Educational technology#Synchronous and asynchronous

The Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) has defined educational technology as "the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources". It denotes instructional technology as "the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning". As such, educational technology refers to all valid and reliable applied education sciences, such as equipment, as well as processes and procedures that are derived from scientific research, and in a given context may refer to theoretical, algorithmic or heuristic processes: it does not necessarily imply physical technology. Educational technology is the process of integrating technology into education in a positive manner that promotes a more diverse learning environment and a way for students to learn how to use technology as well as their common assignments.

Accordingly, there are several discrete aspects to describing the intellectual and technical development of educational technology:

• Educational technology as the theory and practice of educational approaches to learning.
• Educational technology as technological tools and media, for instance massive online courses, that assist in the communication of knowledge, and its development and exchange. This is usually what people are referring to when they use the term "edtech".
• Educational technology for learning management systems (LMS), such as tools for student and curriculum management, and education management information systems (EMIS).
• Educational technology as back-office management, such as training management systems for logistics and budget management, and Learning Record Store (LRS) for learning data storage and analysis.
• Educational technology itself as an educational subject; such courses may be called "computer studies" or "information and communications technology (ICT)".Report by Tech.Ed.Gov (2017). NETP17.

File:Kugleramme.jpg used in a Danish elementary school]]

Educational technology is an inclusive term for both the material tools and processes, and the theoretical foundations for supporting learning and teaching. Educational technology is not restricted to advanced technology but is anything that enhances classroom learning in the utilization of blended, face-to-face, or online learning.{{Cite news|url=http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/|title=Technology in Education: An Overview |newspaper=Education Week|date=5 February 2016|access-date=31 October 2016|archive-date=1 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101034617/http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/|url-status=live|last1=Herold|first1=Benjamin}}

An educational technologist is someone who is trained in the field of educational technology. Educational technologists try to analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate processes and tools to enhance learning.Seels, B. B., & Richey, R. C. (1994). Instructional technology: The definition and domains of the field. Washington, DC: AECT. While the term educational technologist is used primarily in the United States, learning technologist is a synonymous term used in the UK{{cite web |last=Geng |first=F. |date=2014 |title=Confusing terminologies: #e-learning, learning technologist, educational technologist,...discussed by @A_L_T members |publisher=Oxford, UK |url=https://blogs.it.ox.ac.uk/fawei/2014/07/29/confusing-terminologies-e-learning-learning-technologist-educational-technologistdiscussed-by-a_l_t-members/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805083223/https://blogs.it.ox.ac.uk/fawei/2014/07/29/confusing-terminologies-e-learning-learning-technologist-educational-technologistdiscussed-by-a_l_t-members/ |archive-date=5 August 2018}} as well as Canada.

Modern electronic educational technology is an important part of society today. Educational technology encompasses e-learning, instructional technology, information and communication technology (ICT) in education, edtech, learning technology, multimedia learning, technology-enhanced learning (TEL), computer-based instruction (CBI), computer managed instruction, computer-based training (CBT), computer-assisted instruction or computer-aided instruction (CAI),{{cite journal|title=Computer-managed instruction: an alternative teaching strategy.| pmid=3029349 | volume=26 | issue=1 | journal=Journal of Nursing Education| pages=30–36 | last1 = Day | first1 = R | last2 = Payne | first2 = L| year=1987 | doi=10.3928/0148-4834-19870101-08 |issn=0148-4834 }} internet-based training (IBT), flexible learning, web-based training (WBT), online education, digital educational collaboration, distributed learning, computer-mediated communication, cyber-learning, and multi-modal instruction, virtual education, personal learning environments, networked learning, virtual learning environments (VLE) (which are also called learning platforms), m-learning, and digital education.{{cite web |url=https://institute-academic-development.ed.ac.uk/learning-teaching/staff/digital-ed/what-is-digital-education |title=What is Digital Education? |author= |date=2024 |website=Institute for Academic Development |publisher=University of Edinburgh |access-date=22 June 2024}}

Each of these numerous terms has had its advocates, who point up potential distinctive features. However, many terms and concepts in educational technology have been defined nebulously. For example, Singh and Thurman cite over 45 definitions for online learning.{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=V |last2=Thurman |first2=A |date=2019 |title=How Many Ways Can We Define Online Learning? A Systematic Literature Review of Definitions of Online Learning (1988–2018)|journal=American Journal of Distance Education |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=289–306 |doi=10.1080/08923647.2019.1663082}} Moreover, Moore saw these terminologies as emphasizing particular features such as digitization approaches, components, or delivery methods rather than being fundamentally dissimilar in concept or principle. For example, m-learning emphasizes mobility, which allows for altered timing, location, accessibility, and context of learning; nevertheless, its purpose and conceptual principles are those of educational technology.

In practice, as technology has advanced, the particular "narrowly defined" terminological aspect that was initially emphasized by name has blended into the general field of educational technology. Initially, "virtual learning" as narrowly defined in a semantic sense implied entering an environmental simulation within a virtual world, for example in treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).{{cite web |url= http://www.govtech.com/education/Universities-Use-Second-Life-to-Teach.html |title= Universities Use Second Life to Teach Complex Concepts |date= 27 July 2010 |publisher= Government Technology |access-date= 3 October 2013 |archive-date= 4 October 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131004213356/http://www.govtech.com/education/Universities-Use-Second-Life-to-Teach.html |url-status= live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.army.mil/article/50751/ |title=DoD gives PTSD help 'second life' in virtual reality | Article |publisher=Army.mil |access-date=22 October 2013 |archive-date=23 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023055515/http://www.army.mil/article/50751/ |url-status=live}} In practice, a "virtual education course" refers to any instructional course in which all, or at least a significant portion, is delivered by the Internet. "Virtual" is used in that broader way to describe a course that is not taught in a classroom face-to-face but "virtually" with people not having to go to the physical classroom to learn. Accordingly, virtual education refers to a form of distance learning in which course content is delivered using various methods such as course management applications, multimedia resources, and videoconferencing.{{Cite web |last=Malegam |first=F |date=13 December 2022 |title=How to Empower eLearning with Virtual Classrooms in WordPress? |url=https://elearning.adobe.com/2022/12/how-to-empower-elearning-with-virtual-classrooms-in-wordpress/ |website=Adobe}} Virtual education and simulated learning opportunities, such as games or dissections, offer opportunities for students to connect classroom content to authentic situations.

Educational content, pervasively embedded in objects, is all around the learner, who may not even be conscious of the learning process.{{cite book|last=Alsheail|first=Abdulrahman|title=Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language in a Ubiquitous Learning Environment: A Guide for ESL/EFL Instructors|year=2010|publisher=(Master's Project)|url=http://csuchico-dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.4/184/5%209%202010%20Abdulrahman%20Alsheail.pdf?sequence=1|access-date=2 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140207152602/http://csuchico-dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.4/184/5%209%202010%20Abdulrahman%20Alsheail.pdf?sequence=1|archive-date=7 February 2014}} The combination of adaptive learning, using an individualized interface and materials, which accommodate to an individual, who thus receives personally differentiated instruction, with ubiquitous access to digital resources and learning opportunities in a range of places and at various times, has been termed smart learning.Hwang, G. J. (2014). Definition, framework, and research issues of smart learning environments-a context-aware ubiquitous learning perspective. Smart Learning Environments, 1(1), 1–14.{{cite journal |last1=Kinshuk |last2=Chen |first2=Nian-Shing |last3=Cheng |first3=I-Ling |last4=Chew |first4=Sie Wai |title=Evolution Is not enough: Revolutionizing Current Learning Environments to Smart Learning Environments |journal=International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education |date=17 February 2016 |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=561–581 |doi=10.1007/s40593-016-0108-x|s2cid=11084070 |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Spector |first1=Jonathan Michael |title=Conceptualizing the emerging field of smart learning environments |journal=Smart Learning Environments |date=16 October 2014 |volume=1 |issue=1 |doi=10.1186/s40561-014-0002-7|s2cid=3745158 |doi-access=free}} Smart learning is a component of the smart city concept.{{cite book |last1=Andone |first1=Diana |title=2014 International Conference on Web and Open Access to Learning (ICWOAL) |pages=1–4 |last2=Holotescu |first2=Carmen |last3=Grosseck |first3=Gabriela |year= 2014 |doi=10.1109/ICWOAL.2014.7009244 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268774144|isbn=978-1-4799-5739-2 |s2cid=15404201}}{{cite journal |last1=Lombardi |first1=Patrizia |last2=Giordano |first2=Silvia |last3=Farouh |first3=Hend |last4=Yousef |first4=Wael |title=Modelling the smart city performance |journal=Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research |date=June 2012 |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=137–149 |doi=10.1080/13511610.2012.660325|s2cid=155017799}}

{{see also|Educational software}}

File:19th century classroom, Auckland - 0795.jpg

Helping people and children learn in ways that are easier, faster, more accurate, or less expensive can be traced back to the emergence of very early tools, such as paintings on cave walls.Molenda, M. (2008). "Historical foundations". In M. J. Spector, M. D. Merrill, J. Merrienboer, & M. P. Driscoll (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology (Third., pp. 3–20). New York, NY: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.Nye, D. (2007). Technology Matters: Questions to Live With. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. Various types of abacus have been used. Writing slates and blackboards have been used for at least a millennium.{{cite book| url=https://archive.org/stream/alberunisindiaac01biru#page/182/mode/2up|author1=Biruni, Muhammad ibn Ahmad |author2=Sachau, Eduard|title=Alberuni's India. An account of the religion, philosophy, literature, geography, chronology, astronomy, customs, laws, and astrology of India about A.D. 1030|year=1910|location=London|publisher=K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.}} Since their introduction, books and pamphlets have played a prominent role in education. From the early twentieth century, duplicating machines such as the mimeograph and Gestetner stencil devices were used to produce short copy runs (typically 10–50 copies) for classroom or home use. The use of media for instructional purposes is generally traced back to the first decade of the 20th centurySaettler, P. (1990). The Evolution of American Educational Technology. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. with the introduction of educational films (the 1900s) and Sidney Pressey's mechanical teaching machines (1920s).

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In the mid-1960s, Stanford University psychology professors, Patrick Suppes and Richard C. Atkinson, experimented with using computers to teach arithmetic and spelling via Teletypes to elementary school students in the Palo Alto Unified School District in California.{{cite journal|title=Arithmetic drills and review on a computer-based teletype|url=http://suppes-corpus.stanford.edu/articles/comped/54-5.pdf|journal=The Arithmetic Teacher|volume=13|issue=4|year=1966|pages=303–309|author1=Suppes, P.|author2=Jerman, M.|author3=Groen, G.|doi=10.5951/AT.13.4.0303|access-date=4 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305160358/http://suppes-corpus.stanford.edu/articles/comped/54-5.pdf|archive-date=5 March 2016}}{{cite report|title=Computer Assisted Instruction at Stanford|date=19 May 1971|author=Suppes, P.|url=http://suppes-corpus.stanford.edu/techreports/IMSSS_174.pdf|access-date=4 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717203424/http://suppes-corpus.stanford.edu/techreports/IMSSS_174.pdf|archive-date=17 July 2010}}

Online education originated from the University of Illinois in 1960. Although the internet would not be created for another decade, students were able to access class information with linked computer terminals. Online learning emerged in 1982 when the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in La Jolla, California, opened its School of Management and Strategic Studies. The school employed computer conferencing through the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Electronic Information Exchange System (EIES) to deliver a distance education program to business executives.See Rowan, Roy (1983). Executive Ed. at Computer U. Fortune, 7 March 1983; Feenberg, Andrew (1993). "Building a Global Network: The WBSI Experience", in L. Harasim, ed., Global Networks: Computerizing the International Community, MIT Press, pp. 185–197. Starting in 1985, Connected Education offered the first totally online master's degree in media studies, through The New School in New York City, also via the EIES computer conferencing system.{{cite web|url=http://thejournal.com/Articles/1997/06/01/Technology-in-Education-and-the-Next-TwentyFive-Years.aspx|title=Technology in Education and the Next Twenty-Five Years |last=Withrow|first=Frank|date=1 June 1997|work=T.H.E. Journal}}{{cite magazine | url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14820045.300-carry-on-learning-learning-cyberspace.html | title=Carry on learning | author=Ray Percival | magazine=New Scientist |date=28 November 1995}}{{cite web | url=http://cgi.gjhost.com/~cgi/mt/netweaverarchive/000144.html | title=Connected Education, Inc. | author=Gail S. Thomas | work=Netweaver | publisher=Electronic Networking Association | date=1 February 1988 | access-date=25 August 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827214245/http://cgi.gjhost.com/~cgi/mt/netweaverarchive/000144.html | archive-date=27 August 2008}} Subsequent courses were offered in 1986 by the Electronic University Network for DOS and Commodore 64 computers. In 2002, MIT began providing online classes free of charge. {{as of|2009}}, approximately 5.5 million students were taking at least one class online. Currently, one out of three college students takes at least one online course while in college. At DeVry University, out of all students that are earning a bachelor's degree, 80% earn two-thirds of their requirements online. Also, in 2014, 2.85 million students out of 5.8 million students that took courses online, took all of their courses online. From this information, it can be concluded that the number of students taking classes online is on a steady increase.{{Cite web| url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/promises-and-pitfalls-of-online-education/| title=Promises and pitfalls of online education| date=9 June 2017| access-date=19 March 2018| archive-date=20 June 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620051048/https://www.brookings.edu/research/promises-and-pitfalls-of-online-education/| url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.petersons.com/articles/online-degrees/online-education-history |title=The history of online education |last=Hickey |first=Ryan |date=12 May 2014 |website=Peterson's |access-date=19 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319084900/https://www.petersons.com/articles/online-degrees/online-education-history |archive-date=19 March 2018 }}

In 1971, Ivan Illich published a hugely influential book, Deschooling Society, in which he envisioned "learning webs" as a model for people to network the learning they needed. The 1970s and 1980s saw notable contributions in computer-based learning by Murray Turoff and Starr Roxanne Hiltz at the New Jersey Institute of TechnologyHiltz, S. (1990). "Evaluating the Virtual Classroom". In Harasim, L. (ed.) Online Education: Perspectives on a New Environment. New York: Praeger, pp. 133–169. as well as developments at the University of Guelph in Canada.Mason. R. and Kaye, A. (1989). Mindweave: Communication, Computers and Distance Education. Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press. In the UK, the Council for Educational Technology supported the use of educational technology, in particular administering the government's National Development Programme in Computer Aided Learning{{Cite web |first=Peter |last=Avis |date=9 October 2014|url=http://www.edtechhistory.org.uk/history/the_1970s/ndpcal.html |title=1973–1977 The National Development Programme NDPCAL |work=Educational Technology |volume=1 |access-date=7 November 2014|archive-date=6 January 2017|url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106233448/http://www.edtechhistory.org.uk/history/the_1970s/ndpcal.html}} (1973–1977) and the Microelectronics Education Programme (1980–1986).

Videoconferencing was an important forerunner to the educational technologies known today. This work was especially popular with museum education. Even in recent years, videoconferencing has risen in popularity to reach over 20,000 students across the United States and Canada in 2008–2009. Disadvantages of this form of educational technology are readily apparent: image and sound quality are often grainy or pixelated; videoconferencing requires setting up a type of mini-television studio within the museum for broadcast; space becomes an issue; and specialized equipment is required for both the provider and the participant.Crow, W. B. & Din, H. (2009). Unbound By Place or Time: Museums and Online Learning. Washington, DC: American Association of Museums, 9–10.

The Open University in Britain and the University of British Columbia (where Web CT, now incorporated into Blackboard Inc., was first developed) began a revolution of using the Internet to deliver learning,Bates, A. (2005). Technology, e-Learning and Distance Education. London: Routledge. making heavy use of web-based training, online distance learning, and online discussion between students.{{cite journal|author=Johnson, Henry M|title=Dialogue and the construction of knowledge in e-learning: Exploring students' perceptions of their learning while using Blackboard's asynchronous discussion board|journal=European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning|volume=10|issue=1|year=2007|url=http://www.eurodl.org/index.php?tag=120&article=151&article=251|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116211219/http://www.eurodl.org/index.php?tag=120&article=151&article=251|archive-date=16 November 2012|access-date=22 October 2013}} Practitioners such as Harasim (1995)Harasim, L., Hiltz, S., Teles, L. and Turoff, M. (1995). Learning Networks: A Field Guide to Teaching and Learning Online. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. put heavy emphasis on the use of learning networks.

