Learning with Technology

Times change so fast… I remember as a child playing with our black phone with the rotary dial, then there was the touch pad, then lo! Mobile phones of different kinds!

Reaching out and getting connected to people seems to be a big deal in our society. The internet gave quite an impact to the way we live life nowadays. Emailing, instant messaging, blogs, etc – so many ways to keep connected, so many ways to touch people’s lives.

This is what I think educational technology is about – finding ways and means to touch people’s lives. It offers a massive amount of resources in which one can gain ideas and further one’s knowledge and of course, being social beings – we also transmit this to people we meet in our day to day lives – to classmates, teachers, friends, family, etc. Whatever I learn, it affects my life and those around me.


As a scholar and as someone who has spent 93% of her life in school, technology has made such an impact in my learning. Research was made much easier. Like magic – with a touch of finger everything unfolds before me. My undergrad thesis was on the Bronte sisters. I didn’t really know much about them then but as I started my research I discovered so many things about the world of literature, society, and myself. In my thesis, I learned that the Bronte sisters had circumvented the discrimination against women that their society had imposed on them. This research was an eye opener to me and it could not have been made possible if I did not have access to a variety of sources through the internet. This new learning affected how I thought about myself as a woman and as a person and this emanated through how I carried myself around people.


Technology has also been useful to me in self expression. I have made learning fun for myself and for my colleagues as well in the little things I add in my presentation. Technology becomes a medium in which I could convey the content of my argument effectively and at the same time, it entices more people to listen, learn and see beyond text and words – after all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

I mentioned that it offers self expression and this I believe is a very important part of learning. There is such as thing as learning beyond text books, beyond classrooms… sometimes it can be found in informal websites such as blogs (internet journals/thought boards), chat rooms, photo journals, etc. Technology gives us a medium in which we can vent – have a kind of breathing space for our crowded minds.

There is so much educational technology can offer. Indeed it can optimize one’s personal growth. One day, I would like to be a teacher. I hope to be a good one and I am sure educational technology would be a useful source for finding ways and means for me to more effectively touch my students’ lives. I hope I would be able to encourage my students to broaden their minds – through the things I share and through things that they discover along the way. I hope to be the small spark that starts a fury in their souls -- to arouse an intense thirst for knowledge…