Open and Distance Education/Emerging Technologies in Open and Distance Education

Emerging Technologies in Open and Distance Education

ICT in Education: An Introduction

The term Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has acquired several definitions through the years. One popular definition is that is an alternative and richer term for information technology. However, another may refer to technologies that integrate the functionalities that were commonly seen in analog communication devices like the telephone into that of digital devices like the computer.

The advent of smart phones have blurred the lines of these two definitions. This means that in modern usage, ICT may refer to anything within IT, but can also include digital communication technologies. In our case, we want to even be more inclusive in agreeing with some circles that it can refer to as an all-encompassing term that includes tehcnologies for receiving, storing, transforming, and presenting information as well as those that just allow people to communicate. This means that a simple device as a typewriter or an analog radio can be included in this broad spectrum. However, for those that will be considered as emerging technologies were invented since the digital revolution (latter half of the 20th century).

UNESCO believes that using modern ICT can allow member states to more quickly achieve Sustainable Development Goal #4 (SDG4): Quality Education. Technologies are rapidly changing as innovation has been seen as one of the main drivers of economic growth. Thus, it is important to see how technologies for education particularly within the scope of ICT, have developed and discuss the current and emerging developments within the last 2 decades (specifically 2000 - 2018).

Hence this chapter is divided into five sections. The first section presents a timeline of how technologies for education have evolved since the time of typewriters and mimeographs until the present. The second section presents several models for classifying educational media and ICTs, as well as that which will be used in this chapter. The third section enumerates common ICTs used by many Open and Distance Education institutions. The fourth section discusses methods by which past, present, and emerging technologies can be evaluated. Finally, the fifth section presents some relevant research findings regarding Emerging Technologies in Education.

Table of Contents

Technologies in Open and Distance Education: A Timeline

Classifying Technologies in Open and Distance Education

Common Technologies in Open and Distance Education

Evaluating Technologies for Open and Distance Education

Selected Research on Emerging Technologies in Education