By 1994, the first online high school had been founded. In 1997, Graziadei described criteria for evaluating products and developing technology-based courses that include being portable, replicable, scalable, affordable, and having a high probability of long-term cost-effectiveness.Graziadei, W. D., et al., 1997. [http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/monograph/CD/Technological_Tools/Graziadei.html Building Asynchronous and Synchronous Teaching-Learning Environments: Exploring a Course/Classroom Management System Solution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613073824/http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/monograph/CD/Technological_Tools/Graziadei.html |date=13 June 2010}}.

Improved Internet functionality enabled new schemes of communication with multimedia or webcams. The National Center for Education Statistics estimates the number of K-12 students enrolled in online distance learning programs increased by 65% from 2002 to 2005, with greater flexibility, ease of communication between teacher and student, and quick lecture and assignment feedback.

According to a 2008 study conducted by the U.S Department of Education, during the 2006–2007 academic year about 66% of postsecondary public and private schools participating in student financial aid programs offered some distance learning courses; records show 77% of enrollment in for-credit courses with an online component.{{Cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/200801.pdf|title=National Center for Education Statistics}} In 2008, the Council of Europe passed a statement endorsing e-learning's potential to drive equality and education improvements across the EU.{{cite web|title=Recommendation 1836 (2008)|url=http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta08/EREC1836.htm|work=Realising the full potential of e-learning for education and training|publisher=Council of Europe|access-date=7 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130322020711/http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=%2FDocuments%2FAdoptedText%2Fta08%2FEREC1836.htm|archive-date=22 March 2013}}

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is between learners and instructors, mediated by the computer. In contrast, CBT/CBL usually means individualized (self-study) learning, while CMC involves educator/tutor facilitation and requires the scalarization of flexible learning activities. In addition, modern ICT provides education with tools for sustaining learning communities and associated knowledge management tasks.

Students growing up in this digital age have extensive exposure to a variety of media.{{cite journal |last1=Craft |first1=Anna |title=Childhood in a digital age: creative challenges for educational futures |journal=London Review of Education |date=July 2012 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=173–190 |doi=10.1080/14748460.2012.691282 |s2cid=143731693 |url=http://oro.open.ac.uk/37518/3/97E20EDA.pdf |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-date=21 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221084155/http://oro.open.ac.uk/37518/3/97E20EDA.pdf |url-status=live}} Major high-tech companies have funded schools to provide them with the ability to teach their students through technology.{{cite news|title=Technology in Schools: Weighing The Pros And Cons|newspaper=Huffington Post|date=25 May 2011|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/22/technology-in-schools-wei_n_772674.html|access-date=21 April 2014|archive-date=23 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423040408/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/22/technology-in-schools-wei_n_772674.html|url-status=live}}

2015 was the first year that private nonprofit organizations enrolled more online students than for-profits, although public universities still enrolled the highest number of online students. In the fall of 2015, more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/higher-education/online-education/articles/2017-05-03/study-online-learning-enrollment-rising-fastest-at-private-nonprofit-schools|title=Study: Online Course Enrollment Rising Rapidly at Private Nonprofits|date=3 May 2017|website=U.S. News|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=24 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024191113/https://www.usnews.com/higher-education/online-education/articles/2017-05-03/study-online-learning-enrollment-rising-fastest-at-private-nonprofit-schools|url-status=live}}

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools across the world were forced to close, which left more and more grade-school students participating in online learning, and university-level students enrolling in online courses to enforce distance learning.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/27/schools-close-over-coronavirus-protect-kids-privacy-online-learning|title=As Schools Close Over Coronavirus, Protect Kids' Privacy in Online Learning|date=27 March 2020|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en|access-date=17 April 2020|archive-date=10 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410003127/https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/27/schools-close-over-coronavirus-protect-kids-privacy-online-learning|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.wizeprep.com/blog/how-covid-19-brought-the-university-of-toronto-class-of-24-together-online|title=How Covid-19 brought the University of Toronto Class of '24 Together Online|publisher=Brooke Godfrey|date=25 September 2020|last1=Sean|first1=Allan|access-date=9 August 2021|archive-date=9 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809185709/https://www.wizeprep.com/blog/how-covid-19-brought-the-university-of-toronto-class-of-24-together-online|url-status=live}} Organizations such as Unesco have enlisted educational technology solutions to help schools facilitate distance education.{{cite web |last1=Unesco |title=Distance learning solutions |date=5 March 2020 |url=https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/solutions |access-date=11 May 2020 |archive-date=31 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200331143436/https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-emergencies/coronavirus-school-closures/solutions |url-status=live}} The pandemic's extended lockdowns and focus on distance learning has attracted record-breaking amounts of venture capital to the ed-tech sector.{{Cite book |first=Andreas |last=Kaplan |author-link=Andreas Kaplan |title=Higher Education at the Crossroads of Disruption: the University of the 21st Century|isbn = 978-1-80071-504-2|url=https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/Higher-Education-at-the-Crossroads-of-Disruption/?k=9781800715042|access-date=14 April 2021|archive-date=29 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129073826/https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/Higher-Education-at-the-Crossroads-of-Disruption/?k=9781800715042|url-status=live |date = 6 April 2021|publisher=Emerald Publishing Limited }} In 2020, in the United States alone, ed-tech startups raised $1.78 billion in venture capital spanning 265 deals, compared to $1.32 billion in 2019.{{Cite web |date=28 January 2021 |title=13 investors say lifelong learning is taking edtech mainstream |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/28/12-investors-say-lifelong-learning-is-taking-edtech-mainstream/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128235013/https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/28/12-investors-say-lifelong-learning-is-taking-edtech-mainstream/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 January 2021 |access-date=1 February 2021 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}

{{Main|Educational psychology|E-learning (theory)|Learning theory (education)|Educational philosophies}}

This theoretical framework was developed in the early 20th century based on animal learning experiments by Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike, Edward C. Tolman, Clark L. Hull, and B.F. Skinner. Many psychologists used these results to develop theories of human learning, but modern educators generally see behaviorism as one aspect of a holistic synthesis. Teaching in behaviorism has been linked to training, emphasizing animal learning experiments. Since behaviorism consists of the view of teaching people how to do something with rewards and punishments, it is related to training people.{{Cite book|title=The activities of teaching|last=Green|first=Thomas|publisher=McGraw Hill|year=1971}}

B.F. Skinner wrote extensively on improvements in teaching based on his functional analysis of verbal behavior{{cite journal | last1 = Skinner | first1 = B.F. | year = 1954 | title = The science of learning and the art of teaching | journal = Harvard Educational Review | volume = 24 | pages = 86–97}}{{cite journal | last1 = Skinner | first1 = B.F. | year = 1958 | title = Teaching machines | journal = Science | volume = 128 | issue = 3330| pages = 969–77 | doi=10.1126/science.128.3330.969| pmid = 13592277 |bibcode = 1958Sci...128..969S}} and others see {{cite web |url=http://www.bfskinner.org/f/EpsteinBibliography.pdf |title=Dr. Burrhus Frederic Skinner: A Bibliography |website=bfskinner.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217104146/http://www.bfskinner.org/f/EpsteinBibliography.pdf |archive-date=17 December 2008}} and wrote "The Technology of Teaching",{{cite journal |journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |year=1965 |volume=162 |issue=989 |pages=427–43 |title= The technology of teaching |author= Skinner BF |doi=10.1098/rspb.1965.0048 |pmid=4378497|bibcode=1965RSPSB.162..427S |s2cid=144957844}}{{cite journal | first=B.F.| last=Skinner| year=1968 | title= The technology of teaching| journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences | volume=162| issue=989| pages=427–43| url=https://archive.org/details/technologyofteac00skin| url-access=registration| publisher=New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts | doi=10.1098/rspb.1965.0048| pmid=4378497| bibcode=1965RSPSB.162..427S| s2cid=144957844| id=Library of Congress Card Number 68-12340 E 81290}} an attempt to dispel the myths underlying contemporary education as well as promote his system he called programmed instruction. Ogden Lindsley developed a learning system, named Celeration, which was based on behavior analysis but substantially differed from Keller's and Skinner's models.

Cognitive science underwent significant change in the 1960s and 1970s to the point that some described the period as a "cognitive revolution", particularly in reaction to behaviorism.{{Cite book|title=Handbook of Educational Theories|last1=Irby|first1=Beverly|last2=Brown|first2=Genevieve|last3=Lara-Alecio|first3=Rafael|last4=Jackson|first4=Shirley|publisher=IAP|year=2013|isbn=978-1-61735-866-1|location=Charlotte, NC|page=105}} While retaining the empirical framework of behaviorism, cognitive psychology theories look beyond behavior to explain brain-based learning by considering how human memory works to promote learning. It refers to learning as "all processes by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used" by the human mind.{{Cite book|title=An Introduction to the History of Psychology|last=Hergenhahn|first=B.R.|publisher=Wadsworth Cengage Learning|year=2008|isbn=978-0-495-50621-8|location=Belmont, CA|page=627}} The Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model and Baddeley's working memory model were established as theoretical frameworks. Computer science and information technology have had a major influence on cognitive science theory. The cognitive concepts of working memory (formerly known as short-term memory) and long-term memory have been facilitated by research and technology from the field of computer science. Another major influence on the field of cognitive science is Noam Chomsky. Today researchers are concentrating on topics like cognitive load, information processing, and media psychology. These theoretical perspectives influence instructional design.{{cite journal|last=deJong|first=T.|title=Cognitive Load Theory, Educational Research, and Instructional Design: Some Food for Thought|journal=Instructional Science |year=2010|page=38}}

There are two separate schools of cognitivism, and these are the cognitivist and social cognitivist. The former focuses on the understanding of the thinking or cognitive processes of an individual while the latter includes social processes as influences in learning besides cognition.{{Cite book|title=Theory and Research for Academic Nurse Educators: Application to Practice|last=Utley|first=Rose|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning LLC|year=2010|isbn=978-0-7637-7413-4|location=Sudbury, MA|page=23}} These two schools, however, share the view that learning is more than a behavioral change but is rather a mental process used by the learner.

Educational psychologists distinguish between several types of constructivism: individual (or psychological) constructivism, such as Piaget's theory of cognitive development, and social constructivism. This form of constructivism has a primary focus on how learners construct their own meaning from new information, as they interact with reality and with other learners who bring different perspectives. Constructivist learning environments require students to use their prior knowledge and experiences to formulate new, related, and/or adaptive concepts in learning (Termos, 2012{{cite journal|last1=Termos|first1=Mohamad|title=Does the Classroom Performance System (CPS) Increase Students' Chances for Getting a Good Grade in College Core Courses and Increase Retention?|journal=International Journal of Technologies in Learning |date=2012|volume=19|issue=1|pages=45–56|doi=10.18848/2327-0144/cgp/v19i01/49144}}). Under this framework, the role of the teacher becomes that of a facilitator, providing guidance so that learners can construct their own knowledge. Constructivist educators must make sure that the prior learning experiences are appropriate and related to the concepts being taught. Jonassen (1997) suggests "well-structured" learning environments are useful for novice learners and that "ill-structured" environments are only useful for more advanced learners. Educators utilizing a constructivist perspective may emphasize an active learning environment that may incorporate learner-centered problem-based learning, project-based learning, and inquiry-based learning, ideally involving real-world scenarios, in which students are actively engaged in critical thinking activities. An illustrative discussion and example can be found in the 1980s deployment of constructivist cognitive learning in computer literacy, which involved programming as an instrument of learning.{{Cite book|title = The Social Impact of Computers|last = Rosenberg|first = Richard|publisher = Elsevier Academic Press|year = 2004|isbn = 978-0-12-597121-8|location = Amsterdam}}{{rp|224}} LOGO, a programming language, embodied an attempt to integrate Piagetian ideas with computers and technology.{{Cite book|title = Book Ends: The Changing Media Environment of American Classrooms|last = Cassidy|first = Margaret|publisher = Hampton Press, Inc.|year = 2004|isbn = 978-1-57273-492-0|location = Cresskill, NJ|page = 223}} Initially there were broad, hopeful claims, including "perhaps the most controversial claim" that it would "improve general problem-solving skills" across disciplines.{{rp|238}} However, LOGO programming skills did not consistently yield cognitive benefits.{{rp|238}} It was "not as concrete" as advocates claimed, it privileged "one form of reasoning over all others", and it was difficult to apply the thinking activity to non-LOGO-based activities.{{Cite book|title = Book Ends: The Changing Media Environment of American Classrooms|last = Cassidy|first = Margaret|publisher = Hampton Press, Inc.|year = 2004|isbn = 978-1-57273-492-0|location = Cresskill, NJ|page = 224}} By the late 1980s, LOGO and other similar programming languages had lost their novelty and dominance and were gradually de-emphasized amid criticisms.{{Cite book|title = The Social Impact of Computers|last = Rosenberg|first = Richard|publisher = Elsevier Academic Press|year = 2004|isbn = 978-0-12-597121-8|location = Amsterdam|page = 219}}

{{see also|Instructional design}}

The extent to which e-learning assists or replaces other learning and teaching approaches is variable, ranging on a continuum from none to fully online distance learning.Bates, A. and Poole, G. Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/John Wiley, 2003OECD (2005) E-Learning in Tertiary Education: Where Do We Stand? Paris: OECD A variety of descriptive terms have been employed (somewhat inconsistently) to categorize the extent to which technology is used. For example, "hybrid learning" or "blended learning" may refer to classroom aids and laptops, or may refer to approaches in which traditional classroom time is reduced but not eliminated, and is replaced with some online learning.{{cite web|last=Baker|first=Celia|title=Blended learning: Teachers plus computers equal success|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865569876/Blended-learning-teachers-plus-computers-equal-success.html?pg=all|publisher=Desert News|access-date=30 January 2014|date=4 January 2013|archive-date=23 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023134021/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865569876/Blended-learning-teachers-plus-computers-equal-success.html?pg=all|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last=Strauss|first=Valerie|title=Three fears about blended learning|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/three-fears-about-blended-learning/2012/09/22/56af57cc-035d-11e2-91e7-2962c74e7738_blog.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=22 September 2012|access-date=26 August 2017|archive-date=16 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716060535/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/three-fears-about-blended-learning/2012/09/22/56af57cc-035d-11e2-91e7-2962c74e7738_blog.html|url-status=live}} "Distributed learning" may describe either the e-learning component of a hybrid approach, or fully online distance learning environments.

