The great debate on technology and education

Clark vs Kozman debate

Can technology change the way we learn? Well according to Richard E. Clark in his 1983 argument he states that technology can only be a medium to deliver information but it is not what will make us learn something new. He stated like this “just like the truck is used to deliver goods to a store has no influence on the groceries it carries. The media is only a vehicle by which it is delivered.  He adds by stating “learning comes from the instructional method.” He concluded that media does not have any influence on learning what so ever.

Richard Kozman in 1991 combat Clark's theory by stating that using different media can complement the teacher in her quest to teach any subject effectively. Kozman believse that technology  provide a unique experience to learning. He continues  in his statement that “we should look at the attributes of the specific medium rather than the specific medium itself.”  Really Clark’s conclusion comes from research done fifty years ago.

There have not been any studies that prove either one to be right. Technology of today has changed drastically in just the last ten years. The computers that were used then were all big and complicated. The technology then was still simple in design and not much  educational benefit but in a developmental stage. Today we have games for teaching a concept, YouTube for explaining or elaborating on a fact, google for research, and an IPad with different apps that can compliment a teacher’s lesson. A child  of today is enriched with different ways for learning at any given subject using technology. But of course it is not the only means by which they can learn. It is a known fact that media does not work for everybody but for some. “Instructional technology only works for some kids, with some topics, and under some conditions – but that is true of all pedagogy. There is nothing that works for every purpose, for every learner, and all the time.” (Mann, 2001) Technology does provide a different avenue from that traditional way of paper and pencil into a world of entertainment and maybe go as far as to say they encouraged a student to learn. Of course there may be some hiccups for those students that are economically disadvantage that don’t have a computer or an IPad in their home. They have more obstacles to overcome by not being exposed to the privileges that others financially secure families have.

Teachers are understanding that the classroom  has to change from traditional sitting six hours and hearing the teacher talk. Where as today classrooms assignments are complemented with Apps such as Tellegomi, Animoto, and cartoons. Teachers are using different methods to teach a skill by implementing technology. They have too; today students are used to technology in their everyday routines. Their brains are wired for it. They have being exposed from childbirth with their parent’s laptop, cell phone, and IPad being around them and entertaining them all during their toddler and childhood life.   

 

Coming down to the fact is that technology, in and of itself, can neither make a child to learn nor deplete instruction but enhance a good teacher’s instruction. A good teacher is a good teacher and that is what the child needs most importantly.
Technology are only the tools that teacher can utilize to motivate the today's child to learn. 

Clark, R. E. (1994). Media will never influence learning.  Educational Technology

Research and  Development, 42 (1), 21-29.

Clark, R. E. (2007). Learning from Serious Games?Arguments,

 Evidence, and Research Suggestions.  EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, May-June 2007, 56-59.

Gredler, M. E. (1996). Educational  games and simulations: A technology

 in search of a researchparadigm.

 In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.),  Handbook of research on educational communications

 and technology (pp. 521–540).

 New York: Simon & SchusterMacmillan Kozma, R. B. (1991). Learning with Media.

 Review of Educational Research, 61 (2), 179-211.

Kozma, R. B. (1994). The Influence of Media on Learning: The Debate

 Continues.  School Library Media Research SLMQ 22 (4).

Mann, D. (2001). Documenting the Effects of Instructional Technology, A Fly-Over of Policy Questions.

 In W. F. Heineke & L. Blasi (Eds.), Research methods for educational technology ;

 v. 1: Methods of evaluating educational technology (Vol. 1, pp. 239-249).Greenwich, Conn.: Information Age Pub