Terminology

What do we know about the integration of various technologies into different kinds of learning?

My reflection about Alla Anohina's article "Analysis of the terminology used in the field of virtual learning " is ;

As one of the students who understand the effect of technology in education, I understand some words that I know change and their importance with Alla Anohina article once more.

While the relationship between education and technology is getting more and more powerful, researchers working in this field use different terms for referencing of possible ways and approaches of teaching and learning.

Instead of explaining all of them, we can gather them into "virtual learning" and then explain it.

I think the explanation of "virtual learning" is that it is a kind of education that place, time, pace and amount depend on students and some technological tools replace partly or entirely human teachers.👩‍🏫👨‍🏫🤖

This can be weird for most of us.

For instance, some of my lessons can give students opportunities to rewatch lessons' videos and attend lessons via some platforms. I find this way very useful to better understand topics.

Moreover, some universities continue their lessons with some methods. For example, they give the lesson's records and assignments and students ask their problems with each other during the lesson's hours. If they can't solve, they ask  assistants or the teacher.

I don't have a chance to experience this way as a student but it looks very useful and almost depends on Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development.

Terminologies that describe technologies supporting this kind of learning process are generally divided into 2 categories.

1. a word characterizing learning + an educational concept
2. a technology describing word + a connective + an educational concept

This categorize can be called traditional learning vs virtual learning. As we see the former includes what traditional learning has and the other has what virtual learning has.

In my country, Turkey, our education system has both of them, most of the time only the former, nevertheless, our education system is in the process of passing to the second category for now due to Covid-19.

The first part shows the difference among terms and this feature was used forming 8 basic groups of the most widespread terms : 

Do we really know educational concepts?

We spend our best years at school.

Well, how many of these terms education, instruction, learning, teaching, training, and tutoring do we know very well?

• Teaching = Learning all activities that impart knowledge, facts, ideas, or skills from human teachers or computer.
• Learning = It comprises all activities that impart knowledge, facts, ideas, or skills from human teachers or computer by learner.
• Training = A planned and systematic learning with people who can teach.
• Education = Learning + Training.
• Instruction = Plan of teaching.
• Tutoring = It is like teaching but more individually.

The book tries to cover the major points of educational concepts but it should have had one more term, learner, or student.

It can be said if there is no description for "tutoring", we don't waste much more things. 

However, the meaning and place of "learner" are important because if not, who will we educate and for what the purpose of education will be?

I think we can describe it as people who are intending to learn something, and education serves to make them better from their present situation.

What are connectives?

• Managed, monitored, and administered = Some technology is served as a medium in the managing of the learning process and provides such functions as test generation, evaluation of learner performance and analysis of learner's assessment results, and so on.
• Aided and assisted =  Some technology is used as a supplement to the traditional learning process.For example, providing presentation of the learning materials checks learner's knowledge, and etc.
• Enhanced = Like aided and assisted but it emphasizes the teacher's role.
• Enriched = Some technology is used as a working tool and does not provide creating and delivering of learning materials.
• Based = Managed, monitored, and administered + aided and assisted + enriched. Also, technology plays a central role.
• Mediated and supported = Some technology is used as a learning resource or tool as a tutor and as a subject to be taught.
• Enabled and facilitated = Like aided and assisted but they are used more rarely.
• Delivered = Some technology is used for accessing the course.
• Related = It is so broad as the words “mediated” and “supported”.

The groups of the most widespread terms

Groups ‘C’, ‘I’, ‘R’, ‘T’, and ‘W’, synonyms are the terms that contain the connectives from the same category. For example, “computer-managed instruction” and “computer-monitored instruction” are synonyms.

The terms without connectives within each of the groups ‘D’, ‘E’ or ‘O’ are synonyms on their merits, but the use of education concepts (section “Educational concepts”) brings some little nuances. For example, “distance learning” and “distance teaching” both imply that a learner and a teacher are separated one from another by time, place, or both factors, however, “distance learning” highlights the learner activity in the learning process, while “distance teaching” stresses the teacher activity.

It released in 29.10.2020

The last update was in 4.11.2020

References

• Alla Anohina's article "Analysis of the terminology used in the field of virtual learning " 
• Freepik