The Four Strands of Learning in Technology

The four strands of learning in technology set out in this statement are interdependent. They are:

 

Strand 1- Designing, Making and Appraising

      A process of designing, making and appraising involves students in investigating, devising, communicating, producing and reflecting. Through this process students develop ideas and create imaginative solutions for the learning tasks in which they are engaged. They participate in decisions about what to do, why it should be done, how it should be done, and how what has been done might be improved. Particular attention is given to the context in which the tasks and activities are set.

Strand 2 - Materials

    Materials are natural and synthetic. They include fibres, papier-mache, clay, ceramics, woods, foods, film fabrics, video-tape, foil, plastics, teflon, plants, hormones, and a variety of composites. The properties and characteristics of materials can be utilised to create technological processes and products that meet technological needs and specifications. The selection of materials to use in given situations requires careful consideration of advantages and limitations from technical and social viewpoints. Appropriate applications of materials are determined by their functional, environmental and cultural impact. Working with materials involves learning techniques for processing, handling and recycling a wide range of materials. These techniques play an important role in achieving planned outcomes from the materials.

Strand 3 - Information

     Information is knowledge that is generated and used in everyday life. Information can be stored, retrieved and communicated using sound and/or visual images including print, numerical, pictorial and graphical representations. The combinations selected depend on the nature and purpose of the task being undertaken. An increasing number of multi-media technologies are becoming available. The techniques of gathering, sorting, storing, retrieving and communicating information form a major technology. They are also used in solving challenges across the complete range of technology.

Strand 4 - Systems

       Systems are combinations of components that work together to achieve specified outcomes (that could not be achieved by the individual components themselves). Systems may contain a single sequence through which the components interact or a complex series of interconnected sequences. The mechanisms by which systems operate and are controlled are essential parts of the efficient and effective functioning of systems.

       All systems have particular inputs and processes that lead to specific outcomes. Their operation can be controlled by mechanical, chemical, electronic and human means. The integration and programming of systems to achieve desired outcomes are important areas of study.

       Systems are used, applied and developed in all areas of human activity. Environmental, engineering, energy, manufacturing and management systems are particularly significant. The capacity to operate and modify systems, and to investigate causes and effects within them is part of learning in this strand. The appropriateness of the applications of systems is determined by their technical, environmental and cultural consequences, and how they meet specified human needs

Technology in the school curriculum

Effective technology programs encourage students to be productive, innovative and enterprising. This involves generating ideas and taking action, as well as developing techniques and products that satisfy human needs.

Students learn about materials, information and systems and the processes by which they are employed. They consider the resources, equipment and techniques that are relevant to the context in which they are working. Students examine the context of a task or activity to determine needs and opportunities, and to relate what is known to what might be done. They make, organise and modify techniques and products and communicate their plans to others. They appraise technologies with which they have had no direct or first-hand experience and reflect on what has been done and how it can be improved.

Mobile use in the process of learning mathematics

  And divided into two parts:

A.      Learning mathematics is straightforward:

This is done through the presence of students for classes directly through the video where any student to attend taught directly in any place in the time specified for the share and that it needs the equipment, tools and special programs for that can be done now using the Internet as is the case with computers and this is done Using digital cameras and microphones are in the classroom and connected to the Internet where students can receive lesson on the network and can also be a lesson using the direct voice contact between the teacher and the learner.

B.      Learning of mathematics indirectly:

This is done by the photographer to see the lesson in advance, either in the form of sequential segments or in the form of sound or image and sound together, and this step is characterized by the possibility of re-explanation and seen more than once, but lack of classroom interaction.

Technology in Education

      Many people warn of the possible harmful effects of using technology in the classroom. Will children lose their ability to relate to other human beings? Will they become dependent on technology to learn? Will they find inappropriate materials? The same was probably said with the invention of the printing press, radio, and television. All of these can be used inappropriately, but all of them have given humanity unbounded access to information which can be turned into knowledge. Appropriately used-- interactively and with guidance-- they have become tools for the development of higher order thinking skills.

Inappropriately used in the classroom, technology can be used to perpetuate old models of teaching and learning. Students can be "plugged into computers" to do drill and practice that is not so different from workbooks. Teachers can use multimedia technology to give more colorful, stimulating lectures. Both of these have their place, but such use does not begin to tap the power of these new tools.

In this area, you will find descriptions of how computers can be used to stimulate and develop writing skills, collaborate with peers in foreign countries, do authentic kinds of research that is valuable to the adult world, and do complex kinds of problem solving that would otherwise be impossible.