E-learning may either be synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous learning occurs in real-time, with all participants interacting at the same time. In contrast, asynchronous learning is self-paced and allows participants to engage in the exchange of ideas or information without the dependency on other participants' involvement at the same time.{{Cite journal |first=Andreas |last=Kaplan |date=2017 |title= Academia Goes Social Media, MOOC, SPOC, SMOC, and SSOC: The digital transformation of Higher Education Institutions and Universities |editor1-first=Bikramjit |editor1-last=Rishi |editor2-first=Subir |editor2-last=Bandyopadhyay |journal=Contemporary Issues in Social Media Marketing |publisher=Routledge|doi= 10.4324/9781315563312-2}}

Synchronous learning refers to exchanging ideas and information with one or more participants during the same period. Examples are face-to-face discussion, online real-time live teacher instruction and feedback, Skype conversations, and chat rooms or virtual classrooms where everyone is online and working collaboratively at the same time. Since students are working collaboratively, synchronized learning helps students become more open-minded because they have to actively listen and learn from their peers. Synchronized learning fosters online awareness and improves many students' writing skills.{{cite journal | last1 = Al-Asfour | first1 = A | year = 2012 | title = Online Teaching: Navigating Its Advantages, Disadvantages and Best Practices | journal = Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education | volume = 23 | page = 3}}

Asynchronous learning may use technologies such as learning management systems, email, blogs, wikis, and discussion boards, as well as web-supported textbooks,Loutchko, Iouri; Kurbel, Karl; Pakhomov, Alexei: Production and Delivery of Multimedia Courses for Internet Based Virtual Education; The World Congress "Networked Learning in a Global Environment: Challenges and Solutions for Virtual Education", Berlin, Germany, 1–4 May 2002 hypertext documents, audio{{cite web|title=Podcasts in Education: What, Why and How? |url=http://www.appstate.edu/~koppenhaverd/rcoe/5532/read/podcast/robinson09.pdf |access-date=8 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927071851/http://www.appstate.edu/~koppenhaverd/rcoe/5532/read/podcast/robinson09.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2013}} video courses, and social networking using web 2.0. At the professional educational level, training may include virtual operating rooms. Asynchronous learning is beneficial for students who have health problems or who have childcare responsibilities. They have the opportunity to complete their work in a low-stress environment and within a more flexible time frame. In asynchronous online courses, students are allowed the freedom to complete work at their own pace. Being non-traditional students, they can manage their daily life and school and still have the social aspect. Asynchronous collaborations allow the student to reach out for help when needed and provide helpful guidance, depending on how long it takes them to complete the assignment. Many tools used for these courses are but are not limited to: videos, class discussions, and group projects.{{Cite web | url=https://www.schoology.com/blog/asynchronous-learning-definition-benefits-and-example-activities | title=Asynchronous Learning: Definition, Benefits, and Example Activities | access-date=10 February 2020 | archive-date=25 October 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025192423/https://www.schoology.com/blog/asynchronous-learning-definition-benefits-and-example-activities | url-status=live}}

Computer-based training (CBT) refers to self-paced learning activities delivered on a computer or handheld devices such as a tablet or smartphone. CBT initially delivered content via CD-ROM, and typically presented content linearly, much like reading an online book or manual. For this reason, CBT is often used to teach static processes, such as using software or completing mathematical equations. Computer-based training is conceptually similar to web-based training (WBT), which is delivered via Internet using a web browser.

Assessing learning in a CBT is often by assessments that can be easily scored by a computer such as multiple-choice questions, drag-and-drop, radio button, simulation, or other interactive means. Assessments are easily scored and recorded via online software, providing immediate end-user feedback and completion status. Users are often able to print completion records in the form of certificates.{{cite web |title=Collaborative asynchronous online learning |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US20140272893 |publisher=US Patent Office |access-date=23 March 2019 |date=10 March 2014 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608191059/https://patents.google.com/patent/US20140272893 |url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}

CBTs provide learning stimulus beyond traditional learning methodology from textbook, manual, or classroom-based instruction. CBTs can be a good alternative to printed learning materials since rich media, including videos or animations, can be embedded to enhance learning.

However, CBTs pose some learning challenges. Typically, the creation of effective CBTs requires enormous resources. The software for developing CBTs is often more complex than a subject matter expert or teacher is able to use.

{{Main|Computer-supported collaborative learning}}

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) uses instructional methods designed to encourage or require students to work together on learning tasks, allowing social learning. CSCL is similar in concept to the terminology, "e-learning 2.0" and "networked collaborative learning" (NCL).Trentin G. (2010). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235930117_Networked_Collaborative_Learning_social_interaction_and_active_learning?fulltextDialog=true/ Networked Collaborative Learning: Social Interaction and Active Learning] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917181853/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235930117_Networked_Collaborative_Learning_social_interaction_and_active_learning?fulltextDialog=true%2F |date=17 September 2018}}, Woodhead/Chandos Publishing Limited, Cambridge, UK, {{ISBN|978-1-84334-501-5}}.{{page needed|date=January 2019}} With Web 2.0 advances, sharing information between multiple people in a network has become much easier and use has increased.Crane B. "Using Web 2.0 Tools in the K-12 Classroom". Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 2009{{rp|1}}{{cite journal|last=Sendall|first=P|author2=Ceccucci, W.|author3=Peslak, A.|title=Web 2.0 Matters: An Analysis of Implementing Web 2.0 in the Classroom|journal=Information Systems Education Journal|date=December 2008|volume=6|issue=64|url=http://www.isedj.org/6/64/|access-date=20 November 2014|archive-date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129093909/http://www.isedj.org/6/64/|url-status=live}} One of the main reasons for its usage states that it is "a breeding ground for creative and engaging educational endeavors."{{rp|2}} Learning takes place through conversations about content and grounded interaction about problems and actions. This collaborative learning differs from instruction in which the instructor is the principal source of knowledge and skills. The neologism "e-learning 1.0" refers to direct instruction used in early computer-based learning and training systems (CBL). In contrast to that linear delivery of content, often directly from the instructor's material, CSCL uses social software such as blogs, social media, wikis, podcasts, cloud-based document portals, discussion groups and virtual worlds.{{cite journal| last=Redecker| first=Christine| year=2009| title=Review of Learning 2.0 Practices: Study on the Impact of Web 2.0 Innovations on Education and Training in Europe| journal=JRC Scientific and Technical Reports| issue=EUR 23664 EN – 2009| url=http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=2059| access-date=20 November 2014| archive-date=7 December 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207052509/http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=2059}} This phenomenon has been referred to as Long Tail Learning.{{cite journal| last1=Seely Brown| first1=John| author-link=John Seely Brown| last2=Adler| first2=Richard P.| year=2008| title=Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0| journal=Educause Review| issue=January/February 2008| pages=16–32| url=http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0811.pdf| access-date=20 November 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716025801/http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0811.pdf| archive-date=16 July 2014}} Advocates of social learning claim that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to others. Social networks have been used to foster online learning communities around subjects as diverse as test preparation and language education. Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) is the use of handheld computers or cell phones to assist in language learning.

Collaborative apps allow students and teachers to interact while studying. Apps are designed after games, which provide a fun way to revise. When the experience is enjoyable, the students become more engaged. Games also usually come with a sense of progression, which can help keep students motivated and consistent while trying to improve.{{Cite web|title = UCI's iMedEd Initiative named a 2012-13 Apple Distinguished Program|url = http://news.uci.edu/press-releases/ucis-imeded-initiative-named-a-2012-13-apple-distinguished-program/|website = news.uci.edu|access-date = 11 November 2015|date = 11 February 2013|archive-date = 4 March 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073535/http://news.uci.edu/press-releases/ucis-imeded-initiative-named-a-2012-13-apple-distinguished-program/|url-status = live}}

Classroom 2.0 refers to online multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) that connect schools across geographical frontiers. Known as "eTwinning", computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) allows learners in one school to communicate with learners in another that they would not get to know otherwise,{{cite web |url=http://www.ite.educacion.es/es/escuela-20 |title=Escuela 2.0 |publisher=Ite.educacion.es |access-date=22 October 2013 |archive-date=23 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023061544/http://www.ite.educacion.es/es/escuela-20 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.scuola-digitale.it/classi-2-0 |title=Scuola Digitale " Cl@ssi 2.0 |publisher=Scuola-digitale.it |access-date=22 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023072320/http://www.scuola-digitale.it/classi-2-0/ |archive-date=23 October 2013 }} enhancing educational outcomes{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Yuan-Hsuan |title=Facilitating critical thinking using the C-QRAC collaboration script: Enhancing science reading literacy in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment |journal=Computers & Education |date=October 2015 |volume=88 |pages=182–191 |doi=10.1016/j.compedu.2015.05.004}} and cultural integration.

Further, many researchers distinguish between collaborative and cooperative approaches to group learning. For example, Roschelle and Teasley (1995) argue that "cooperation is accomplished by the division of labor among participants, as an activity where each person is responsible for a portion of the problem solving", in contrast with collaboration that involves the "mutual engagement of participants in a coordinated effort to solve the problem together."{{Cite web|title = What is collaborative learning?|url = https://spiral.ac/support/faq/what-is-collaborative-learning|website = spiral.ac|access-date = 5 June 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160803201335/https://spiral.ac/support/faq/what-is-collaborative-learning|archive-date = 3 August 2016}}

Social technology, and social media specifically, provides avenues for student learning that would not be available otherwise. For example, it provides ordinary students a chance to exist in the same room as, and share a dialogue with researchers, politicians, and activists. This is because it vaporizes the geographical barriers that would otherwise separate people.{{Cite journal|last1=Friess|first1=Erin|last2=Lam|first2=Chris|date=October 2018|title=Cultivating a Sense of Belonging: Using Twitter to Establish a Community in an Introductory Technical Communication Classroom|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10572252.2018.1520435|journal=Technical Communication Quarterly|volume=27|issue=4|pages=343–361|doi=10.1080/10572252.2018.1520435|s2cid=149660410}} Simplified, social media gives students a reach that provides them with opportunities and conversations that allow them to grow as communicators.{{Cite journal|last1=Verzosa Hurley|first1=Elise|last2=Kimme Hea|first2=Amy C.|date=January 2014|title=The Rhetoric of Reach: Preparing Students for Technical Communication in the Age of Social Media|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10572252.2014.850854|journal=Technical Communication Quarterly|language=en|volume=23|issue=1|pages=55–68|doi=10.1080/10572252.2014.850854|s2cid=219639973|issn=1057-2252}}

Social technologies like Twitter can provide students with an archive of free data that goes back multiple decades. Many classrooms and educators are already taking advantage of this free resource—for example, researchers and educators at the University of Central Florida in 2011 used Tweets posted relating to emergencies like Hurricane Irene as data points, in order to teach their students how to code data.{{Cite journal|last=Kimme Hea|first=Amy C.|date=January 2014|title=Social Media in Technical Communication|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10572252.2014.850841|journal=Technical Communication Quarterly|language=en|volume=23|issue=1|pages=1–5|doi=10.1080/10572252.2014.850841|s2cid=219641115|issn=1057-2252}}{{Cite journal|last=Bowdon|first=Melody A.|date=1 January 2014|title=Tweeting an Ethos: Emergency Messaging, Social Media, and Teaching Technical Communication|journal=Technical Communication Quarterly|volume=23|issue=1|pages=35–54|doi=10.1080/10572252.2014.850853|s2cid=145413489|issn=1057-2252}} Social media technologies also allow instructors the ability to show students how professional networks facilitate work on a technical level.{{Cite journal|last=Vie|first=Stephanie|date=3 July 2017|title=Training Online Technical Communication Educators to Teach with Social Media: Best Practices and Professional Recommendations|journal=Technical Communication Quarterly|volume=26|issue=3|pages=344–359|doi=10.1080/10572252.2017.1339487|s2cid=66942296|issn=1057-2252}}

{{Main|Flipped classroom}}

This is an instructional strategy where the majority of the initial learning occurs first at home using technology. Then, students will engage with higher-order learning tasks in the classroom with the teacher.{{Cite journal |last1=Sheeraz Ahmad Sheergugri |last2=Nazeer Ahmad Khan |last3=Nisar Ahmad Kumar |date=2023-04-30 |title=Understand Flipped Learning as an Effective Tool for Enhancing Thinking and Learning |journal=International Journal of Advanced Research in Science, Communication and Technology |pages=746–749 |doi=10.48175/ijarsct-10419g |issn=2581-9429|doi-access=free }} Often, online tools are used for the individual at-home learning, such as: educational videos, learning management systems, interactive tools, and other web-based resources.{{Cite journal |last1=Pozo-Sánchez |first1=Santiago |last2=Segura-Robles |first2=Adrián |last3=Moreno-Guerrero |first3=Antonio José |last4=López-Belmonte |first4=Jesús |date=2022-12-02 |title=Benefits of Using the Learning Management System based on Flipped Learning Methodology |url=https://redie.uabc.mx/redie/article/view/4094 |journal=Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa |language=en |volume=24 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.24320/redie.2022.24.e24.4094 |issn=1607-4041|doi-access=free |hdl=10481/82873 |hdl-access=free }}{{Cite journal|last1=Hall|first1=Ashley A.|last2=DuFrene|first2=Debbie D.|date=June 2016|title=Best Practices for Launching a Flipped Classroom|journal=Business and Professional Communication Quarterly |volume=79|issue=2|pages=234–242|doi=10.1177/2329490615606733|s2cid=61904212|issn=2329-4906}} Some advantages of flipped learning include improved learning performance, enhanced student satisfaction and engagement, flexibility in learning, and increased interaction opportunities between students and instructors.{{Cite journal |last1=Ryan |first1=Michael D. |last2=Reid |first2=Scott A. |date=2016-01-12 |title=Impact of the Flipped Classroom on Student Performance and Retention: A Parallel Controlled Study in General Chemistry |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5b00717 |journal=Journal of Chemical Education |language=en |volume=93 |issue=1 |pages=13–23 |doi=10.1021/acs.jchemed.5b00717 |bibcode=2016JChEd..93...13R |issn=0021-9584}}{{Cite journal |last1=Khanova |first1=Julia |last2=Roth |first2=Mary T |last3=Rodgers |first3=Jo Ellen |last4=McLaughlin |first4=Jacqueline E |date=2015 |title=Student experiences across multiple flipped courses in a single curriculum |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/medu.12807 |journal=Medical Education |language=en |volume=49 |issue=10 |pages=1038–1048 |doi=10.1111/medu.12807|pmid=26383075 }}{{Cite journal |last=Chen |first=Li-Ling |date=2016 |title=Impacts of Flipped Classroom in High School Health Education |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0047239515626371 |journal=Journal of Educational Technology Systems |language=en |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=411–420 |doi=10.1177/0047239515626371 |issn=0047-2395}} On the other hand, the disadvantages of flipped learning involve challenges related to student motivation, internet accessibility, quality of videos, and increased workload for teachers.{{Cite journal |last1=Moraros |first1=John |last2=Islam |first2=Adiba |last3=Yu |first3=Stan |last4=Banow |first4=Ryan |last5=Schindelka |first5=Barbara |date=2015-02-28 |title=Flipping for success: evaluating the effectiveness of a novel teaching approach in a graduate level setting |journal=BMC Medical Education |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=27 |doi=10.1186/s12909-015-0317-2 |doi-access=free |issn=1472-6920 |pmc=4363198 |pmid=25884508}}{{Cite journal |last1=Wanner |first1=Thomas |last2=Palmer |first2=Edward |date=2015 |title=Personalising learning: Exploring student and teacher perceptions about flexible learning and assessment in a flipped university course |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131515300130 |journal=Computers & Education |volume=88 |pages=354–369 |doi= 10.1016/j.compedu.2015.07.008|issn=0360-1315}}

File:Teaching sliderule comparison.jpg compared to a normal sized model]]

Numerous types of physical technology are currently used:{{cite web |last=Forehand |first=M. |date=2010 |title=Bloom's Taxonomy. From Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology |access-date=25 October 2012 |url=http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705012345/http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/ |archive-date=5 July 2008}}{{cite report|last=Reeves|first=Thomas C.|title=The Impact of Media and Technology in Schools|publisher=University of Georgia |date=12 February 1998|url=http://treeves.coe.uga.edu/edit6900/BertelsmannReeves98.pdf|access-date=9 October 2013|archive-date=20 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020044220/http://treeves.coe.uga.edu/edit6900/BertelsmannReeves98.pdf|url-status=live}} digital cameras, video cameras, interactive whiteboard tools, document cameras, electronic media, and LCD projectors. Combinations of these techniques include blogs, collaborative software, ePortfolios, and virtual classrooms.{{Cite conference |title=Evaluating the Blending of an E-Learning Module into a Knowledge Management Course: A Case Study from the Singapore Management University (SMU) |conference=Proceedings of the IADIS International Conference e-Learning 2007, Lisbon, 6–8 July 2007 |via=Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business |first1=Thomas |date=September 2007 |last1=Menkhoff |first2=Tze Yian |last2=Thang |first3=Yue Kee |last3=Wong |url=https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/645/ }}

The current design of this type of application includes the evaluation through tools of cognitive analysis that allow one to identify which elements optimize the use of these platforms.{{cite journal |last1=Cuesta-Cambra |first1=Ubaldo |last2=Niño-González |first2=José-Ignacio |last3=Rodríguez-Terceño |first3=José |title=The Cognitive Processing of an Educational App with EEG and 'Eye Tracking' |journal=Comunicar |date=1 July 2017 |volume=25 |issue=52 |pages=41–50 |doi=10.3916/c52-2017-04|doi-access=free|hdl=10272/14086 |hdl-access=free }}

File:Preparation for training teachers on the subject of Wikipedia - Center for Educational Technology (1).JPG

Video technology{{cite journal |last1=Dieker |first1=Lisa A. |last2=Lane |first2=Holly B. |last3=Allsopp |first3=David H. |last4=O'Brien |first4=Chris |last5=Butler |first5=Tyran Wright |last6=Kyger |first6=Maggie |last7=Lovin |first7=LouAnn |last8=Fenty |first8=Nicole S. |title=Evaluating Video Models of Evidence-Based Instructional Practices to Enhance Teacher Learning |journal=Teacher Education and Special Education |date=7 April 2009 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=180–196 |doi=10.1177/0888406409334202|s2cid=143967113}} has included VHS tapes and DVDs, as well as on-demand and synchronous methods with digital video via server or web-based options such as streamed video and webcams. Videotelephony can connect with speakers and other experts. Interactive digital video games are being used at K-12 and higher education institutions.{{cite web |last=Biocchi|first=Michael|title=Games in the Classroom|url=http://educationtech.ca/2011/03/24/games-in-the-classroom/|work=Gaming in the Classroom|access-date=24 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815120845/http://educationtech.ca/2011/03/24/games-in-the-classroom/|archive-date=15 August 2011}}

Screencasting allows users to share their screens directly from their browser and make the video available online so that other viewers can stream the video directly.{{cite web |url=http://ipark.hud.ac.uk/content/screencasting |title=Screencasting | Teaching and Learning Innovation Park |website=Ipark.hud.ac.uk |access-date=22 October 2013 |archive-date=23 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023055528/http://ipark.hud.ac.uk/content/screencasting |url-status=live}}

Webcams and webcasting have enabled the creation of virtual classrooms and virtual learning environments.{{cite web|url=http://web.inxpo.com/casting-calls/bid/70527/Why-Virtual-Classrooms-Are-Excellent-Learning-Venues|title=Why Virtual Classrooms Are Excellent Learning Venues|last=Shiao|first=Dennis|publisher=INXPO|access-date=18 May 2013|archive-date=5 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105090737/http://web.inxpo.com/casting-calls/bid/70527/Why-Virtual-Classrooms-Are-Excellent-Learning-Venues}} Webcams are also being used to counter plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty that might occur in an e-learning environment.

File:students working on class assignment in computer lab.jpg

File:Digital carrel classroom.webp desks to get computers to the desk for a computational education]]

Computers and tablets enable learners and educators to access websites as well as applications. Many mobile devices support m-learning.{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1111/jcal.12322|title = Digital divide in quantitative methods: The effects of computer-assisted instruction and students' attitudes on knowledge acquisition|year = 2019|last1 = Kolpashnikova|first1 = Kamila|last2 = Bartolic|first2 = Silvia|journal = Journal of Computer Assisted Learning|volume = 35|issue = 2|pages = 208–217|s2cid = 69552601|url = https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c8d78102-452b-42ce-8d5f-b03ebf62cff5}}

Mobile devices such as clickers and smartphones can be used for interactive audience response feedback.{{cite journal|last=Tremblay|first=Eric|title=Educating the Mobile Generation – using personal cell phones as audience response systems in post-secondary science teaching.|journal=Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching|year=2010|volume=29|issue=2|pages=217–227|url=http://editlib.org/p/32314|access-date=5 November 2010|archive-date=31 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031222518/http://www.editlib.org/p/32314|url-status=live}} Mobile learning can provide performance support for checking the time, setting reminders, retrieving worksheets, and instruction manuals.{{cite journal |last1=Terras |first1=Melody M. |last2=Ramsay |first2=Judith |title=The five central psychological challenges facing effective mobile learning |journal=British Journal of Educational Technology |date=September 2012 |volume=43 |issue=5 |pages=820–832 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8535.2012.01362.x |url=http://elartu.tntu.edu.ua/handle/lib/30648 |access-date=30 March 2020 |archive-date=2 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602042621/http://elartu.tntu.edu.ua/handle/lib/30648 |url-status=live}}{{cite journal |last1=Kester |first1=Liesbeth |last2=Kirschner |first2=Paul |last3=Corbalan |first3=Gemma |title=Designing support to facilitate learning in powerful electronic learning environments |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |date=May 2007 |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=1047–1054 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2006.10.001|citeseerx=10.1.1.564.4050}}

Such devices as iPads are used for helping disabled (visually impaired or with multiple disabilities) children in communication development as well as in improving physiological activity, according to the stimulation Practice Report.{{cite journal|last1=Campaña|first1=Laura V.|last2=Ouimet|first2=Donald A.|s2cid=52225700|date=Jan–Feb 2015|title=iStimulation: Apple iPad Use with Ch|journal=Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness|volume=109|issue=1|pages=67–72|doi=10.1177/0145482X1510900110}}

Studies in pre-school (early learning), primary and secondary education have explored how digital devices are used to enable effective learning outcomes, and create systems that can support teachers.{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=Use of digital technology in education: Literature review |url=https://www.education.sa.gov.au/docs/ict/digital-strategy-microsite/c3l-digital-technologies-in-education-literature-review.pdf |access-date=25 September 2023 |website=South Australian Department for Education}} Digital technology can improve teaching and learning by motivating students with engaging, interactive, and fun learning environments. These online interactions enable further opportunities to develop digital literacy, 21st century skills, and digital citizenship.

Embedded single-board computers and microcontrollers such as Raspberry Pi, Arduino and BeagleBone are easy to program, some can run Linux and connect to devices such as sensors, displays, LEDs and robotics. These are cost effective computing devices ideal for learning programming, which work with cloud computing and the Internet of Things. The Internet of things refers to a type of network to connect anything with the Internet-based on stipulated protocols through information sensing equipment to conduct information exchange and communications to achieve smart recognitions, positioning, tracking, monitoring, and administration.{{cite book |last1=Komal |first1=Saxena |last2=Abdul |first2=Basit |last3=Shukla |first3=Vinod Kumar |date=2021-12-27 |chapter=Green Internet of Things (G-IoT) Technologies, Application, and Future Challenges |chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119793144.ch12 |title=Green Internet of Things and Machine Learning |pages=317–348 |doi=10.1002/9781119793144.ch12|isbn=9781119792031 }} These devices are part of a Maker culture that embraces tinkering with electronics and programming to achieve software and hardware solutions. The Maker Culture means there is a huge amount of training and support available.{{cite report |author=Jamieson, Peter |author2=Herdtner, Jeff | date = October 2015 | title = More missing the Boat — Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and small prototyping boards and engineering education needs them | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308815961 | format = Research Paper}}

{{further|Social media in education}}

Group webpages, blogs, wikis, and Twitter allow learners and educators to post thoughts, ideas, and comments on a website in an interactive learning environment.Courts, B. & Tucker, J. (2012). "Using Technology To Create A Dynamic Classroom Experience". Journal of College Teaching & Learning. 9 (2), 121-128.{{cite web|url=http://www.nea.org/home/32641.htm|title=Can Tweeting Help Your Teaching?|publisher=NEA|access-date=8 April 2015|archive-date=1 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201110431/http://www.nea.org/home/32641.htm|url-status=live}} Social networking sites are virtual communities for people interested in a particular subject to communicate by voice, chat, instant message, video conference, or blogs.{{cite journal|last=Murray|first=Kristine|author2=Rhonda Waller|title=Social Networking Goes Abroad|journal=Education Abroad|date=May–June 2007|volume=16|issue=3|pages=56–59|url=http://www.cobses.info/Oenbring/engl282/downloads/article2.pdf|access-date=27 July 2013|archive-date=5 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005024420/http://www.cobses.info/Oenbring/engl282/downloads/article2.pdf|url-status=live}} The National School Boards Association found that 96% of students with online access have used social networking technologies and more than 50% talk online about schoolwork. Social networking encourages collaboration and engagement{{cite web|last1=Beagle|first1=Martha|first2=Don |last2=Hudges |title=Social Networking in Education|url=http://www.pelinks4u.org/articles/beagle0609.htm|website=pelinks4u.org|access-date=27 July 2013|archive-date=5 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005021101/http://www.pelinks4u.org/articles/beagle0609.htm|url-status=live}} and can be a motivational tool for self-efficacy amongst students.{{cite journal|last=Pilgrim|first=Jodi|author2=Christie Bledsoe|title=Learning Through Facebook: A Potential Tool for Educators|journal=Delta Kappa Gamma|date=1 September 2011|url=http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=2c06f666-8633-47b9-9568-ff3911341e18%40sessionmgr14&vid=9&hid=9 |url-access=subscription}}

{{Main|Whiteboard|Interactive whiteboard}}

File:Combo whiteboard and bulletin board.JPG]]

File:Interactive whiteboard at CeBIT 2007.jpg

There are three types of whiteboards.Carpenter S. [http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/whiteboard Definition: Whiteboard] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327192806/http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/whiteboard |date=27 March 2016}}. TechTarget. The initial whiteboards, analogous to blackboards, date from the late 1950s. The term whiteboard is also used metaphorically to refer to virtual whiteboards in which computer software applications simulate whiteboards by allowing writing or drawing. This is a common feature of groupware for virtual meetings, collaboration, and instant messaging. Interactive whiteboards allow learners and instructors to write on the touch screen. The screen markup can be on either a blank whiteboard or any computer screen content. Depending on permission settings, this visual learning can be interactive and participatory, including writing and manipulating images on the interactive whiteboard.

{{Main|Virtual Learning Environment|MUVE}}

A virtual learning environment (VLE), also known as a learning platform, simulates a virtual classroom or meeting by simultaneously mixing several communication technologies.{{Cite book |date=2016 |editor-last=Mutsvairo |editor-first=Bruce |title=Digital Activism in the Social Media Era |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40949-8 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-40949-8|isbn=978-3-319-40948-1 }}Web conferencing software enables students and instructors to communicate with each other via webcam, microphone, and real-time chatting in a group setting. Participants can raise their hands, answer polls, or take tests. Students can whiteboard and screencast when given rights by the instructor, who sets permission levels for text notes, microphone rights, and mouse control.{{cite journal | last1 = Farwell | year = 2013 | title = Keeping an Online Class Interesting and Interactive | journal = Distance Learning | volume = 10 | issue = 3| pages = 27–32}}

A virtual classroom provides an opportunity for students to receive direct instruction from a qualified teacher in an interactive environment.{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/3424068|title=A real-time interactive virtual classroom multimedia distance learning system}} Learners can have direct and immediate access to their instructor for instant feedback and direction. The virtual classroom provides a structured schedule of classes, which can be helpful for students who may find the freedom of asynchronous learning to be overwhelming. Besides, the virtual classroom provides a social learning environment that replicates the traditional "brick and mortar" classroom.{{Cite journal |last=McKinney |first=M. D. |date=1985-09-01 |title=Legislative Strategies Used by United School Administrators |journal=Educational Considerations |volume=12 |issue=2 |doi=10.4148/0146-9282.1727 |issn=0146-9282|doi-access=free }}

In higher education especially, a virtual learning environment (VLE) is sometimes combined with a management information system (MIS) to create a managed learning environment, in which all aspects of a course are handled through a consistent user interface throughout the institution.{{Cite web |title=RKDF UNIVERSITY {{!}} EDUCATION GLORIFIES NATION |url=https://rkdf.ac.in/eresources.php |access-date=2024-05-25 |website=rkdf.ac.in}} Physical universities and newer online-only colleges offer to select academic degrees and certificate programs via the Internet. Some programs require students to attend some campus classes or orientations, but many are delivered completely online. Several universities offer online student support services, such as online advising and registration, e-counseling, online textbook purchases, student governments, and student newspapers.{{Cite web |title=Student Services for Online Learners - OnlineEducation.com |url=https://www.onlineeducation.com/guide/student-support-services |access-date=2024-05-25 |website=www.onlineeducation.com |language=en-US}}

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools have been forced to move online. As of April 2020, an estimated 90% of high-income countries are offering online learning, with only 25% of low-income countries offering the same.{{Cite web|last=Vegas|first=Emiliana|date=14 April 2020|title=School Closures, Government Responses, and Learning Inequality Around the World during COVID-19|url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/school-closures-government-responses-and-learning-inequality-around-the-world-during-covid-19/|access-date=14 February 2021|website=Brookings|archive-date=25 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125214446/https://www.brookings.edu/research/school-closures-government-responses-and-learning-inequality-around-the-world-during-covid-19/|url-status=live}}

AR technology plays an important role in the future of the classroom where human co-orchestration takes place seamlessly.{{Cite journal|last=Sharples|first=Mike|date=November 2013|title=Shared orchestration within and beyond the classroom|journal=Computers & Education |volume=69|pages=504–506|doi=10.1016/j.compedu.2013.04.014|s2cid=12469826 |issn=0360-1315|url=http://oro.open.ac.uk/37464/1/Computers%20and%20Ed%20%27shared%20orchestration%27.pdf|access-date=20 December 2019|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731005402/http://oro.open.ac.uk/37464/1/Computers%20and%20Ed%20%27shared%20orchestration%27.pdf|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Learning management system}}

File:Learning Management System.jpg

A learning management system (LMS) is software used for delivering, tracking, and managing training and education. It tracks data about attendance, time on task, and student progress. Educators can post announcements, grade assignments, check on course activities, and participate in class discussions. Students can submit their work, read and respond to discussion questions, and take quizzes. An LMS may allow teachers, administrators, and students, and permitted additional parties (such as parents, if appropriate) to track various metrics. LMSs range from systems for managing training/educational records to software for distributing courses over the Internet and offering features for online collaboration. The creation and maintenance of comprehensive learning content require substantial initial and ongoing investments in human labor. Effective translation into other languages and cultural contexts requires even more investment by knowledgeable personnel.{{cite journal|last=Sarasota|first=Darya|author2=Ali Khalid|author3=Sören Auer|author4=Jörg Unbehauen|title=Crowd Learn: Crowdsourcing the Creation of Highly-structured E-Learning Content|journal=5th International Conference on Computer Supported Education CSEDU 2013|year=2013|url=http://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2d6735d1e8ca41e72ba1cd2be64aca72e/aksw|access-date=12 July 2014|archive-date=20 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120052021/https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2d6735d1e8ca41e72ba1cd2be64aca72e/aksw|url-status=live}}

A learning content management system (LCMS) is software for author content (courses, reusable content objects). An LCMS may be solely dedicated to producing and publishing content that is hosted on an LMS, or it can host the content itself. The Aviation Industry Computer-Based Training Committee (AICC) specification provides support for content that is hosted separately from the LMS.

Computer-aided assessment (e-assessment) ranges from automated multiple-choice tests to more sophisticated systems. With some systems, feedback can be geared towards a student's specific mistakes, or the computer can navigate the student through a series of questions adapting to what the student appears to have learned or not learned. Formative assessment sifts out the incorrect answers, and these questions are then explained by the teacher. The learner then practices with slight variations of the sifted-out questions. The learning cycle often concludes with summative assessment, using a new set of questions that cover the topics previously taught.{{Cite web |title=Teachers Manual on Formative Assessment |url=https://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/publication/archive/CBSE-FA-Class-IX%20(Science)%20Final.pdf}}

A training management system or training resource management system is software designed to optimize instructor-led training management. Similar to an enterprise resource planning (ERP), it is a back office tool that aims at streamlining every aspect of the training process: planning (training plan and budget forecasting), logistics (scheduling and resource management), financials (cost tracking, profitability), reporting, and sales for-profit training providers.{{cite web | url=https://www.hr.com/en/magazines/training_development_excellence_essentials/march_2017_training_development/technology-enabled-learning-more-than-elearning---_izscecpc.html | title=Technology-enabled learning: More than e-Learning - Part 1: What does technology-enabled training management look like? | publisher=Training Development Excellence Essentials | access-date=7 July 2017 | archive-date=16 March 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316074655/https://www.hr.com/en/magazines/training_development_excellence_essentials/march_2017_training_development/technology-enabled-learning-more-than-elearning---_izscecpc.html | url-status=live}}

{{Main|Learning object}}

Content and design architecture issues include pedagogy and learning object re-use. One approach looks at five aspects:Clark, R. C., Mayer, R. E. (2007). eLearning and the Science of Instruction. San Francisco: Pfeiffer. {{ISBN|978-0-7879-8683-4}}

• Fact – unique data (e.g. symbols for Excel formula, or the parts that make up a learning objective)
• Concept – a category that includes multiple examples (e.g. Excel formulas, or the various types/theories of instructional design)
• Process – a flow of events or activities (e.g. how a spreadsheet works, or the five phases in ADDIE)
• Procedure – step-by-step task (e.g. entering a formula into a spreadsheet or the steps that should be followed within a phase in ADDIE)
• Strategic principle – a task performed by adapting guidelines (e.g. doing a financial projection in a spreadsheet, or using a framework for designing learning environments)

{{See also|Artificial intelligence in education|ChatGPT in education}}

The academic study and development of artificial intelligence can be dated to at least 1956 when cognitive scientists began to investigate thought and learning processes in humans and machines. The earliest uses of AI in education can be traced to the development of intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) and their application in enhancing educational experiences.{{Cite journal |last=Doroudi |first=Shayan |date=December 2023 |title=The Intertwined Histories of Artificial Intelligence and Education |journal=International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education |language=en |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=885–928 |doi=10.1007/s40593-022-00313-2 |issn=1560-4292|doi-access=free }} They are designed to provide immediate and personalized feedback to students.{{Cite journal |last1=Kamalov |first1=Firuz |last2=Santandreu Calonge |first2=David |last3=Gurrib |first3=Ikhlaas |date=16 August 2023 |title=New Era of Artificial Intelligence in Education: Towards a Sustainable Multifaceted Revolution |journal=Sustainability |volume=15 |issue=16 |page=12451 |arxiv=2305.18303 |doi=10.3390/su151612451 |eissn=2071-1050 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023Sust...1512451K }} The incentive to develop ITS comes from educational studies showing that individual tutoring is much more effective than group teaching,{{Cite journal|last1=Chi|first1=Michelene T.H.|last2=Siler|first2=Stephanie A.|last3=Jeong|first3=Heisawn|last4=Yamauchi|first4=Takashi|last5=Hausmann|first5=Robert G.|date=July 2001|title=Learning from human tutoring|journal=Cognitive Science|volume=25|issue=4|pages=471–533|doi=10.1207/s15516709cog2504_1|issn=0364-0213|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last=Bloom|first=Benjamin S.|s2cid=1714225|date=June 1984|title=The 2 Sigma Problem: The Search for Methods of Group Instruction as Effective as One-to-One Tutoring|journal=Educational Researcher|volume=13|issue=6|pages=4–16|doi=10.3102/0013189x013006004|issn=0013-189X}} in addition to the need for promoting learning on a larger scale. Over the years, a combination of cognitive science and data-driven techniques have enhanced the capabilities of ITS, allowing it to model a wide range of students' characteristics, such as knowledge,{{Cite journal|last1=Corbett|first1=Albert T.|last2=Anderson|first2=John R.|date=1995|title=Knowledge tracing: Modeling the acquisition of procedural knowledge|journal=User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction|volume=4|issue=4|pages=253–278|doi=10.1007/bf01099821|s2cid=19228797|issn=0924-1868}} affect,{{Cite book|last1=Pardos|first1=Zachary A.|last2=Baker|first2=Ryan S. J. D.|last3=San Pedro|first3=Maria O. C. Z.|last4=Gowda|first4=Sujith M.|last5=Gowda|first5=Supreeth M.|title=Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge |chapter=Affective states and state tests |date=2013|page=117|location=New York, New York, US|publisher=ACM Press|doi=10.1145/2460296.2460320|isbn=978-1-4503-1785-6|s2cid=9225441}} off-task behavior,{{Cite book|last=Baker|first=Ryan S.J.d.|title=Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems |chapter=Modeling and understanding students' off-task behavior in intelligent tutoring systems |date=2007|pages=1059–1068|location=New York, New York, US|publisher=ACM Press|doi=10.1145/1240624.1240785|isbn=978-1-59593-593-9|s2cid=13544854}} and wheel spinning.{{Citation|last1=Beck|first1=Joseph E.|date=2013|series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science|pages=431–440|publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg|isbn=978-3-642-39111-8|last2=Gong|first2=Yue|title=Artificial Intelligence in Education |chapter=Wheel-Spinning: Students Who Fail to Master a Skill |volume=7926 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-39112-5_44|s2cid=6105732 }} There is ample evidence that ITS are highly effective in helping students learn.{{Cite journal|last=du Boulay|first=Benedict|date=6 August 2015|title=Recent Meta-reviews and Meta-analyses of AIED Systems|journal=International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education|volume=26|issue=1|pages=536–537|doi=10.1007/s40593-015-0060-1|s2cid=1727756|issn=1560-4292|doi-access=free}} ITS can be used to keep students in the zone of proximal development (ZPD): the space wherein students may learn with guidance. Such systems can guide students through tasks slightly above their ability level.{{Cite web|title=The Zone of Proximal Development and Adaptive Learning Systems|url=https://www.wiley.com/network/instructors-students/teaching-strategies/the-zone-of-proximal-development-and-adaptive-learning-systems|access-date=27 March 2021|website=www.wiley.com|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814072156/https://www.wiley.com/network/instructors-students/teaching-strategies/the-zone-of-proximal-development-and-adaptive-learning-systems|url-status=live}}

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) gained widespread public attention with the introduction of ChatGPT in November 2022.{{Cite journal |last1=Hsu |first1=Yu-Chang |last2=Ching |first2=Yu-Hui |date=2023-06-07 |title=Generative Artificial Intelligence in Education, Part One: the Dynamic Frontier |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11528-023-00863-9 |journal=TechTrends |volume=67 |issue=4 |pages=603–607 |doi=10.1007/s11528-023-00863-9 |issn=8756-3894}} This caused alarm among K-12 and higher education institutions,{{Cite news |last=Huang |first=Kalley |date=2023-01-16 |title=Alarmed by A.I. Chatbots, Universities Start Revamping How They Teach |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/16/technology/chatgpt-artificial-intelligence-universities.html |access-date=2024-03-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} with a few large school districts quickly banning GenAI,{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Arianna |title=ChatGPT In Schools: Here's Where It's Banned—And How It Could Potentially Help Students |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/01/18/chatgpt-in-schools-heres-where-its-banned-and-how-it-could-potentially-help-students/ |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=Forbes |language=en}} due to concerns about potential academic misconduct.{{Cite news |last1=Meckler |first1=Laura |last2=Verma |first2=Pranshu |date=2022-12-29 |title=Teachers are on alert for inevitable cheating after release of ChatGPT |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/12/28/chatbot-cheating-ai-chatbotgpt-teachers/ |access-date=2024-03-17 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} However, as the debate developed,{{Cite web |title=ChatGPT is going to change education, not destroy it |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/04/06/1071059/chatgpt-change-not-destroy-education-openai/ |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en}} these bans were largely reversed within a few months.{{Cite web |last=Varanasi |first=Lakshmi |title=New York City's public schools reverse their ban on ChatGPT — admitting it had been 'knee-jerk fear' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-public-schools-reverse-ban-on-chatgpt-in-the-classroom-2023-5 |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}} To combat academic misconduct, detection tools have been developed, but their accuracy is limited.{{Citation |last1=Verma |first1=Vivek |title=Ghostbuster: Detecting Text Ghostwritten by Large Language Models |date=2023-11-13 |arxiv=2305.15047 |last2=Fleisig |first2=Eve |last3=Tomlin |first3=Nicholas |last4=Klein |first4=Dan}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |date=2024-11-25 |title=I tried 4 AI detection tools and they were (mostly) disappointing |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/2510217/i-tried-4-ai-detection-tools-and-they-were-mostly-disappointing.html |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=PCWorld |language=en}}

There have been various use cases in education, including providing personalized feedback, brainstorming classroom activities, support for students with special needs, streamlining administrative tasks, and simplifying assessment processes.{{Cite journal |last1=Su |first1=Jiahong |last2=Guo |first2=Kai |last3=Chen |first3=Xinyu |last4=Chu |first4=Samuel Kai Wah |date=2023-05-24 |title=Teaching artificial intelligence in K–12 classrooms: a scoping review |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10494820.2023.2212706 |journal=Interactive Learning Environments |volume=32 |issue=9 |language=en |pages=5207–5226 |doi=10.1080/10494820.2023.2212706 |issn=1049-4820}} However, GenAI can output incorrect information, also known as hallucination. Its outputs can also be biased,{{Cite journal |last1=Foltynek |first1=Tomas |last2=Bjelobaba |first2=Sonja |last3=Glendinning |first3=Irene |last4=Khan |first4=Zeenath Reza |last5=Santos |first5=Rita |last6=Pavletic |first6=Pegi |last7=Kravjar |first7=Július |date=2023-05-01 |title=ENAI Recommendations on the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence in Education |journal=International Journal for Educational Integrity |volume=19 |issue=1 |doi=10.1007/s40979-023-00133-4 |issn=1833-2595|doi-access=free }} leading to calls for transparency regarding the data used to train GenAI models and their use.{{Cite journal |last1=Yu |first1=Liheng |last2=Yu |first2=Zhonggen |date=2023-03-09 |title=Qualitative and quantitative analyses of artificial intelligence ethics in education using VOSviewer and CitNetExplorer |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=14 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1061778 |doi-access=free |pmid=36968737 |pmc=10035335 |issn=1664-1078}} Providing professional development for teachers and developing policies and regulations can help mitigate the ethical concerns of GenAI. And while AI systems can provide individualized instruction and adaptive feedback to students, they have the potential to impact students' sense of classroom community.

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Various forms of electronic media can be a feature of preschool life.{{Cite report|author1=Rideout, V.|author2=Vanderwater, E.|author3=Wartella, E.|title=Zero to six: Electronic media in the lives of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers|location=Menlo Park, California|publisher=The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation|year=2003|url=http://kff.org/other/report/zero-to-six-electronic-media-in-the/|access-date=24 November 2014|archive-date=24 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224201554/http://kff.org/other/report/zero-to-six-electronic-media-in-the/|url-status=live}} Although parents report a positive experience, the impact of such use has not been systematically assessed.

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The age when a given child might start using a particular technology, such as a cellphone or computer, might depend on matching a technological resource to the recipient's developmental capabilities, such as the age-anticipated stages labeled by Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/technology/personaltech/12basics.html |title=So Young, and So Gadgeted |first=Warren |last=Buckleitner |newspaper=The New York Times |date=12 June 2008 |access-date=21 February 2017 |archive-date=23 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223202838/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/technology/personaltech/12basics.html |url-status=live}} Parameters, such as age-appropriateness, coherence with sought-after values, and concurrent entertainment and educational aspects, have been suggested for choosing media.{{cite web|author=Meidlinger, K.|title=Choosing Media for Children Checklist: Adapted from Dr. Faith Rogow |location=San Francisco |work=Kids Watch Monthly |publisher=KQED |url=http://www.kqed.org/assets/pdf/education/earlylearning/kidswatch/kidswatch-choosingmedia-english.pdf|access-date=20 November 2014|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060931/http://www.kqed.org/assets/pdf/education/earlylearning/kidswatch/kidswatch-choosingmedia-english.pdf|url-status=live}}

At the preschool level, technology can be introduced in several ways. At the most basic is the use of computers, tablets, and audio and video resources in classrooms.{{cite web |url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/technology-in-the-preschool-classroom.html |url-status=live |title=Technology in the Preschool Classroom |website=study.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106132257/https://study.com/academy/lesson/technology-in-the-preschool-classroom.html |archive-date=6 November 2018 |access-date=16 September 2021}} Additionally, there are many resources available for parents and educators to introduce technology to young children or to use technology to augment lessons and enhance learning. Some options that are age-appropriate are video- or audio-recording of their creations, introducing them to the use of the internet through browsing age-appropriate websites, providing assistive technology to allow disabled children to participate with the rest of their peers,{{cite web |url=https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/technology-and-media/preschoolers-and-kindergartners |title=Technology and Young Children: Preschoolers and Kindergartners |website=National Association for the Education of Young Children |location=Washington, DC}} educational apps, electronic books, and educational videos.{{cite web |url=https://www.earlychildhoodteacher.org/blog/ece-technology-10-trending-tools-for-teachers|url-status=live |title=ECE Technology: 10 Trending Tools for Teachers |website=Early Childhood Teacher |date=29 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106132431/https://www.earlychildhoodteacher.org/blog/ece-technology-10-trending-tools-for-teachers/ |archive-date=6 November 2018 |access-date=16 September 2021}} There are many free and paid educational website and apps that are directly targeting the educational needs of preschool children. These include Starfall, ABC mouse, PBS Kids Video, Teach me, and Montessori crosswords.{{cite web |url=https://www.icanteachmychild.com/the-10-best-iphoneipad-apps-for-preschoolers |url-status=live |title=Best Apps for Preschoolers |website=icanteachmychild.com |date=4 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106132336/https://www.icanteachmychild.com/the-10-best-iphoneipad-apps-for-preschoolers |archive-date=6 November 2018 |access-date=16 September 2021}} Educational technology in the form of electronic books [109] offer preschool children the option to store and retrieve several books on one device, thus bringing together the traditional action of reading along with the use of educational technology. Educational technology is also thought to improve hand-eye coordination, language skills, visual attention, and motivation to complete educational tasks, and allows children to experience things they otherwise would not. There are several keys to making the most educational use of introducing technology at the preschool level: technology must be used appropriately, should allow access to learning opportunities, should include the interaction of parents and other adults with the preschool children, and should be developmentally appropriate.{{cite web |url=https://tech.ed.gov/earlylearning/principles/ |url-status=live |title=Guiding Principles for Use of Technology with Early Learners |publisher=Office of Educational Technology |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106092903/https://tech.ed.gov/earlylearning/principles/ |archive-date=6 November 2018 |access-date=16 September 2021}} Allowing access to learning opportunities especially for allowing disabled children to have access to learning opportunities, giving bilingual children the opportunity to communicate and learn in more than one language, bringing in more information about STEM subjects, and bringing in images of diversity that may be lacking in the child's immediate environment.

Coding is also becoming part of the early learning curriculum and preschool-aged children can benefit from experiences that teach coding skills even in a screen-free way. There are activities and games that teach hands-on coding skills that prepare students for the coding concepts they will encounter and use in the future.{{Cite web |first=Alexander |last=Slagg |title=Teaching the Principles of Computer Science Early in K–12 Schools |url=https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2022/06/teaching-principles-computer-science-early-k-12-schools-perfcon |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=Technology Solutions That Drive Education |language=en}} Minecraft and Roblox are two popular coding and programming apps being adopted by institutions that offer free or low-cost access.

{{Main|Primary education}}

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E-learning is increasingly being utilized by students who may not want to go to traditional brick-and-mortar schools due to severe allergies or other medical issues, fear of school violence and school bullying, and students whose parents would like to homeschool but do not feel qualified.{{cite web|author=publications|url=http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-rise-of-cyber-schools|title=The Rise of Cyber-Schools|publisher=The New Atlantis|access-date=24 October 2012|archive-date=25 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225162819/http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-rise-of-cyber-schools|url-status=live}} Online schools create a haven for students to receive a quality education while almost completely avoiding these common problems. Online charter schools also often are not limited by location, income level, or class size in the way brick and mortar charter schools are.{{cite web |url=http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/charter-schools/ |title=Research Center: Charter Schools |publisher=Edweek.org |access-date=24 October 2012 |archive-date=29 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129015952/http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/charter-schools/ |url-status=live}}

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E-learning also has been rising as a supplement to the traditional classroom. Students with special talents or interests outside of the available curricula use e-learning to advance their skills or exceed grade restrictions.{{cite web|author=publications|url=http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/for-frustrated-gifted-kids-a-world-of-online-opportunities/|title=For Frustrated Gifted Kids, A World of Online Opportunities|date=21 May 2014 |publisher=KQED|access-date=24 May 2014|archive-date=24 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524064408/http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/for-frustrated-gifted-kids-a-world-of-online-opportunities/|url-status=live}}

Virtual education in K-12 schooling often refers to virtual schools, and in higher education to virtual universities. Virtual schools are "cybercharter schools"{{cite journal | last1 = Cavanaugh | first1 = C | year = 2009 | title = Effectiveness of cyber charter schools: A review of research on learnings | journal = TechTrends | volume = 53 | issue = 4| pages = 28–31 | doi=10.1007/s11528-009-0302-x| s2cid = 150964098}} with innovative administrative models and course delivery technology.

