Educational Technology and Communication

What to remember

• Educational technology means using tools, media and well-planned methods to make teaching and learning more effective. It has a hardware side (machines), a software side (programmes and methods) and a systems side (planning the whole process).
• Flanders Interaction Analysis records classroom talk in 10 categories, every 3 seconds, and shows whether the teacher is mostly "indirect" (encouraging) or "direct" (controlling).
• Programmed instruction breaks content into small steps with active response and immediate feedback; Skinner's is linear, Crowder's is branching. Web 2.0 tools let learners read and write, and a virtual classroom brings teacher and students together online.

Communication in the classroom

Teaching is a communication process. A message moves from a sender to a receiver through a channel. The receiver gives feedback. Anything that disturbs the message is called noise (for example, a loud sound, an unclear word, or a distracted mind).

• Shannon and Weaver model: source, transmitter, channel, receiver, destination, with noise. It is a one-way, technical model.
• Berlo's SMCR model: Source, Message, Channel, Receiver. It stresses that the source and receiver need similar skills, attitudes and knowledge.
• Two-way communication: feedback makes the classroom interactive. One-way communication (only lecturing) gives the teacher no information about learning.
• Types: verbal (speech, writing) and non-verbal (gestures, facial expression, eye contact, posture).
• Barriers: language problems, noise, poor listening, lack of interest, and a large gap between the teacher's and the learner's level.

Instructional media

Media are the channels that carry the message from teacher to learner.

• Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience orders experiences from concrete to abstract: direct purposeful experience at the base, then contrived experiences, demonstrations, field trips, exhibits, television and films, pictures, and finally verbal symbols at the top. Concrete experiences give deeper learning.
• A good teaching aid is simple, relevant to the objective, low in cost, safe, and used at the right time.
• Audio-visual aids are used to support the teacher; they do not replace the teacher.
• Open Educational Resources (OER) are free teaching and learning materials that anyone may use and adapt.

Flanders Interaction Analysis (FIAC)

Ned Flanders developed this system to study verbal behaviour in the classroom. An observer notes the category number every 3 seconds.

• Categories 1 to 4 are indirect; 5 to 7 are direct. The I/D ratio compares indirect and direct teacher talk. A higher value shows a more democratic, encouraging class.
• The data are recorded in a 10 x 10 matrix. The pairs of consecutive categories (for example 4 followed by 8) are entered as cells.
• A common finding is the "two-thirds rule": in many classrooms, about two-thirds of the time someone is talking, and about two-thirds of that talk is by the teacher.
• Uses: feedback to student-teachers, studying teaching styles, and improving questioning.

Programmed instruction

Programmed instruction (PI) presents content in small, logical steps. It is based on operant conditioning and reinforcement.

Principles: small steps, active response, immediate feedback (reinforcement), self-pacing, and learner verification (testing the programme on learners and revising it).

• Mathetics was developed by Thomas Gilbert; it is based on analysing a task and teaching it in a reverse chain.
• A programme is made of frames: stimulus, response and feedback.
• Strengths: self-paced, individual attention, active learning. Limits: it can become mechanical, and it is costly to prepare.
• Teaching machines and later computer-assisted instruction (CAI) grew from this idea.

E-learning and blended learning

E-learning is learning through electronic media such as computers, mobile phones and the internet.

• Synchronous: teacher and learner meet at the same time (live online class, video conference, chat).
• Asynchronous: learner studies at any time (recorded lectures, discussion forums, e-mail, pre-made modules).
• Blended learning: a mix of classroom teaching and online learning.
• Flipped classroom: learners study content (video, reading) at home; class time is used for discussion and problem solving.
• Mobile learning (m-learning) uses phones and tablets.
• CAI and CAL: computer-assisted instruction and learning. Simulations copy real situations safely.
• Advantages: flexible time and place, repeated access, wide reach. Limits: need for devices and internet, less face-to-face contact, and need for self-discipline.

Web 2.0 and virtual classrooms

• The term Web 2.0 became widely known through Tim O'Reilly.
• Blog: an online journal where the teacher or student writes posts. Wiki: a page that many users can edit together (Wikipedia is the best-known). Podcast: audio episodes. Social bookmarking and video sharing are other tools.
• Virtual classroom: an online space with live video, audio, a shared whiteboard, chat, polls and breakout rooms. Typical tools are video-conferencing apps and learning management systems.
• Learning Management System (LMS): software to host courses, record attendance, give tests and track progress.
• Teacher role online: planning, giving clear instructions, keeping sessions short, and encouraging participation.

