Tradition and Innovation - A Discussion on the Relationship between Education and Technology

Author: Zhao Yong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: This book explores the relationship between education and technology in a layered manner. The entire book is divided into eight chapters, which are: Technology and Education, Technology and Learning, Technology and Students, Technology and Teaching, Technology and Management, Technology and Subjects, Technology and Technology, and Educational Technology Research, etc. The categories discussed in this book do not encompass all issues in the field of educational technology; they merely elaborate on some topics that are currently of interest to everyone. We hope that readers do not view these issues as a fixed framework of educational technology and limit themselves within these topics. The book starts with the debate over the definition of educational technology, and one of the main purposes of this book is to help those who are interested in, engaged in, or researching educational technology to approach the definition and positioning of educational technology with a relatively relaxed perspective. Our goal is to take action rather than necessarily finding a "name." Although a definition is necessary, we do not need to spend a lot of valuable energy pursuing a purely perfect definition. This book is not a strictly academic work. It should be noted that although its writing originated from discussions with faculty and students of the Educational Technology program at Beijing Normal University, this book is not a textbook and does not provide standard answers. The educational technology definition elaborated in the book is absolutely not a perfect definition. The author attempts to adopt the perspective of "Education as the foundation, Technology as the tool," on the one hand, to respond to the existing debates over definitions, and on the other hand, to inspire everyone to view educational technology with a broader and more macro perspective. Even for students studying educational technology or institutions offering educational technology programs, it should not be viewed merely as a discipline. Anything related to education and technology can be attributed to the field of educational technology; for any issue within this field, as long as there is interest and value, it can be studied and practiced, and should not be limited by the "name."