Education technology also seems to be an interesting method of engaging gifted youths that are under-stimulated in their current educational program.{{cite journal |last1=Benno |first1=Mark |title=Virtual Reality |journal=Gifted Child Today |date=29 November 2016 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=12–14 |doi=10.1177/107621759802100104|s2cid=220121504}} This can be achieved with after-school programs or even technologically-integrated curricula. 3D printing integrated courses (3dPIC) can also give youths the stimulation they need in their educational journey.{{cite book |last1=Heine |first1=C. |last2=Gerry |first2=J. |last3=Sutherland |first3=L. S. |year=2015 |chapter=Chapter 14: Technology Education for High-Ability Students |editor1-first=F. A. |editor1-last=Dixon |editor2-first=S. M. |editor2-last=Moon |title=The Handbook of Secondary Gifted Education |pages=369–392 |location=Waco, Texas |publisher=Prufrock Press, Inc. |url=https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/stratinnov_pr/4/ |access-date=1 January 2019 |archive-date=30 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730234158/https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/stratinnov_pr/4/ |url-status=live}} {{lang|fr|Université de Montréal|italic=no}}'s Projet SEUR{{cite journal |last1=Brochu |first1=Michèle |title=Projet SEUR |journal=Rapport d'Activités |date=2018 |page=37 |url=http://seur.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/rapport-17-18-compressed.pdf |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-date=2 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102094552/http://seur.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/rapport-17-18-compressed.pdf |url-status=live}} in collaboration with Collège Mont-Royal and La Variable are heavily developing this field.{{cite web |title=Ateliers de douance 9-12 ans du samedi |url=http://collegemont-royal.qc.ca/ateliers-douance-9-12-ans-samedi,154,271 |website=Collège Mont-Royal |access-date=2 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102050503/http://collegemont-royal.qc.ca/ateliers-douance-9-12-ans-samedi,154,271 |archive-date=2 January 2019 }}

{{Main|Online learning in higher education}}

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Online college course enrollment has seen a 29% increase in enrollment with nearly one-third of all college students, or an estimated 6.7 million students are currently enrolled in online classes.{{cite book|last1=Major|first1=Claire|title=Teaching Online: A Guide to Theory, Research, and Practice|date=2015|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore, Maryland}}{{cite journal|author1=Jaggars, S. S.|author2=Edgecombe, N.|author3=Stacey, G. W.|year=2013|title=What we know about online course outcomes (research overview)|journal=Community College Research Center|url=http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/publications/what-we-know-online-course-outcomes.html|access-date=2 April 2016|archive-date=4 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404222234/http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/publications/what-we-know-online-course-outcomes.html|url-status=live}} In 2009, 44% of post-secondary students in the US were taking some or all of their courses online, which was projected to rise to 81% by 2014.{{cite web|author=Ambient Insight Research|year=2009|title=US Self-paced e-Learning Market|location=Monroe WA|publisher=Ambient Insight Research|url=http://www.ambientinsight.com/Reports/eLearning.aspx|access-date=2 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402054107/http://www.ambientinsight.com/Reports/eLearning.aspx|archive-date=2 April 2016}}

Although a large proportion of for-profit higher education institutions now offer online classes, only about half of private, non-profit schools do so. Private institutions may become more involved with online presentations as the costs decrease. Properly trained staff must also be hired to work with students online.{{cite book|editor1=Repetto, M.|editor2=Trentin, G.|year=2011|title=Faculty Training for Web-Enhanced Learning|publisher=Nova Science Publishers, Inc.|location=Hauppauge, NY|isbn=978-1-61209-335-2|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235930053|access-date=20 November 2014|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814072155/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235930053_Faculty_Training_for_Web-Enhanced_Learning|url-status=live}} These staff members need to understand the content area, and also be highly trained in the use of the computer and Internet. Online education is rapidly increasing, and online doctoral programs have even developed at leading research universities.{{cite journal| last=Hebert| first=D. G.| year=2007| title=Five Challenges and Solutions in Online Music Teacher Education| journal=Research and Issues in Music Education| volume=5| issue=1| url=http://www.stthomas.edu/rimeonline/vol5/hebert.htm| access-date=20 November 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831104447/http://www.stthomas.edu/rimeonline/vol5/hebert.htm| archive-date=31 August 2012}}

Although massive open online courses (MOOCs) may have limitations that preclude them from fully replacing college education,{{cite news|last=Youngberg|first=David|title=Why Online Education Won't Replace College--Yet|url=http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Online-Education-Wont/133531/|newspaper=The Chronicle of Higher Education|date=13 August 2012|access-date=20 November 2014|archive-date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129035323/http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Online-Education-Wont/133531/|url-status=live}} such programs have significantly expanded. MIT, Stanford and Princeton University offer classes to a global audience, but not for college credit.{{cite news|title=The Year of the MOOC|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/education/edlife/massive-open-online-courses-are-multiplying-at-a-rapid-pace.html|access-date=12 February 2013|newspaper=The New York Times |first=Laura|last=Pappano|date=2 November 2012|archive-date=27 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327215236/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/education/edlife/massive-open-online-courses-are-multiplying-at-a-rapid-pace.html|url-status=live}} University-level programs, like edX founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, offer a wide range of disciplines at no charge, while others permit students to audit a course at no charge but require a small fee for accreditation. MOOCs have not had a significant impact on higher education and declined after the initial expansion, but are expected to remain in some form.{{cite news|last=Kolowich|first=Steve|title=Conventional Online Higher Education Will Absorb MOOCs, 2 Reports Say|url=http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/conventional-online-higher-education-will-absorb-moocs-2-reports-say/52603?cid=wc|access-date=15 May 2014|newspaper=The Chronicle of Higher Education|date=15 May 2014|archive-date=17 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917181639/https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/conventional-online-higher-education-will-absorb-moocs-2-reports-say/52603?cid=wc|url-status=live}} Lately, MOOCs are used by smaller universities to profile themselves with highly specialized courses for special-interest audiences, as for example in a course on technological privacy compliance.{{Cite book|last1=Fischer-Hübner|first1=Simone|last2=Martucci|first2=Leonardo A.|last3=Fritsch|first3=Lothar|last4=Pulls|first4=Tobias|last5=Herold|first5=Sebastian|last6=Iwaya|first6=Leonardo H.|last7=Alfredsson|first7=Stefan|last8=Zuccato|first8=Albin|title=Information Security Education – Towards a Cybersecure Society |chapter=A MOOC on Privacy by Design and the GDPR |date=2018|editor-last=Drevin|editor-first=Lynette|editor2-last=Theocharidou|editor2-first=Marianthi|volume=531|series=IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology|language=en|publisher=Springer International Publishing|pages=95–107|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-99734-6_8|isbn=978-3-319-99734-6|chapter-url=https://hal.inria.fr/hal-02125760/file/472720_1_En_8_Chapter.pdf}}

MOOCs have been observed to lose the majority of their initial course participants. In a study performed by Cornell and Stanford universities, student-drop-out rates from MOOCs have been attributed to student anonymity, the solitude of the learning experience, and to the lack of interaction with peers and with teachers.{{Cite book|last1=Anderson |first1=Ashton|last2=Huttenlocher |first2=Daniel|last3=Kleinberg|first3=Jon|last4=Leskovec|first4=Jure|title=Proceedings of the 23rd international conference on World wide web |chapter=Engaging with massive online courses |date=2014|pages=687–698|location=New York, New York, US|publisher=ACM Press|doi=10.1145/2566486.2568042|isbn=978-1-4503-2744-2|bibcode=2014arXiv1403.3100A|arxiv=1403.3100|s2cid=7007398}} Effective student engagement measures that reduce drop-outs are forum interactions and virtual teacher or teaching assistant presence - measures which induce staff cost that grows with the number of participating students.

E-learning is being used by companies to deliver mandatory compliance training and updates for regulatory compliance, soft skills and IT skills training, continuing professional development (CPD), and other valuable workplace skills.{{Cite web |last=Simoudis |first=Hector |date=2022-12-08 |title=How To Get Employees Engaged In Training And Why It's Important |url=https://elearningindustry.com/how-to-get-employees-engaged-in-training-and-why-its-important |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=eLearning Industry |language=en-US}} Companies with spread out distribution chains use e-learning for delivering information about the latest product developments. Most corporate e-learning is asynchronous and delivered and managed via learning management systems.{{Cite journal|last=Saba|first=Farhad|date=Nov–Dec 2011|title=Distance Education in the United States: Past, Present, Future|url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ956478|journal=Educational Technology|language=en|volume=51|issue=6|pages=11–18|issn=0013-1962|access-date=29 May 2019|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731021056/https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ956478|url-status=live}} The big challenge in corporate e-learning is to engage the staff, especially on compliance topics for which periodic staff training is mandated by the law or regulations.

E-Learning and Educational Technology is used by governmental bodies to train staff and civil service. However, government agencies also have an interest in promoting digital technology use, and improving skills amongst the people they serve. Educational Technology has been used in such training provision. For example, in the UK, the Skills Bootcamp scheme aims to improve the skillset of general population through the use of educational technological training.{{cite web |url=https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/training-choice/skills-bootcamp |title=Skills Bootcamp |date=2024 |website=Skills for All |publisher=Department of Education |access-date=22 June 2024}}

Effective technology use deploys multiple evidence-based strategies concurrently (e.g. adaptive content, frequent testing, immediate feedback, etc.), as do effective teachers.{{cite journal|author1=Ross, S.|author2=Morrison, G.|author3=Lowther, D.|year=2010|title=Educational technology research past and present: balancing rigor and relevance to impact learning|journal=Contemporary Educational Technology|volume=1|issue=1|url=http://www.cedtech.net/articles/11/112.pdf|page=17|access-date=2 April 2016|archive-date=5 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005230558/http://www.cedtech.net/articles/11/112.pdf|url-status=live}} Using computers or other forms of technology can give students practice on core content and skills while the teacher can work with others, conduct assessments, or perform other tasks.{{cite journal|author=Hicks, S.D.|year=2011|title=Technology in today's classroom: Are you a tech-savvy teacher?|journal=The Clearing House |volume=84|issue=5|pages=188–191|doi=10.1080/00098655.2011.557406|s2cid=142593701}} Through the use of educational technology, education is able to be individualized for each student allowing for better differentiation and allowing students to work for mastery at their own pace.{{cite magazine|author=Kronholz, J.|year=2011|title=Getting at-risk teens to graduation|magazine=Education Next|volume=11|issue=4|id={{ProQuest|1237831598}}}} In India, the National Level Common Entrance Examination (NLCEE) utilized educational technology to provide free online coaching and scholarship opportunities. By leveraging digital platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic, NLCEE ensured students, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds, could access quality education and career guidance remotely.{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/start-up-offers-free-coaching-to-100-needy-students-via-competitive-exam/article65490830.ece|title=Start-up offers free coaching to 100 needy students via competitive exam|newspaper=The Hindu|access-date=8 January 2025}}

Modern educational technology can improve access to education,{{cite journal|last1=Masson|first1=M|title=Benefits of TED Talks|journal=Canadian Family Physician|date=December 2014|volume=60|issue=12|page=1080|pmid=25500595|pmc=4264800}} including full degree programs.{{Cite web |title=What higher education students want from online learning {{!}} McKinsey |url=https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/what-do-higher-education-students-want-from-online-learning |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=www.mckinsey.com}} It enables better integration for non-full-time students, particularly in continuing education, and improved interactions between students and instructors.{{cite web|last=Dalsgaard|first=Christian|title=Social software: E-learning beyond learning management systems|url=http://www.eurodl.org/materials/contrib/2006/Christian_Dalsgaard.htm|work=eurodl.org|publisher=University of Aarhus|access-date=31 March 2013|archive-date=20 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520105838/http://www.eurodl.org/materials/contrib/2006/Christian_Dalsgaard.htm}} Learning material can be used for long-distance learning and are accessible to a wider audience.{{cite web |url=http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/tuie.html |title=Technology Uses in Education |publisher=Nsba.org |date=9 December 2011 |access-date=22 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706183412/http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/tuie.html |archive-date=6 July 2013 }} Course materials are easy to access.{{cite web |url=http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/tiol.html |title=Technology Impact on Learning |publisher=Nsba.org |date=9 December 2011 |access-date=22 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701042623/http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/tiol.html |archive-date=1 July 2013 }} In 2010, 70.3% of American family households had access to the internet.{{cite journal|author1=Warschauer, M. |author2= Matuchniak, T.|s2cid= 145400905|year=2010|title=New technology and digital worlds: analyzing evidence of equity in access, use and outcomes|journal=Review of Research in Education |volume=34|number=1|pages=179–225|doi=10.3102/0091732X09349791|hdl=11059/15126|hdl-access=free}} In 2013, according to Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission Canada, 79% of homes have access to the internet.{{cite press release |url=https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/crtc-issues-annual-report-on-the-state-of-the-canadian-communication-system-513013921.html |title=CRTC issues annual report on the state of the Canadian communication system |publisher=CRTC |date=27 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227160248/http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/com100/2013/r130926.htm |archive-date=27 February 2014 |url-status=live}} Students can access and engage with numerous online resources at home. Using online resources can help students spend more time on specific aspects of what they may be learning in school but at home. Schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made certain course materials free online.{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-13/mit-begins-offering-free-online-course-with-certificate.html | title=MIT Begins Offering Free Online Course With Certificate | work=Bloomberg News | date=12 February 2012 | url-access=subscription | last=Theen | first=Andrew | archive-date=25 December 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225052040/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-13/mit-begins-offering-free-online-course-with-certificate.html | url-status=live}}

Students appreciate the convenience of e-learning, but report greater engagement in face-to-face learning environments.{{Cite journal |last1=Kemp |first1=Nenagh |author-link=Nenagh Kemp |last2=Grieve |first2=Rachel |date=1 January 2014 |title=Face-to-face or face-to-screen? Undergraduates' opinions and test performance in classroom vs. online learning |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=5 |page=1278 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01278 |pmc=4228829 |pmid=25429276 |doi-access=free}} Colleges and universities are working towards combating this issue by utilizing WEB 2.0 technologies as well as incorporating more mentorships between students and faculty members.{{cite journal |last1=Deschaine |first1=Mark|last2=Whale |first2=David |title=Increasing Student Engagement in Online Educational Leadership Courses |journal=Journal of Educators Online|date=2017 |page=6 |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1133612.pdf | archive-date=31 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231160115/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1133612.pdf |url-status=live}}

According to James Kulik, who studies the effectiveness of computers used for instruction, students usually learn more in less time when receiving computer-based instruction, and they like classes more and develop more positive attitudes toward computers in computer-based classes. Students can independently solve problems. There are no intrinsic age-based restrictions on difficulty level, i.e. students can go at their own pace. Students editing their written work on word processors improve the quality of their writing. According to some studies, the students are better at critiquing and editing written work that is exchanged over a computer network with students they know. Studies completed in "computer intensive" settings found increases in student-centric, cooperative, and higher-order learning, writing skills, problem-solving, and using technology.{{cite journal |author1=An, Y. J. |author2=Reigeluth, C.|year=2011|title=Creating Technology-Enhanced, Learner-Centered Classrooms: K–12 Teachers' Beliefs, Perceptions, Barriers, and Support Needs |journal=Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=54–62|url=http://marianrosenberg.wiki.westga.edu/file/view/AnYCreatingTechnology.pdf|issn=2153-2974|doi=10.1080/21532974.2011.10784681 |s2cid=10783064 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705033732/http://marianrosenberg.wiki.westga.edu/file/view/AnYCreatingTechnology.pdf|archive-date=5 July 2016}} In addition, attitudes toward technology as a learning tool by parents, students, and teachers are also improved.

