Types of Edtech
Which of these is an example of a hard educational technology: a learning theory, a curriculum model, or a tablet?
A tablet.
Using a learning theory to guide how students should learn is hard or soft technology?
Soft Tech
Which benefit of hard technology allows teachers to know how students are performing over time?
Tracking students' progress.
Which benefit gives students immediate access to information?
Real-time access to information.
What problem can occur when students use technology during class and lose focus from the lesson?
Distraction.
Hard technologies are mainly identified by what type of characteristics?
Tangible, technical, and material characteristics.
A teacher uses a smart board to display videos, diagrams and other multimedia during a lesson. Is this an example of hard or soft technology
Hard technology
How can hard technology make lesson planning more efficient?
It enables teachers to plan lessons more efficiently.
How can technology help students organise their study materials?
It enhances the organisation of study materials.
What disadvantage occurs when a school cannot afford to purchase the necessary technology?
Lack of resources.
A school wants to introduce more hard technologies but has limited funding and high maintenance costs. Identify TWO disadvantages the school may face.
High cost of acquiring/installing the technology and high maintenance costs.
teacher uses a smart board to display videos and presentations, while another teacher uses a learning theory to guide how students learn. Which teacher is primarily using hard technology?
The teacher using the smart board.
A teacher immediately sees whether students understand a question through a digital assessment. Which teacher benefit is being demonstrated?
Instant feedback.
A student completes an online quiz that immediately shows whether each answer is correct. Which student benefit is being demonstrated?
Interactive assessments
A school buys computers but later spends a lot of money repairing and servicing them. Which disadvantage is this?
High maintenance cost.
Educational technology is divided into two major groups. What is the other group besides hard technology?
Soft technology
School A has exactly the same computers, tablets and smart boards as School B. However, school B also uses different instructional models and learning theories to guide teaching. Which school is making greater use of EDTECH?
School B
A school introduces virtual-reality headsets that allow students to explore places and situations that would be difficult or impossible to experience in the actual classroom. Based on the meaning of hard technology, why would these headsets be classified as hard technology?
Because they are physical, tangible technological tools that can be used directly in the teaching and learning environment.
Jason is preparing for an examination. He uses technology to find information about a topic, organise his notes, complete an interactive quiz and investigate additional sources. Which FOUR student benefits are demonstrated?
A principal says, “Our only problem with educational technology is that we need more computers.” Four teachers disagree. One says students are becoming less socially interactive, another complains about unreliable internet, another says the technology is expensive to maintain, and the final teacher is worried about cheating. Why is the principal's statement incomplete? Identify the FOUR disadvantages raised by the teachers.
The principal's statement is incomplete because educational technology can have several different disadvantages, not just a lack of equipment.
A school purchases computers, tablets and smart boards for classroom use. Which category of educational technology do these items belong to?
Hard technology.
A school has several different software options available, but teachers cannot agree on which one is most suitable for their students. Which disadvantage of soft technology does this situation demonstrate?
Difficulty choosing the best software suitable for students because there are many software options.
A teacher wants to make lessons more engaging while also monitoring student progress and giving immediate responses. Identify THREE ways hard technology can help this teacher.
Two students are given the same research assignment. Student A searches for information online and stops at the first website. Student B uses technology to investigate several sources, compare information and gather useful evidence. Which student is demonstrating the stronger benefit of technology, and what benefit is being demonstrated?
Student B — improved research skills.
A school introduces educational technology and encounters four different problems: it cannot afford enough equipment; students become distracted by the technology; teachers experience difficulty selecting suitable software; and unreliable internet prevents some technology from working properly. Which TWO problems are associated with hard technology and which TWO are associated with soft technology?
Hard Technology:
Soft Technology: