing the news coverage of the "same" event at the different sites, and surveying popular music at the different locations. Joint science projects currently are being organized in which students collect data on some shared problem, jointly analyze the data, and report findings. Not only is this a "functional learning environment" for science instruction, but it also may be a powerful way to teach problem solving. In the longer run, these kinds of joint activities can become a central part of the educational experience. The dynamic support provided by computers ead computer networks may make it economically feasible to include an "apprenticeship" model for learning as a-central part of our educational system. (RH)

Asynchronous communication media (e-mail, news groups, ftp, etc.) has been widely used in the academic community. In the last years, with the advent of faster networks new synchronous communication media have appeared. They are usually referred to as multimedia-conferencing systems. Multimedia-conferencing supports meetings among people in different locations. The simplest systems only allow unidirectional communication from a source to multiple people. The most advanced ones allow multi-party conferencing, so that each participant can participate both passively (by simply watching and hearing) and actively (by speaking). Technologies discussed in this section are part of a wider area: computer-mediated communication [Rap91] that deals with the interaction between people by means of computers. Multimedia-conferencing has many applications, although the most important one is tele-teaching or distributed electronic classrooms. Lectures can be broadcasted via networks (ISDN or Internet), using a multimediaconference system. For instance, a course can be shared by two or more centers [NEELB94], that is, students can be located at different centers, and the lecturer can be at any of the centers. Some advantages of multimedia conferencing are:

Computers & Education, 2001

Since the impetus of the counter-culture revolution in America in the 1960's led to the development of the personal desktop computer, there has been an ongoing debate about just how to use this wonderful electronic tool in the classroom. In the early years, the work of Seymour Papert, especially, led educators to believe that students should learn how to program this unique machine and use it to discover the solutions to otherwise elusive and complex problems. The discipline involved in programming would help develop widely applicable cognitive and intellectual skills and uncover mathematical relationships and logic that could be applied in other areas of study. This view of the computer was based on the belief that knowledge is derived from a series of logical assumptions and all one had to do was uncover the mathematical relationships to reveal the solutions to the problems and gain mastery over the tool and its applications.

Over the years in the history of Education, Educational Technology has taken New Avatars from the Programmed Learning Movement to the present era of Web 2.0 Technologies and Social Media. By using Social Media Platforms such as Wikis, Blogs, WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter in the classroom, teachers have seen an increase in achievement and classroom participation – even less sociable students have become more participatory. Tablets not only offer the present digital learners the chance to browse for information in quick fashions, but they also allow them to more easily collaborate on projects and become more engaged in their learning process. They have become exceptional tools that soon every classroom will strive to have. The Smartphones, like the tablet, have had different receptions. In addition to providing access to social media platforms which allow students to more freely interact, the Smartphones also provide easy access to useful information which betters a child’s overall learning experience. They also offer numerous apps designed to help students better budget their time and create more efficient schedules to complete their school work. Like never before, students are able to access any type of information about any subject matter through free web resources. They choose Khan Academy, YouTube, NROER, OER and numerous other forums which have bettered the learning experience and allowed student access to resources necessary to supplement their own education. Since the start of online programmes, anybody is able to pursue education anytime, anywhere. “With the emerging new technologies, the teaching profession is evolving from an emphasis on teacher-centered, lecture-based instruction to student-centered, interactive learning environments” (John Daniel, 2002). Today, the world of education stands loaded with unprecedented hope for a new paradigm of ‘anybody, anytime, anywhere learning’ through collaborative and constructive pedagogical models, thanks to the all-new web technologies. According to Douglas Kellner (2008), this technological revolution will have a greater impact on society than the transition from an oral to a print culture. George Siemens (2009) observed, “Technology is altering (rewiring) our brains. The tools we use define and shape our thinking”. Today’s teachers, whether in school or college are working with students whose entire lives have been immersed in the 21st century media culture.“The previous teaching practices of teacher directed, ‘chalk and talk’ no longer can engage the learner, nor can it provide the learner with the knowledge needed to connect and stay connected in this digital era (Siemens, O’Neill & Carr, 2008). The New York Times (2011) observed, “Learning, like culture, is a dynamic thing. It was an oral thing once, then it became a printed thing and is becoming a digital thing.” The much-hyped 21st century education is bold. It breaks the mold. It is flexible, creative, challenging, and complex.

1950s & 60s-Educational applications for computers was mainly conjectural although import experiments were being conducted; these were spurred by the development of FORTRAN (easier to learn than previous programming languages) and B.F. Skinner's work in programmed instruction; Factors such as cost, hardware reliability, availability of adequate materials remained major barriers to adoption of computers for instruction. Microcomputer advent in 1975 made possible by the invention of the microprocessor changed this; reduced the cost of computers Two (2) major applications of computers in instruction: