Posted: July 4th, 2015
THE IMPACT OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN NAMAS SCHOOLS
ABSTRACT
Since the adoption of education technology in various schools, the government of Saudi Arabia has continually deployed many strategies popularize these technologies and ensure their implementation. This has been done without prior awareness on the positive and negative implication on student’s implication. Consequently, it is imperative to conduct a scientific documentation of how education technology may affect student’s achievement. Using stratified random technique, the study will be conducted on respondents from King Khalid University (KKU), Namas city in Saudi Arabia. Notably, the university is comprised of two colleges that include Community College for male students and a College of Health Sciences for Girls. Each of these colleges will form homogenous strata from which respondents who will include students and lectures will be randomly sampled. The interview, which will use a questionnaire to mainly determine various ways through which Education Technology affect Student achievement’.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Socio-economic traits data. 12
INTRODUCTION
Background information
Student Achievement refers to the measurement of the amount of academic content of a particular student learns within a specific period of time. This is done in line with the requirements of particular levels of learning or grade. Therefore, for a student achievement to be done, certain standards must have been established. Notably, achievement is a factor of various attributes such as academic excellence, sports, micro teaching, classroom behavioral, teacher clarity, repeated learning and reading programs, teacher-student relationship and technology. Recently, technology has emerged as one of these factors and this has resulted to the high uptake in technology across various sectors. Technology has had a significant impact in the education sector and especially in terms of improving Student Achievement (Gordon, 2007).
For the last few decades, technology has continuously improved, especially with the introduction of the internet, high speed computers and portable wireless devises. Consequently, various institutions have adopted this improved technology in order to achieve their objects most effectively. Globally, though many countries have adopted tech, Saudi Arabia has been on the fore from. This can be attributed to various factors such as the introduction of 3G networks and cheap smart phones in the region, acceptance due to the convenience and effectiveness associated with tech, encouraging people to go “green” by using more of “soft” data, placing an institution ahead of its competitors and the factor that it makes communities stronger (Osorio et.al, 2005). Currently, the Saudi Arabia education sectors have adopted extensively education technologies in various institution especially the universities. This is because university students have more access to the internet and internet enabled devices. For instance, according to a research conducted by Alfawareh and Shaidah of College of Computer Science & Information Systems, Najran University (SAUDI ARABIA), 94.4% of the participants owned Smartphones. The study established that most of the students used the phones either for normal or for learning purposes such as doing online research, as a computer among other uses (International Society for Technology in Education, 2007). In addition, it has become practically impossible for any student to carry on without the use of technology.
Problem statement
Since the adoption of education technology in various schools, the government has continually deployed many strategies popularize these technologies and ensure their implementation. This has been done without prior awareness on the positive and negative implication on student’s implication. Consequently, it is imperative to conduct a scientific documentation of how education technology may affect student’s achievement
Objectives
- To determine level of awareness on impact of Education Technology on Student achievement
- To determine various ways through which Education Technology affect Student achievement
- To determine various ways through which positive impacts on Student achievement via education technology can be ensured.
Justification of the study
The study is significant because it will extend the understanding in the current uptake in the use of technology especially in the education centre. The study will also establish the importance and impact of use of technology in education institutions. Today, technology has allowed universities and other educations to be more efficient and serve students better. As such, the study will look in to how the benefits that come along with technology can be improved.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Education technology is a broad field of learning and therefore has many definitions some of which are almost similar and others equally conflicting (Moore, Dickson & Gaylen, 2011). However, education technology can be briefly described as a compilation of varying academic interests which address issues of knowledge in particular fields, teaching and societal organization. Another simpler definition of the same is the use of technology in teaching and education methods. Education technology has come a long way since its inception in the first decades of the 18th century. Technology has been and is still highly regarded and revered for the improvements of man’s life today. Education on the other hand provided man with a means to gain knowledge and better his life. Since the merger between education and technology occurred, education technology has endeared to provide learning methods which are cheaper, faster, more accurate and provide better solutions to problems. The first signs of education technology were documented when the abacus and wall paintings were used to portray images and pass messages. From then on books and other writable materials were introduced which led to a demand in duplicating machines such as photocopiers. The use of various media then come into existence with the launch of educational films slide projectors which were introduced in the early 1950s. The 1960s saw the introduction of computers which taught math and reading in their initial stages. Computers underwent major improvement the in later years and up to now they are still undergoing the same.
In Saudi Arabia, education technology was first preceded by technical and vocational training in the early 1950s. It was not until 1994 when the internet was introduced to Saudi Arabia and 1997 when the public could access it. Saudi Arabia has shown tremendous effort in the advancement of education generally in the country, investing 25%, more money than any other country in the world. It is important to note that the education technology field is at various stages in different countries around the world with a big disparity between first and third world countries. This large disparity can be attributed to lack of technological advancements, underfunding and the prioritization of education in the respective countries.
The Saudi Arabia Communications and Technology reported that there were 12.5 million users of the internet in 2011 which translates to 44% of the entire population. There are many disciplines of education technology taught in Hamas schools which are practiced in the whole of Saudi Arabia. ICT which is Information and Communications Technology, e-learning centers and long distance learning education are some of the major disciplines of education technology currently in the country.
Education technology has been implemented in many areas in the education system in Saudi Arabia. One of the important uses of education technology in Saudi Arabia is in the library systems in the country’s institutions. Students read books online for free provided they have internet access by login in to their school’s website and searching for books of their interest. This has helped the institutions to cut down on their expenses as opposed to using manual systems. The enrollment and registration of students is now being done and processed online. Institutions of higher learning have also established websites where students interested in joining the respective universities can access information about the university. Education technology has also been used in security and military advancement in developing complex security systems and more sophisticated arms.
The Saudi Arabian government is very dedicated and committed to the education sector in the country most notably the ICT sector. A major drive factor for this dedication is in the country’s reliance in crude oil as a major source of revenue. It is estimated that the country’s resources for oil will be exhausted in the near future. This development has led the country to invest in other areas such as education so that when the oil deposits are exhausted the country will be a booming industrial and technological hub. The drive towards education technology is also driven by the country’s need to raise the literacy levels of the country which had been majorly an agricultural nation. Due to the country’s sparse population the government had no other option but to introduce new systems of education like long distance learning to cater for people who are in far and undeveloped areas. The government also intends to use technology to improve the lives of its citizens.
Education technology has many advantages to the achievement of students in Hamas schools and Saudi Arabia. First advantage of using ICT in Hamas schools is in the amount of options that are available in ICT. Teachers can get an unlimited material for the syllabus form the internet. This ensures that there is a comprehensive coverage of the specific subject matter. Education technology has also facilitated the development of softwares such as Skype which can is used for teaching students who maybe in far distant region. It is also used by students for asking questions, clarifying or consolidating ideas when the teacher and students are not in close vicinity. According to Al Dosari’s (2011) research indicated that students who learn using e-learning methods are better than the conventional methods. The use of technologies like this also creates inter personal relationships between students and their teachers creating a good learning environment. Education technology has benefitted people who could not attend universities due to work constraints by introducing the long distance learning module where students can be taught from anywhere in the world (Al Mansour & Al shorman, 2011) . Long distance learning has also help to overcome the gender barrier in Saudi Arabia where only the in the King Abdullah University are women allowed to be taught with men in the same campus with the exception of medicine schools. These students can enroll in other countries’ institutions and learn using the long distance learning module. ICT is also crucial in the country since there are no enough staff to teach. Technology also makes it more interesting for the students to learn new concepts.
The integration of technology with education has brought a few disadvantages into the Saudi Arabian social and education sector. Although the long distance module can be termed as a great success it has major drawbacks. It for example does not provide an inter relationship between the students and teachers making it harder for the teachers to assess the progression of their students. Students can access answers easily over the internet promoting laziness and poor research and study habits. The internet also has material which may not be appropriate for viewing by students. This material is easily accessible and can contribute negatively in the lives of students. The technology installed in the education system is also prone to recurring failures. Power outages, server errors and maintenance routines bring institutions and systems to a standstill causing discomfort and even losses. In extreme and isolated situations, militants can access information on the internet of for example how to use arms and explosives and use the knowledge to carry out attacks leading to injuries, destruction of property and deaths. Some forms of ICT have been attributed to causing defects and diseases among their users. For example, long exposure to computers can cause eye defects. Radiation produced by these machines has also been linked to causing some types of cancer. Research has also linked technology to a reduction in outdoor activities among children. This is because the children are constantly engaged in their laptops, and other technological gadgets. ICT infrastructure is also very expensive making it harder to provide its services to a large population.
There are certain remedies that can be put in place to ensure that the negative effects of education technology are minimized or stopped. Research has to be carried out before the integration of technology into education is done. This will ensure that there are few or no loopholes during the implementation of such projects. To ensure that there are inter personal relationships between students and their teachers, the old teaching methods have to be amalgamated with the new techniques. Moderate use of ICT machines should be encouraged to ensure that their users do not suffer from the effects of long exposure to these machines.
METHODOLOGY
Respondents
Using stratified random technique, the survey will conduct on respondents from King Khalid University (KKU), Namas city in Saudi Arabia. Notably, the university is comprised of two colleges that include Community College for male studentsand a College of Health Sciences for Girls. Each of these colleges will form homogenous strata from which respondents who will include students and lectures will be randomly sampled.
Survey instrument
The interviews during the survey will be aided by well structured questionnaires that will consist of 3 main parts. The part first will consist of questions intended to gather social economic data. Second part will be aimed at getting various responses on education technology. The final part will include personal comments from the interview on whether the interview went well or not and include various challenges such as comprehension and language barrier from the part of the interview. However, before the actual survey, the questionnare will be pretested on 10 randomly selected students to determine (1) the exact time the interview will take and (2) to determine the unnecccesry questions included. This is done to ensure that the data is gathered with the shortest time to minimize boredom or taking a lot of interviews time
Socio-economic traits data
Information was collected on the respondent’s name, sex, age, nationality education level and experience. These variables were considered to have influence on the level of awareness on impact of Education Technology on Student achievement
Education Technology data.
After the collection of Socio-economic data, respondents were then interviewed on the following
I. Whether they are aware of any kind of impact on student achievement due to Education Technology
II. Types of Education Technologies available
- Any kind of impact, whether positive or negative
- various ways through which Education Technology affect Student achievement
- ways through which positive impacts on Student achievement via education technology can be ensured/maximized
Data analysis
After the collection of data, data analysis of the data collected from the survey was done, this was accomplished descriptively via SPSS version 1 7.
References
Al-Mansour, N., & Al-Shorman, R. (2011). The effect of computer-assisted instruction on Saudi University students’ learning of English. Journal Of King Saud University – Languages And Translation.
Hamad,. (2011). Faculty Members and Students Perceptions of E-Learning in the English Department: A Project Evaluation. Journal Of Social Sciences, 7(3), 391-407.
Moore, J., Dickson-Deane, C., & Galyen, K. (2011). e-Learning, online learning, and distance learning environments: Are they the same?. The Internet And Higher Education, 14(2).
Gordon, A. (2007). Advanced educational technology in technology education: [proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Advanced Educational Technology in Technology Education, held in Salford, UK, August 17-28, 1992]. Berlin [u.a.: Springer.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). National educational technology standards for students. Washington, D.C: International Society for Technology in Education.
Osorio, J., Tatnall, A., Visscher, A., & IFIP TC 3/WG 3.7 International Working Conference on Information Technology in Educational Management (ITEM). (2005). Information technology and educational management in the knowledge society: IFIP TC3 WG3.7, 6th International Working Conference on Information Technology in Educational Management (ITEM), July 11-15, 2004, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. New York, NY: Springer.
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