Educators, researchers, and policymakers continue to argue for updatedlearning and schooling models and the increased use of new and emergingelectronic learning technologies (e-learning) that can better prepare students for an increasingly global, changing, and complex world. Lags between real world and educational uses of technology and lack of access to new technologies continue to plague educators. Furthermore, in the 21st-century world, content is so abundant as to make it a poor foundation onwhich to base an educational system; rather, context and meaning are the scarce but relevant commodities today. This alters the purpose of education to that of helping learners communicate with others, find relevant and accurate information for the task at hand, and be co learners and partners with teachers and peers in diverse settings and learning communities that go beyond school walls (McCombs, 2004).To address these issues, a bold new view of learning and schooling isneeded. This new view must be one that builds on the best knowledge about human learning, motivation, and development. The framework must alsobe one that is not only research-based, but research-validated in the sensethat it has evolved principles that have been repeatedly verified and are notjust the latest research fad. It must be credible to researchers, educators,and policymakers alike; it must validate human experience while stretchingcurrent understanding; and it must inspire hope in a greater and grandervision of what is possible for all learners, including,both new and experienced teachers.
The key issues in using educational technology to support learner-centered principles and practices are building ways to meet learner needs for interpersonal relationships and connections. Finding strategies that acknowledge individual differences and thediversity of learner needs, abilities, and interests.Tailoring strategies to differing learner needs for personal control and choice.Assessing the efficacy of technology to meet diverse and emergingindividual learner and learning community needs.As an overriding principle, it is necessary to look for not only take match ormismatch of technology uses with learning principles, but also its match or mismatchwith learners and their diverse needs. A balance of personal and technical supports can then be provided with technology supported learning opportunities, content, and communities. In the case of many new distance learningopportunities, it is easy to overlook the central role that learner-centeredprinciples can play-not only in holistically addressing learner and learningneeds, but also, in so doing, increasing student motivational, social, andacademic learning outcomes.The learner-centered framework provides a foundation for transformingeducation, inclusive of the potential role of technology. Technology can beused to change the role of teachers to that of colearners and contributors tothe social and interpersonal development of students, counterbalancing thepotential of computer technology to cause personal and social isolation andalienation. Online delivery of education can then provide a means to centralize course development and link intergenerational learners to academictutors on a global scale. As those associated with distance learning at the.OpenUniversity have learned, meeting these needs can drastically increasestudent retention in online courses and degree programs (J. Haywood,personal communication, June 15, 2001).These changes can be difficult. Resistance to technology is one contributing factor; however, a learner-centered e-classroom is not just dependentupon technology but also dependent upon political, organizational,cultural, and psychological factors .As changes to the definition of “schooling” occur, the possibilities afforded by e-learning growor diminish dependent upon these other factors. E-learning may grow,but it may not grow in keeping with a learner-centered framework.Teamwork, project-based learning, advanced learning skills, and solvingreal-world problems may become fads in the educational reform movementregardless of whether learning occurs in a technology medium. Fortechnology to be integral to these and other educational reforms, areal challenge will be the preparation of teachers. They must fundament-ally understand learner-centered principles of learning that are embeddedin technology applications ranging from those in face-to-face classroomssuch as the Gen Y program to e-classrooms in virtual high schools or inhigher education.
By: Mary Charlotte R. Bonus | Teacher II | MNHS-Cabcaben | Mariveles, Bataan