Employers' acceptance of online education has risen over time.{{cite web|title=Hiring Practices and Attitudes: Traditional vs. Online Degree Credentials SHRM Poll |url=https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/pages/hiringpracticesandattitudes.aspx |date=19 August 2010 |archive-date=23 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423203814/https://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/articles/pages/hiringpracticesandattitudes.aspx|url-status=live}} More than 50% of human resource managers SHRM surveyed for an August 2010 report said that if two candidates with the same level of experience were applying for a job, it would not have any kind of effect whether the candidate's obtained degree was acquired through an online or a traditional school. Seventy-nine percent said they had employed a candidate with an online degree in the past 12 months. However, 66% said candidates who get degrees online were not seen as positively as job applicants with traditional degrees.

The use of educational apps generally has a positive effect on learning. Pre- and post-tests have revealed that the use of educational apps on mobile devices reduces the achievement gap between struggling and average students.{{Cite news|title=Study: iPads improve Kindergarten literacy scores |url=https://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/study-ipads-improve-kindergarten-literacy-scores/ |work=Engadget |archive-date=26 October 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151026073848/http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/study-ipads-improve-kindergarten-literacy-scores/ |url-status=live}}

Globally, factors like change management, technology obsolescence, and vendor-developer partnership are major restraints that are hindering the growth of the Educational technology market.{{Cite news |archive-date=27 May 2018|title=Global E-Learning Market 2017 to Boom $275.10 Billion Value by 2022 at a CAGR of 7.5% – Orbis Research |url=https://news.marketersmedia.com/global-e-learning-market-2017-to-boom-275-10-billion-value-by-2022-at-a-cagr-of-7-5-orbis-research/208094 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527213517/https://www.reuters.com/brandfeatures/venture-capital/article?id=11353 |url-status=live}}

In the US, state and federal government increased funding, as well as private venture capital, has been flowing into the education sector. However, {{as of|2013|lc=y}}, none were looking at technology return on investment (ROI) to connect expenditures on technology with improved student outcomes.{{cite web |url=https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/UlrichEducationTech-brief-3.pdf |title=Are Schools Getting a Big Enough Bang for Their Education Technology Buck? |last=Boser |first=U. |publisher=American Progress |pages=1–12 |date=2013 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517122406/http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/UlrichEducationTech-brief-3.pdf |url-status=live}}

New technologies are frequently accompanied by unrealistic hype and promise regarding their transformative power to change education for the better or in allowing better educational opportunities to reach the masses. Examples include silent film, broadcast radio, and television, none of which have maintained much of a foothold in the daily practices of mainstream, formal education.{{cite journal|last=Culp|first=K.M. |author2=Honey, M. |author3=Mandinach, E.|title=A retrospective on twenty years of education technology policy|journal=Journal of Educational Computing Research|pages=279–307|doi=10.2190/7W71-QVT2-PAP2-UDX7|year=2005|volume=32|issue=3|s2cid=61281934}} Technology, in and of itself, does not necessarily result in fundamental improvements to educational practice.{{cite book|last=Lai|first=K.W.|chapter=ICT Supporting the Learning Process: The Premise, Reality, and Promise |title=International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education|date=2008|publisher=Springer US|pages=215–230}} The focus needs to be on the learner's interaction with technology—not the technology itself. It needs to be recognized as "ecological" rather than "additive" or "subtractive". In this ecological change, one significant change will create total change.{{cite book|last=Postman|first=N.|title=Technopoly: the surrender of culture to technology. New York|date=1992|publisher=Vintage Books|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-0-679-74540-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/technopolysurren00post_0}}

According to Branford et al., "technology does not guarantee effective learning", and inappropriate use of technology can even hinder it.{{cite book|title=How people learn: Brain, mind, experience|publisher=National Academies Press|year=2000|editor1=J. Bransford |editor2=A. Brown |editor3=R. R. Cocking|location=Washington, DC|pages=206–230|contribution=Technology to support learning}} A University of Washington study of infant vocabulary shows that it is slipping due to educational baby DVDs. Published in the Journal of Pediatrics, a 2007 University of Washington study on the vocabulary of babies surveyed over 1,000 parents in Washington and Minnesota. The study found that for every hour that babies 8–16 months of age watched DVDs and videos, they knew 6-8 fewer of 90 common baby words than the babies that did not watch them. Andrew Meltzoff, a surveyor in this study, states that the result makes sense, that if the baby's "alert time" is spent in front of DVDs and TV, instead of with people speaking, the babies are not going to get the same linguistic experience. Dimitri Chistakis, another surveyor reported that the evidence is mounting that baby DVDs are of no value and may be harmful.{{cite web|title=Baby DVDs, Videos May Hinder, Not Help, Infants' Language Development|date=7 August 2007|url=http://www.washington.edu/alumni/uwnewslinks/200709/videos.html|publisher=University of Washington Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215122133/http://www.washington.edu/alumni/uwnewslinks/200709/videos.html|archive-date=15 February 2015}}{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1650352,00.html |title=Baby Einsteins: Not So Smart After All |date=6 August 2007|magazine=Time |archive-date=4 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104004731/http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1650352,00.html|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1882560,00.html|title=TV for Babies: Does It Help or Hurt?|date=3 March 2009 |magazine=Time |archive-date=4 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104004304/http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1882560,00.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=No television for babies: Why TV is bad for young children|work=The Washington Times |url=http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/parenting-first-time-through/2012/jun/8/no_television_for_babies_tv_bad/|date=8 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104010241/http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/parenting-first-time-through/2012/jun/8/no_television_for_babies_tv_bad/|archive-date=4 January 2015|author=Moret, B.}}

Adaptive instructional materials tailor questions to each student's ability and calculate their scores, but this encourages students to work individually rather than socially or collaboratively (Kruse, 2013). Social relationships are important, but high-tech environments may compromise the balance of trust, care, and respect between teacher and student.{{cite journal|author=Cuban, L. |year=1998 |title=High-Tech Schools and Low-Tech Teaching|journal=Journal of Computing in Teacher Education| volume=14 |issue=2|pages=6–7 |doi=10.1080/10402454.1998.10784333|s2cid=109024575 | url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10402454.1998.10784333 |archive-date=30 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730235556/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10402454.1998.10784333|url-status=live}}

Massively open online courses (MOOCs), although quite popular in discussions of technology and education in developed countries (more so in the US), are not a major concern in most developing or low-income countries. One of the stated goals of MOOCs is to provide less fortunate populations (i.e., in developing countries) an opportunity to experience courses with US-style content and structure. However, research shows only 3% of the registrants are from low-income countries, and although many courses have thousands of registered students only 5-10% of them complete the course.{{citation |author1=Ho, A. D. |author2=Reich, J. |author3=Nesterko, S. |author4=Seaton, D. T. |author5=Mullaney, T. |author6=Waldo, J. |author7= Chuang, I. |year=2014 |title=HarvardX and MITx: The first year of open online courses |series=HarvardX and MITx Working Paper No. 1 |ssrn=2381263 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.2381263|s2cid=111039113 |url=http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11987422 |hdl=1721.1/96649 |hdl-access=free }} This can be attributed to lack of staff support, course difficulty, and low levels of engagement with peers.{{Cite journal |title=Dropout Rates of Massive Open Online Courses: Behavioural Patterns |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273777281 |website=ResearchGate |year=2014 |doi=10.13140/rg.2.1.2402.0009|author1=D F O Onah|author2=J E Sinclair|author3=R Boyatt }} MOOCs also implies that certain curriculum and teaching methods are superior, and this could eventually wash over (or possibly washing out) local educational institutions, cultural norms, and educational traditions.Trucano, M. (11 December 2013). More about MOOCs and developing countries. EduTech: A World Bank Blog on ICT use in Education

With the Internet and social media, using educational apps makes students highly susceptible to distraction and sidetracking. Even though proper use has been shown to increase student performance, being distracted would be detrimental. Another disadvantage is an increased potential for cheating.{{Cite journal|last=Trenholm|first=Sven|date=21 July 2016|title=A Review of Cheating in Fully Asynchronous Online Courses: A Math or Fact-Based Course Perspective |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2190/Y78L-H21X-241N-7Q02 |journal=Journal of Educational Technology Systems|volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=281–300 |doi=10.2190/Y78L-H21X-241N-7Q02|s2cid=62756308 |archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814072157/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2190/Y78L-H21X-241N-7Q02|url-status=live}}

A disadvantage of e-learning is that it can cause depression, according to a study made during the 2021 COVID-19 quarantines.{{Cite journal |last1=Fawaz |first1=Mirna |last2=Samaha |first2=Ali |date=January 2021 |title=E-learning: Depression, anxiety, and stress symptomatology among Lebanese university students during COVID-19 quarantine |journal=Nursing Forum |language=en |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=52–57 |doi=10.1111/nuf.12521 |pmid=33125744 |s2cid=226218330 |issn=0029-6473|doi-access=free }}

Electronic devices such as cell phones and computers facilitate rapid access to a stream of sources, each of which may receive cursory attention. Michel Rich, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and executive director of the center on Media and Child Health in Boston, said of the digital generation, "Their brains are rewarded not for staying on task, but for jumping to the next thing. The worry is we're raising a generation of kids in front of screens whose brains are going to be wired differently." Students have always faced distractions; computers and cell phones are a particular challenge because the stream of data can interfere with focusing and learning. Although these technologies affect adults too, young people may be more influenced by it as their developing brains can easily become habituated to switching tasks and become unaccustomed to sustaining attention. Too much information, coming too rapidly, can overwhelm thinking.Begley, Sharon. [http://www.newsweek.com/2011/02/27/i-can-t-think.html "The Science of Making Decisions"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701130939/http://www.newsweek.com/2011/02/27/i-can-t-think.html |date=1 July 2014}}. Newsweek 27 February 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Technology is "rapidly and profoundly altering our brains." High exposure levels stimulate brain cell alteration and release neurotransmitters, which causes the strengthening of some neural pathways and the weakening of others. This leads to heightened stress levels on the brain that, at first, boost energy levels, but, over time, actually augment memory, impair cognition, lead to depression, and alter the neural circuitry of the hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex. These are the brain regions that control mood and thought. If unchecked, the underlying structure of the brain could be altered.{{cite news|last=Ritchel |first=Matt |title=Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction |newspaper=The New York Times |date=21 November 2010 | url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html |archive-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113073520/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html |url-status=live}} Overstimulation due to technology may begin too young. When children are exposed before the age of seven, important developmental tasks may be delayed, and bad learning habits might develop, which "deprives children of the exploration and play that they need to develop."{{cite book |last=Cuban |first=Larry |title=Oversold and Underused: Computers in the Classroom |publisher=Harvard University Press |date=2001 |url=http://www.urosario.edu.co/urosario_files/28/28745b9b-7870-4676-9b0e-a84b26278639.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809070340/http://www.urosario.edu.co/urosario_files/28/28745b9b-7870-4676-9b0e-a84b26278639.pdf|archive-date=9 August 2017}} Media psychology is an emerging specialty field that embraces electronic devices and the sensory behaviors occurring from the use of educational technology in learning.

According to Lai, "the learning environment is a complex system where the interplay and interactions of many things impact the outcome of learning." When technology is brought into an educational setting, the pedagogical setting changes in that technology-driven teaching can change the entire meaning of an activity without adequate research validation. If technology monopolizes an activity, students can begin to develop the sense that "life would scarcely be thinkable without technology."{{cite book |last=Winner|first=Langdon |author-link=Langdon Winner |title=The Whale and the Reactor|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|date=1986}}

Leo Marx considered the word "technology" itself as problematic,{{cite journal |last=Marx |first=Leo |author-link=Leo Marx |year=2010 |title=Technology: The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept |journal=Technology and Culture |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=561–577 |doi=10.1353/tech.2010.0009 |s2cid=92982580}} susceptible to reification and "phantom objectivity", which conceals its fundamental nature as something that is only valuable insofar as it benefits the human condition. Technology ultimately comes down to affecting the relations between people, but this notion is obfuscated when technology is treated as an abstract notion devoid of good and evil. Langdon Winner makes a similar point by arguing that the underdevelopment of the philosophy of technology leaves us with an overly simplistic reduction in our discourse to the supposedly dichotomous notions of the "making" versus the "uses" of new technologies and that a narrow focus on "use" leads us to believe that all technologies are neutral in moral standing.{{rp|ix–39}}

Winner viewed technology as a "form of life" that not only aids human activity, but that also represents a powerful force in reshaping that activity and its meaning.{{rp|ix–39}}

By far, the greatest latitude of choice exists the very first time a particular instrument, system, or technique is introduced. Because choices tend to become strongly fixed in material equipment, economic investment, and social habit, the original flexibility vanishes for all practical purposes once the initial commitments are made. In that sense, technological innovations are similar to legislative acts or political findings that establish a framework for public order that will endure over many generations. (p. 29)

When adopting new technologies, there may be one best chance to "get it right". Seymour Papert (p. 32) points out a good example of a (bad) choice that has become strongly fixed in social habit and material equipment: our "choice" to use the QWERTY keyboard.{{cite book|author=Papert, S. |year=1980 |title=Mindstorms: Children computers and powerful ideas |location=New York, NY|publisher=Basic Books |url=http://eclass.uoa.gr/modules/document/file.php/PPP240/%CE%92%CE%B9%CE%B2%CE%BB%CE%AF%CE%B1/MNDSTORMS%20Children,%20Computers,%20and%20Powerful%20Ideas.%20Papert.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106063306/http://eclass.uoa.gr/modules/document/file.php/PPP240/%CE%92%CE%B9%CE%B2%CE%BB%CE%AF%CE%B1/MNDSTORMS%20Children,%20Computers,%20and%20Powerful%20Ideas.%20Papert.pdf|archive-date=6 November 2015}}

Neil Postman endorsed the notion that technology impacts human cultures, including the culture of classrooms, and that this is a consideration even more important than considering the efficiency of new technology as a tool for teaching. Regarding the computer's impact on education, Postman writes (p. 19):

What we need to consider about the computer has nothing to do with its efficiency as a teaching tool. We need to know in what ways it is altering our conception of learning, and how in conjunction with television, it undermines the old idea of school.