Classroom use of technology

• Choose a medium by the learning objective, not by fashion. A video suits a process; a model suits a structure; a chart suits a summary.
• Prepare before the lesson: test the device, check the sound and the display, and keep a plain-board plan ready if power or internet fails.
• Keep slides simple: few words, large letters, one idea on each slide.
• Use media to start a lesson (motivation), to explain an idea, and to revise at the end.
• ICT (Information and Communication Technology) covers computers, the internet, mobile devices, projectors and software used for learning. Its use should lead to active learning, not only to showing content.
• Smart classroom: a room with a projector or interactive panel, internet and digital content.
• Interactive whiteboard: a touch-sensitive board connected to a computer, where the teacher writes, draws and plays media.
• Language laboratory: a room with audio equipment for listening and speaking practice.
• Edusat was India's satellite for education; satellite and television lessons reach distant areas.

Exam traps

• Flanders categories 1 to 4 are indirect; 5 to 7 are direct. Questioning (4) is indirect; lecturing (5) is direct.
• Category 8 is student response; category 9 is student initiation. Category 10 is silence or confusion.
• Skinner is linear; Crowder is branching. Constructed response is linear; multiple choice is branching.
• Synchronous means the same time; asynchronous means any time.
• Web 1.0 is read-only; Web 2.0 is read-write. Do not reverse them.
• A wiki is edited by many users; a blog is mainly written by one author, with comments from others.
• In Dale's Cone, the base is direct experience; verbal symbols are at the top.
• Noise is any disturbance in communication, not only sound.

One-liners

• 1. Flanders analysis uses 10 categories.
• 2. Observations are recorded every 3 seconds.
• 3. Teacher "acceptance of feeling" is category 1.
• 4. Giving directions is category 6.
• 5. Student initiation is category 9.
• 6. A 10 x 10 matrix is used to tabulate Flanders data.
• 7. Skinner developed linear programming.
• 8. Crowder developed branching (intrinsic) programming.
• 9. Mathetics is associated with Thomas Gilbert.
• 10. Berlo's model is called SMCR.
• 11. A flipped classroom moves content study to home and discussion to class.
• 12. A Learning Management System hosts courses and tracks learner progress.

Practice questions

1. How many categories are used in Flanders Interaction Analysis?

   1. 7
   2. 8
   3. 12
   4. 10
   Answer

   D. 10

   Flanders uses 10 categories: 7 for teacher talk, 2 for student talk and 1 for silence.

2. In Flanders analysis, the observer records the category number after every

   1. 3 seconds
   2. 10 seconds
   3. 1 minute
   4. 1 second
   Answer

   A. 3 seconds

   Observation is made at a fixed interval of 3 seconds.

3. Which Flanders category stands for 'asks questions'?

   1. Category 5
   2. Category 4
   3. Category 2
   4. Category 8
   Answer

   B. Category 4

   Category 4 is questioning and is part of indirect teacher influence.

4. Lecturing by the teacher is recorded in Flanders analysis as category

   1. 3
   2. 4
   3. 6
   4. 5
   Answer

   D. 5

   Category 5 is lecturing and is a direct influence.

5. Student talk that begins on the student's own is classed in Flanders analysis as

   1. Student initiation (category 9)
   2. Student response (category 8)
   3. Silence (category 10)
   4. Accepting ideas (category 3)
   Answer

   A. Student initiation (category 9)

   Category 9 is student initiation; category 8 is a response to the teacher.

6. The Flanders matrix has the size

   1. 12 x 12
   2. 7 x 7
   3. 10 x 10
   4. 9 x 9
   Answer

   C. 10 x 10

   Ten categories make a 10 x 10 matrix of consecutive pairs.

7. Which of these is an INDIRECT influence of the teacher in Flanders analysis?

   1. Giving directions
   2. Praising or encouraging students
   3. Criticising students
   4. Lecturing
   Answer

   B. Praising or encouraging students

   Categories 1 to 4 (accept feeling, praise, accept ideas, ask questions) are indirect.

8. Which of these is a DIRECT influence of the teacher in Flanders analysis?

   1. Using student ideas
   2. Accepting feeling
   3. Giving directions
   4. Asking questions
   Answer

   C. Giving directions

   Categories 5, 6 and 7 are direct influence.

