PHINMA CAGAYAN DE ORO COLLEGE

GRADUATE SCHOOL
EDU 186 –TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

Junpel U. Acut April 14, 2018

Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Administration and Supervision
Professor: Dr. Carmelita O. Elbanbuena

REFLECTION PAPER:
THE ROLES OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN LEARNING

Technology plays a very crucial role in the advent of teaching and learning

in the classroom. I am surrounded by almost endless amounts of information.

Riding the coattails of information is all of the technology I have at my fingertips.

Teachers are no longer the main source of information. For as prevalent as

technology is now, is it replacing real lasting education? Does technology have a

place in our classrooms? So, how do I teach students to handle these

technologies?

It has taken a while, but I think I have finally come up with a

single, comprehensive and actionable statement of the role of technology in

learning. This is crucial, because many educators are becoming confused and

frustrated by the myriad approaches and ways of talking about technology’s

role.

Although much in twenty-first century K-12 education still needs to be figured

out, such as creating a generally-agreed-upon twenty-first century curriculum, one

goal is, I think, now clear – the pedagogy with which our kids should be taught.

Although it can be stated in many ways, the basic direction is away from the “old”
pedagogy of teachers “telling” (or talking, or lecturing, or being the “Sage on the

Stage”) to the “new” pedagogy of kids teaching themselves with teacher’s

guidance (a combination of “student-centered learning,” “problem-based

learning,” “case-based learning,” and the teacher’s being the “Guide on the

Side”).

I have learned that the role of technology today is no longer about pure

entertainment. Students do not need to be entertained, they need to be engaged. As

a teacher, my change is to provide meaningful and powerful engagement.

Engagement should start within me. I should see what’s out there in the classroom

by finding some references, try some software and do some research. I should start

small wherein thinking on what I can do in the next two to three weeks to better

engaged with 21st century skills. Upon developing it, I need collaboration by doing it

among others, and plan carefully and ask what others have found successful.

Moreover, I need to take a risk because change cannot occur without conflict. So, I

should try it and see what will happen.

The presence of educational technology is really growing in the classroom.

With the help of new technology comes an explosion of learning and receiving new

information, especially on mobile devices. However, the development and

application of new technologies grows as a measure that is the question of whether

teachers are trained to keep up with them. Numerous studies were carried out, some

are still ongoing, but I have to find the right strategies to apply educational

technology in teaching. I should always remember then, that no matter what content

I teach, no matter what skills I teach, and no matter what subject I teach, the

question to ask is, what it means to teach? So as a teacher, it is incumbent upon me

today to begin preparing for the changing education paradigms of tomorrow.