Instructional Technology in Education

In a country teeming with millions of illiterates any promise to hasten the elimination of illiteracy through innovative tools will have an instant appeal. Instructional Technology holds out one such promise. It seeks to reinforce the attack on illiteracy, with the aid of radio, television, film cassette, computer and satellite programmes. Apart from limited objective of improving the quality of teaching in the existing educational institutions, it proposes to make a dent into the vast area of darkness where facilities for learning do not exist. The crux of the problem lies in the application of instructional technology in the limited filed of formal and non-formal education. It cannot be denied that instructional technology, as is being chalked out, is capital-intensive appropriate indigenous technology. The term Instructional technology has been misconceived and by the large persons take it as a ‘Technology in Education” or “Technology is a term that has been widely used in recent years, but often in an imprecise or inconsistent manner. Its manifestation can range from programming learning through complex and expensive hardware systems to operational research studies of educational systems. In general, it is taken to refer to the application to education of devices, process and styles of thinking developed electromechanical systems. Thus instructional technology includes work in the field of the psychology of learning, audio and visual methods of presentation, educational broadcasting, instructional planning and organization, curriculum development of learning systems, information systems, the allocation of resources and studies of cost and effectiveness. Related with our social and cultural activities for which we need good and effective understanding of Instructional Technology. One of the main reasons is that in planning of teaching at secondary and higher secondary school level. The teacher must know the teaching acts and acquire teaching skills and classroom teaching rules with instructional theories. Therefore, keeping this in view the author has tries to explain in this book Instructional Technology in Education engulfs exclusively the field of teaching-learning, teaching methods, innovative teaching techniques, instructional materials and aids, curriculum development, evaluation planning, computer aids and action research are the main features of present book. The book is indented for teacher trainees of L.T., B.T.C., and B.Ed., classes, teacher educators and teachers teaching at senior and junior levels. It is so designed as to cover the courses of “Theories of Teaching” of L.T. and B.Ed. classes. Sincere attempts have been done to present the matter clearly, briefly and simply.