Changing pedagogies...

Muain Jamlan
University of Bahrain

Wrote:
Educational processes have undergone many of changes during the last century. From print learning materials mailed to students’ homes, to educational radio broadcasts, to educational television programming, to recent forays in interactive Web-based e-learning, ongoing technological changes have been reflected in the evolving role of teachers and students in the learning equation. Technological changes – particularly Web-based e-learning technologies – have resulted in new curriculum design and teaching strategies, new and emerging organizational structures, and it has even transformed learning itself. McKenzie (1998) said that technology would transform the act of teaching, whether or not teachers or students are ready for this inevitable change. According to McKenzie, when faced with new technology, students and/ or teachers would likely adopt one of two approaches: they would either embrace it or they would dismiss it. In other words, teachers and students will either learn how to use new technology, or they would ignore it – the later of which would put them at disadvantage compared to their more technologically literate peers. Ballard opined that technology is reshaping today’s school systems and educational institutions by offering students new ways of seeing and learning; giving teachers new ways of teaching and imparting knowledge; and administrators new ways of organizing our educational system (Ballard, 2000).
Innovations in teaching and learning have emerged, and educators are in the midst of becoming more adept at using new educational technologies. This fact is reflected in our changing language. Terms such as “open education,” “distance education,” “distance learning,” “virtual learning,” “remote learning,” “online learning,” and “e-learning” are now part of educators’ everyday lexicon. Use of such terminology helps to define and shape the creative innovations taking place. However, many overlaps can be seen within these terms. Urdan and Weggen (2000), for instance, found that that online learning constitutes just one part of e-learning; and further define it as learning processes that take place via the Internet and in blended classroom contexts. They specified that e-learning covers a wide spectrum of applications and processes, including virtual classrooms and digital collaboration.

It is mindblowing to consider the changes over a relatively short time! What will the next few years bring....