{{Main|Digital divide}}

File:BandwidthInequality1986-2014.jpg

The concept of the digital divide is a gap between those who have access to digital technologies and those who do not.{{cite journal | last1 = Wei | first1 = L. | last2 = Hindman | first2 = D. | year = 2011 | title = Does the Digital Divide Matter More? Comparing the Effects of New Media and Old Media Use on the Education-Based Knowledge Gap | journal = Mass Communication and Society | volume = 14 | issue = 1| pages = 216–235 | doi = 10.1080/15205431003642707| s2cid = 144745385}} Access may be associated with age, gender, socio-economic status, education, income, ethnicity, and geography.Jenkins, H. (2009). Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

According to a report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, large amounts of personal data on children are collected by electronic devices that are distributed in schools in the United States. Often, far more information than necessary is collected, uploaded, and stored indefinitely. Aside from name and date of birth, this information can include the child's browsing history, search terms, location data, contact lists, as well as behavioral information.Frida Alim, Nate Cardozo, Gennie Gebhart, Karen Gullo, Amul Kalia, [https://www.eff.org/files/2017/04/13/student-privacy-report.pdf Spying on Students. School-issued devices and student privacy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413164741/https://www.eff.org/files/2017/04/13/student-privacy-report.pdf |date=13 April 2017}}, 13 April 2017, Executive summary.{{rp|5}} Parents are not informed or, if informed, have little choice.{{rp|6}} According to the report, this constant surveillance resulting from educational technology can "warp children's privacy expectations, lead them to self-censor, and limit their creativity".{{rp|7}} In a 2018 public service announcement, the FBI warned that widespread collection of student information by educational technologies, including web browsing history, academic progress, medical information, and biometrics, created the potential for privacy and safety threats if such data was compromised or exploited.{{cite report |date=13 September 2018 |title=Education Technologies: Data Collection and Unsecured Systems Could Pose Risks to Students |url=https://www.ic3.gov/media/2018/180913.aspx |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation Internet Crime Complaint Center |archive-date=2 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602175509/https://www.ic3.gov/media/2018/180913.aspx |url-status=live}}

The transition from in-person learning to distance education in higher education due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to enhanced extraction of student data enabled by complex data infrastructures. These infrastructures collect information such as learning management system logins, library metrics, impact measurements, teacher evaluation frameworks, assessment systems, learning analytic traces, longitudinal graduate outcomes, attendance records, social media activity, and so on. The copious amounts of information collected are quantified for the marketization of higher education, employing this data as a means to demonstrate and compare student performance across institutions to attract prospective students, mirroring the capitalistic notion of ensuring efficient market functioning and constant improvement through measurement.{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1080/13562517.2020.1748811|title = The datafication of teaching in Higher Education: Critical issues and perspectives|year = 2020|last1 = Williamson|first1 = Ben|last2 = Bayne|first2 = Sian|last3 = Shay|first3 = Suellen|journal = Teaching in Higher Education|volume = 25|issue = 4|pages = 351–365|hdl = 20.500.11820/ea598f82-d14c-4456-816d-dab026b9f481|s2cid = 219036372|doi-access = free|hdl-access = free}} This desire of data has fueled the exploitation of higher education by platform companies and data service providers who are outsourced by institutions for their services. The monetization of student data in order to integrate corporate models of marketization further pushes higher education, widely regarded as a public good, into a privatized commercial sector.{{Cite journal|doi=10.1186/s41239-018-0094-1|title=The hidden architecture of higher education: Building a big data infrastructure for the 'smarter university'|year=2018|last1=Williamson|first1=Ben|journal=International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education|volume=15|s2cid=3759016 |doi-access=free |hdl=20.500.11820/6b8ea96e-be1b-4d17-9cdc-a768615d1c69|hdl-access=free}}

Since technology is not the end goal of education, but rather a means by which it can be accomplished, educators must have a good grasp of the technology and its advantages and disadvantages. Teacher training aims for the effective integration of classroom technology.{{cite journal | last1 = Oliver | first1 = A. | last2 = Osa | first2 = J. O. | last3 = Walker | first3 = T. M. | year = 2012 | title = Using instructional technologies to enhance teaching and learning for the 21st century pre K-12 students: The case of a professional education programs unit | journal = International Journal of Instructional Media | volume = 39 | issue = 4| pages = 283–295}}

File:Teacher training in Naura.jpg

The evolving nature of technology may unsettle teachers, who may experience themselves as perpetual novices.{{cite journal |author1=Harris, J.|author2=Mishra, P.|author3=Koehler, M.| year=2009 |title=Teachers' Technological Pedagogical Integration Reframed |journal=Journal of Research on Technology in Education |volume=41|issue=4 |pages=393–416 |doi=10.1080/15391523.2009.10782536 |s2cid=15789445|url=http://punya.educ.msu.edu/publications/HarrisMishraKoehler-JRTESumm09.pdf |archive-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910082044/http://punya.educ.msu.edu/publications/HarrisMishraKoehler-JRTESumm09.pdf|url-status=live}} Finding quality materials to support classroom objectives is often difficult. Random professional development days are inadequate.

According to Jenkins, "Rather than dealing with each technology in isolation, we would do better to take an ecological approach, thinking about the interrelationship among different communication technologies, the cultural communities that grow up around them, and the activities they support." Jenkins also suggested that the traditional school curriculum guided teachers to train students to be autonomous problem solvers. However, today's workers are increasingly asked to work in teams, drawing on different sets of expertise, and collaborating to solve problems. Learning styles and the methods of collecting information have evolved, and "students often feel locked out of the worlds described in their textbooks through the depersonalized and abstract prose used to describe them". These twenty-first-century skills can be attained through the incorporation and engagement with technology.{{cite journal|author=De Castell, S.|year=2011 |title=Ludic Epistemology: What Game-Based Learning Can Teach Curriculum Studies |journal=Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies |volume=8 |issue=2|pages=19–27|url=http://jcacs.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/jcacs/article/view/31334/28979 |archive-date=17 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417072529/http://jcacs.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/jcacs/article/view/31334/28979|url-status=live}} Changes in instruction and use of technology can also promote a higher level of learning among students with different types of intelligence.{{cite video |author=Robinson, T. |year=2006 |title=Schools Kill Creativity|work=TED Talks |url=http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html}}

{{main|Educational assessment|Electronic assessment}}

There are two distinct issues of assessment: the assessment of educational technology{{cite journal | last1 = Eisenberg | first1 = M | year = 2008 | title = Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age | journal = DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology| volume = 28 | issue = 2| pages = 39–47 | doi=10.14429/djlit.28.2.166| doi-access = free}} and assessment with technology.{{cite journal | last1 = Fletcher | first1 = S | year = 2013 | title = Machine Learning | journal = Scientific American | volume = 309 | issue = 2| pages = 62–68| doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0813-62| pmid = 23923208 |bibcode = 2013SciAm.309b..62F}}

Assessments of educational technology have included the Follow Through project.

Educational assessment with technology may be either formative assessment or summative assessment. Instructors use both types of assessments to understand student progress and learning in the classroom. Technology has helped teachers create better assessments to help understand where students who are having trouble with the material are having issues.

Formative assessment is more difficult, as the perfect form is ongoing and allows the students to show their learning in different ways depending on their learning styles. Technology has helped some teachers make their formative assessments better, particularly through the use of a classroom response system (CRS).{{Cite journal|last1=Beatty|first1=Ian D|last2=Gerace|first2=William J |date=Jan 2009|title=Technology-Enhanced Formative Assessment: A Research-Based Pedagogy for Teaching Science with Classroom Response Technology |journal=Journal of Science and Technology |volume=18|issue=2|page=146 |doi=10.1007/s10956-008-9140-4 |bibcode=2009JSEdT..18..146B |s2cid=40547715|doi-access=free}} A CRS is a tool in which the students each have a handheld device that partners up with the teacher's computer. The instructor then asks multiple choice or true or false questions and the students answer on their devices. Depending on the software used, the answers may then be shown on a graph so students and the teacher can see the percentage of students who gave each answer and the teacher can focus on what went wrong.{{Cite journal|last1=Fies|first1=Carmen|last2=Marshall|first2=Jill|date=March 2006|title=Classroom Response Systems: A Review of the Literature|journal=Journal of Science Education and Technology |volume=15|issue=1|page=101|doi=10.1007/s10956-006-0360-1|bibcode=2006JSEdT..15..101F|s2cid=17608112}}

Classroom response systems have a history going back to the late 1960s and early 1970s, when analogue electronics were used in their implementations.{{cite book | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=As2tPOKVh8MC&pg=PA80 | title=Online and Distance Learning: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications | editor-last=Tomei | editor-first= Lawrence A. | publisher=IGI Global | year= 2007 | chapter=A Brief History of Networked Classrooms | first=Louis | last=Abrahamson | pages=78–100| isbn=978-1-59904-936-6 }} At pp. 79–80, 85. There were a few commercial products available, but they were costly and some universities preferred to build their own.{{cite journal | last=Littauer | first=Raphael | title=Instructional Implications of a Low-Cost Electronic Student Response System | journal=Educational Technology | volume=12 | number= 10 | date=October 1972 | pages= 69–71 | jstor=44419363 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44419363 }} The first such system appears to have been put into place at Stanford University, but it suffered from difficulties in use. Another early system was one designed and built by Raphael M. Littauer, a professor of physics at Cornell University, and used for large lecture courses. It was more successful than most of the other early systems, in part because the designer of the system was also the instructor using it. A subsequent classroom response technologies involved H-ITT with infrared devices.{{cite news | url=https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2006/02/clicking-class-helps-lecturers-and-students-connect | title=Clicking in class helps lecturers from appearing remote by using student remotes as instructional tool | first= Leslie | last=Intemann | work=Cornell Chronicle | date=February 20, 2006 }}

Summative assessments are more common in classrooms and are usually set up to be more easily graded, as they take the form of tests or projects with specific grading schemes. One huge benefit of tech-based testing is the option to give students immediate feedback on their answers. When students get these responses, they are able to know how they are doing in the class which can help push them to improve or give them confidence that they are doing well.{{Cite journal |last1=Marriott|first1=Pru |last2=Lau|first2=Alice |date=2008 |title=The use of on-line summative assessment in an undergraduate financial accounting course|journal=Journal of Accounting Education |volume=26|issue=2|pages=73–90|doi=10.1016/j.jaccedu.2008.02.001}} Technology also allows for different kinds of summative assessment, such as digital presentations, videos, or anything else the teacher/students may come up with, which allows different learners to show what they learned more effectively. Teachers can also use technology to post graded assessments online for students to have a better idea of what a good project is.

Electronic assessment uses information technology. It encompasses several potential applications, which may be teacher or student-oriented, including educational assessment throughout the continuum of learning, such as computerized classification testing, computerized adaptive testing, student testing, and grading an exam. E-Marking is an examiner-led activity closely related to other e-assessment activities such as e-testing, or e-learning which are student-led. E-marking allows markers to mark a scanned script or online response on a computer screen rather than on paper.

There are no restrictions on the types of tests that can use e-marking, with e-marking applications designed to accommodate multiple choice, written, and even video submissions for performance examinations. E-marking software is used by individual educational institutions and can also be rolled out to the participating schools of awarding exam organizations. E-marking has been used to mark many well-known high stakes examinations, which in the United Kingdom include A levels and GCSE exams, and in the US includes the SAT test for college admissions. Ofqual reports that e-marking is the main type of marking used for general qualifications in the United Kingdom.

In 2014, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) announced that most of the National 5 question papers would be e-marked.{{cite web |title=An Introduction to E-marking| url=https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/IntroductioneMarkingMFI.pdf |website=SQA |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025040/https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/IntroductioneMarkingMFI.pdf|url-status=live}}

In June 2015, the Odisha state government in India announced that it planned to use e-marking for all Plus II papers from 2016.{{cite news |title=State government of India announces that it would be using e-marking for all streams from 2016 |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/E-marking-for-all-streams-from-2016/articleshow/47510723.cms |website=The Times of India |date=2 June 2015 |ref=TI |archive-date=6 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150606180121/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/E-marking-for-all-streams-from-2016/articleshow/47510723.cms|url-status=live}}

The importance of self-assessment through tools made available on educational technology platforms has been growing. Self-assessment in education technology relies on students analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, and areas where improvement is possible to set realistic goals in learning, improve their educational performances and track their progress.{{cite web|title=What is Self Assessment?|url=http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/providers-partners/self-assessment/what-is-self-assessment/ |publisher=nzqa |archive-date=14 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614214010/http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/providers-partners/self-assessment/what-is-self-assessment/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Student Self-Assessment |url=https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/self-assessment |publisher=unsw |archive-date=13 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813220905/https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/self-assessment |url-status=live}} One of the unique tools for self-assessment made possible by education technology is Analytics. Analytics is data gathered on the student's activities on the learning platform, drawn into meaningful patterns that lead to a valid conclusion, usually through the medium of data visualization such as graphs. Learning analytics is the field that focuses on analyzing and reporting data about students' activities in order to facilitate learning.

The five key sectors of the e-learning industry are consulting, content, technologies, services, and support.{{cite book |author=Nagy, A. |year=2005 |chapter=The Impact of E-Learning |editor1=Bruck, P.A. |editor2=Buchholz, A. |editor3=Karssen, Z. |editor4=Zerfass, A. |title=E-Content: Technologies and Perspectives for the European Market |location=Berlin |publisher=Springer-Verlag |pages=79–96}} Worldwide, e-learning was estimated in 2000 to be over $48 billion according to conservative estimates.European Commission (2000). Communication from the Commission: E-Learning – Designing "Tejas at Niit" tomorrow's education. Brussels: European Commission Commercial growth has been brisk.{{cite web |title=E-Learning Market Trends & Forecast 2014 - 2016 Report |url=http://www.docebo.com/landing/contactform/elearning-market-trends-and-forecast-2014-2016-docebo-report.pdf |website=www.docebo.com|publisher=Docebo |archive-date=28 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228222949/https://www.docebo.com/landing/contactform/elearning-market-trends-and-forecast-2014-2016-docebo-report.pdf }}{{cite magazine |last=McCue |first=T. J. |date=27 August 2014 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2014/08/27/online-learning-industry-poised-for-107-billion-in-2015/ |title=Online Learning Industry Poised for $107 Billion in 2015 |magazine=Forbes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825120701/https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2014/08/27/online-learning-industry-poised-for-107-billion-in-2015/ |archive-date=25 August 2017}} In 2014, the worldwide commercial market activity was estimated at $6 billion venture capital over the past five years,{{rp|38}} with self-paced learning generating $35.6 billion in 2011.{{rp|4}} North American e-learning generated $23.3 billion in revenue in 2013, with a 9% growth rate in cloud-based authoring tools and learning platforms.{{rp|19}}

{{Portal|Education}}

{{Div col}}

• {{annotated link|ADDIE Model}}
• {{annotated link|Assistive technology}}
• {{annotated link|Brightstorm}}
• {{annotated link|ChatGPT in education}}
• Computational education - computer based education
• {{annotated link|Computers in the classroom}}
• {{annotated link|Distance education}}
• {{annotated link|E-learning (theory)}}
• {{annotated link|Educational animation}}
• {{annotated link|Educational technology in sub-Saharan Africa}}
• {{annotated link|Evidence-based education}}
• {{annotated link|Intelligent tutoring system}}
• {{annotated link|Mobile learning for refugees}}
• {{annotated link|Mobile phone use in schools}}
• {{annotated link|Online credentials for learning}}
• {{section link|Qualifications framework|Qualifications frameworks for online learning}}
• {{annotated link|Remote laboratory}}
• {{annotated link|Virtual world language learning}}
• {{annotated link|Web-based simulation}}
• {{annotated link|Digital media in education}} {{Div col end}}

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<--This reference list is organized alphanumerically by arbitrary ref name-->

{{cite book | title=E-Learning in the 21st Century: A Framework for Research and Practice | author1=D. Randy Garrison | author2 = Terry Anderson |author3=Definitions and Terminology Committee | isbn = 978-0-415-26346-7 | year=2003 | publisher = Routledge | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UZOG5KEoiCQC&q=define-instructional-technology&pg=PA33 | archive-date = 14 August 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814072156/https://books.google.com/books?id=UZOG5KEoiCQC&q=define-instructional-technology&pg=PA33 | url-status=live}}

Al Januszewski A.; Molenda Michael. (2007) Educational Technology: A Definition with Commentary {{ISBN|978-0-8058-5861-7}}

{{cite journal | last1 = Lowenthal | first1 = P. R. | last2 = Wilson | first2 = B. G. | year = 2010 | title = Labels do matter! A critique of AECT's redefinition of the field | journal = TechTrends | volume = 54 | issue = 1| pages = 38–46 | doi = 10.1007/s11528-009-0362-y | citeseerx = 10.1.1.408.648 | s2cid = 143977728}}

{{cite journal | last1 = Moore | first1 = J. L. | last2 = Dickson-Deane | first2 = C. | last3 = Galyen | first3 = K. | year = 2011 | title = E-Learning, online learning, and distance learning environments: Are they the same? | journal = The Internet and Higher Education | volume = 14 | issue = 2| pages = 129–135 | doi=10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.10.001| s2cid = 17622901 }}

{{cite journal | last1 = Richey | first1 = R.C. | author-link1=Rita Richey|year = 2008 | title = Reflections on the 2008 AECT Definitions of the Field | journal = TechTrends | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume = 52 | issue = 1 | pages = 24–25 | issn=8756-3894| doi=10.1007/s11528-008-0108-2 | doi-access=free | s2cid = 189912472}}

{{citation |last=Selwyn |first=N. |year=2011 |title=Education and Technology: Key Issues and Debates |location=London |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group}}

{{cite journal|last=Small|first=G.|author2=Vorgan, G.|title=Meet Your iBrain.|journal=Scientific American Mind |date=2008|volume=5|issue=19|pages=42–49|doi=10.1038/scientificamericanmind1008-42|doi-broken-date=2 November 2024 }}

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• Betts, Kristen, et al. "Historical review of distance and online education from 1700s to 2021 in the United States: Instructional design and pivotal pedagogy in higher education." Journal of Online Learning Research and Practice 8.1 (2021) pp 3–55 [https://jolrap.scholasticahq.com/article/26963.pdf online].

{{Wikibooks|ICT in Education}}

{{Wikiversity|Teaching and Learning Online}}

{{Wikiversity|Educational Technology}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Educational technology}}
• [https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-mk6542kh3c "Schools of the Future: Learning On-Line" 1994 documentary from KETC]

{{Education}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Educational Technology}}

Category:Technology in society

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