9. A high I/D ratio in a class shows that the teacher is

   1. mostly encouraging and democratic
   2. mostly criticising
   3. mostly lecturing
   4. silent for long periods
   Answer

   A. mostly encouraging and democratic

   More indirect than direct talk gives a higher I/D ratio.

10. A teacher who explains a lesson by speaking continuously for most of the period would score most in Flanders category

    1. 5
    2. 1
    3. 2
    4. 9
    Answer

    A. 5

    Continuous explanation is lecturing, category 5.

11. Skinner's programmed learning is known as

    1. intrinsic programming
    2. branching programming
    3. mathetics
    4. linear programming
    Answer

    D. linear programming

    Skinner designed the linear (extrinsic) type with small frames and constructed responses.

12. Branching programmed instruction was developed by

    1. Edgar Dale
    2. Norman Crowder
    3. B. F. Skinner
    4. Ned Flanders
    Answer

    B. Norman Crowder

    Crowder's intrinsic programme sends the learner to different frames based on the answer.

13. In a linear programme, the learner usually

    1. skips frames at will
    2. is sent to a remedial branch after each error
    3. picks one of several options
    4. writes a constructed response
    Answer

    D. writes a constructed response

    Linear frames ask the learner to construct an answer, so errors are few.

14. Which feature is MOST typical of a branching programme?

    1. A constructed one-word response
    2. No feedback to the learner
    3. Multiple-choice response with remedial frames
    4. Very small frames with the same path for all
    Answer

    C. Multiple-choice response with remedial frames

    Branching uses larger frames, multiple choice and a path that depends on the answer.

15. Which of these is NOT a principle of programmed instruction?

    1. Immediate feedback
    2. Active response by the learner
    3. Group pacing set by the teacher
    4. Small steps
    Answer

    C. Group pacing set by the teacher

    PI is self-paced, not group paced.

16. Testing and revising a programme on actual learners is called

    1. learner verification
    2. noise reduction
    3. reverse chaining
    4. frame analysis
    Answer

    A. learner verification

    Learner verification is the validation of a programme through trial use.

17. Mathetics is associated with

    1. B. F. Skinner
    2. Thomas Gilbert
    3. Norman Crowder
    4. Tim O'Reilly
    Answer

    B. Thomas Gilbert

    Gilbert's mathetics analyses a task and teaches it through reverse chaining.

18. Programmed instruction is mainly based on which learning theory?

    1. Constructivism of Piaget
    2. Gestalt theory of insight
    3. Social learning by observation
    4. Operant conditioning
    Answer

    D. Operant conditioning

    Reinforcement of correct responses in small steps is operant conditioning.

19. In Berlo's SMCR model, 'C' stands for

    1. Code
    2. Classroom
    3. Context
    4. Channel
    Answer

    D. Channel

    SMCR means Source, Message, Channel, Receiver.

20. Any disturbance that reduces the clarity of a message is called

    1. noise
    2. medium
    3. feedback
    4. encoding
    Answer

    A. noise

    Noise may be physical, such as loud sound, or psychological, such as lack of attention.

21. Feedback in the communication process helps the teacher to

    1. reduce the number of media
    2. avoid two-way talk
    3. know whether the message was understood
    4. increase the noise level
    Answer

    C. know whether the message was understood

    Feedback completes the loop and makes communication two-way.

22. At the base of Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience is

    1. verbal symbols
    2. direct purposeful experience
    3. television
    4. still pictures
    Answer

    B. direct purposeful experience

    The cone moves from concrete (base) to abstract (top, verbal symbols).

23. A radio lesson is an example of which type of medium?

    1. Audio-visual
    2. Print
    3. Visual
    4. Audio
    Answer

    D. Audio

    Radio carries only sound.

24. Which of these is an audio-visual aid?

    1. Educational film
    2. Chart
    3. Flash card
    4. Audio recording
    Answer

    A. Educational film

    A film has both sound and moving pictures.

25. Learning materials that are free to use, adapt and share are called

    1. Proprietary software
    2. Closed courseware
    3. Open Educational Resources
    4. Paid modules
    Answer

    C. Open Educational Resources

    OER are openly licensed teaching and learning resources.

26. In a synchronous e-learning session, learners and the teacher

    1. are online at the same time
    2. study at different times
    3. never interact
    4. use only printed material
    Answer

    A. are online at the same time

    A live video class is synchronous; recorded lectures are asynchronous.

27. Which of these is an asynchronous e-learning tool?

    1. Live chat
    2. Discussion forum
    3. Live video class
    4. Live webinar
    Answer

    B. Discussion forum

    A forum lets learners post and reply at different times.

28. A flipped classroom is one in which

    1. lessons are taught only on the blackboard
    2. students teach all the lessons
    3. content is studied at home and class time is used for discussion
    4. exams are held every day
    Answer

    C. content is studied at home and class time is used for discussion

    Flipping moves the delivery of content out of class and practice into class.

29. Web 2.0 is best described as

    1. read-only web with static pages
    2. read and write web with user-created content
    3. web understood only by machines
    4. offline software package
    Answer

    B. read and write web with user-created content

    Blogs, wikis and social networks let users add content.

30. A web page that many users can edit together is a

    1. slide deck
    2. blog
    3. podcast
    4. wiki
    Answer

    D. wiki

    Wikipedia is the best known wiki.

31. The term 'Web 2.0' became widely popular through

    1. Norman Crowder
    2. Ned Flanders
    3. Edgar Dale
    4. Tim O'Reilly
    Answer

    D. Tim O'Reilly

    Tim O'Reilly popularised the term in the early 2000s.

32. Software that hosts courses, gives tests and tracks learner progress is called a

    1. Learning Management System
    2. Search engine
    3. Spreadsheet
    4. Operating system
    Answer

    A. Learning Management System

    An LMS manages online courses and learners.

33. A blog differs from a wiki mainly because a blog is

    1. edited by every visitor freely
    2. mainly written by one author in dated posts
    3. only for audio files
    4. a type of firewall
    Answer

    B. mainly written by one author in dated posts

    A blog has posts by an author; a wiki is collaboratively edited.

34. Learning through mobile phones and tablets is called

    1. teleconferencing
    2. rote learning
    3. m-learning
    4. e-governance
    Answer

    C. m-learning

    M-learning uses portable devices.

35. Mixing classroom teaching with online learning is called

    1. distance learning only
    2. rote learning
    3. incidental learning
    4. blended learning
    Answer

    D. blended learning

    Blended learning combines face-to-face and online modes.

36. Statements: 1. Flanders categories 1 to 4 are indirect teacher influences. 2. Category 10 stands for silence or confusion. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct: 1-4 are indirect and 10 is silence or confusion.

37. Statements: 1. Skinner's programme is a branching type. 2. Crowder's programme is a linear type. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    D. Neither 1 nor 2

    Skinner's is linear and Crowder's is branching, so both are wrong.

38. Statements: 1. Asynchronous learning needs all learners to be online at the same time. 2. Recorded lectures are an example of asynchronous learning. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    Asynchronous means any time, so 1 is wrong; recorded lectures are asynchronous.

39. Statements: 1. Web 1.0 was mainly read-only. 2. Web 2.0 allows users to create and share content. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both describe the two web versions correctly.

40. Statements: 1. Programmed instruction allows self-pacing. 2. Programmed instruction gives immediate feedback. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Self-pacing and immediate feedback are both core principles.

41. Statements: 1. In Dale's cone, verbal symbols are the most concrete experience. 2. Direct experience is placed at the base. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    Verbal symbols are the most abstract, so 1 is wrong.

42. Match: Flanders category 6 refers to

    1. giving directions
    2. student response
    3. silence
    4. accepting feeling
    Answer

    A. giving directions

    Category 6 is giving directions, a direct influence.

43. A teacher uses a shared whiteboard, chat and breakout rooms in a live online class. This setting is a

    1. virtual classroom
    2. language laboratory
    3. field trip
    4. teaching machine
    Answer

    A. virtual classroom

    These are features of a virtual classroom.

44. Which model of communication shows source, transmitter, channel, receiver, destination and noise?

    1. Dale's cone
    2. Shannon and Weaver model
    3. Berlo's SMCR model
    4. Flanders matrix
    Answer

    B. Shannon and Weaver model

    The Shannon and Weaver model is a one-way technical model.

45. The sequence 'stimulus, response, feedback' forms a unit of a programme called a

    1. frame
    2. blog
    3. module
    4. matrix
    Answer

    A. frame

    A frame is the basic unit of programmed instruction.