Introduction
The new millennium brings the challenge of technological development based on the continuous development of new technologies with all its consequences, both positive and negative. The potential that new technologies of communication and information provided to people and society have to do with the speed in processing information with handling large volumes of it, with easy access, choice, information exchange and processing .
Like any new technology, we also have new problems: the fragmentation of information, knowledge and culture, a new literacy and computer literate individuals, the construction of a new reality and new ways of approaching it , that of changing relationships, interactions forms of thought, organization and work habits.
The uses and applications of new technologies in various fields of human activity and social impacts and required to recognize changes that lead and see how these new technologies are harnessed to achieve continuous learning, distance learning, learning under the control of learners in order to solve challenges and problems that economic and resource constraints in education, primarily in less developed society.
The new paradigm of higher education
In this world of globalization, there are factors that seem to transcend the others and which are presumably so powerful that influence everyone else. They are: the opportunities of globalization, the exploitation of information and technology to the fullest, the human aspect of innovation and the power of events and life.
Learning throughout life should be adopted as a strategic base for the future of the nation. Professional competence and skills necessary to work constantly changing and therefore the key in the information society is “learning to learn”, the learning will go well beyond traditional studies aimed at obtaining a diploma or degree.
The key is education and not the amount of knowledge learned, but the ability to use knowledge and know-how (know-how “). To be able to find the essential knowledge from the wealth of information and be able to apply it in another context, people must learn the necessary skills.
There are no simple solutions in the selection and use of technologies in conventional or distance education. In fact, the decision-making in this area becomes increasingly difficult with the proliferation of new technologies and new educational initiatives.
Distance Education and Course Schedule: Major Differences
Distance education has emerged as an attempt to respond to new social demands that the Academy Program has been unable to attend, but it is incorrect to assume that this can fully replace the latter.
Both forms of education may mutually benefit from their coexistence and action.
The following table details the main differences between distance education and classroom education:
DISTANCE LEARNING
EDUCATION PRESENCIAL
The professor and students can not be physically present in the same space or time. “For communication to occur, you must create approach between teacher and student.
Eliminates the rigid boundary of space and time imposed by the paradigm of the traditional classroom.
It shows that participants can learn without being gathered in one place and at the same time.
The professor and students are physically present in the same space (during class).
It’s called face because it restricts the communication to a here and a now.
Much of the knowledge-is filed on paper or computer.
The universities are starting to use this modality to facilitate access to certain professions and occupations to students at lower cost. As traditional education is characterized by its high cost, it is thought that distance education is a way to provide additional quotas more quickly and economically.
Right from the beginning this type of education had to face the distrust of those who saw in it an “opportunity minor”, or who feared the development of a more flexible, more dynamic and more attractive course.
It should be noted that education used by epistolary correspondence education was the basis for the various options that have materialized in this area and generally seek to expand access to education, resulting from a new attitude that places the student teaching first row and the institution in the second. No doubt there is a growing interest in distance education posed a challenge in the world to learn about this methodology.
In the last decade of the twentieth century made their appearance information technology and communication, which are emerging as a new computing paradigm, telematics, which incorporates some of the benefits already achieved by the multimedia paradigm and introduces new elements.
This fourth generation of distance presents solutions to some of the problems that plagued previous generations: you can individualize the instructional process; there is constant interaction between people to support the learning process. The feedback to the participant almost immediately, the amount of educational resources available is unlimited, update the materials very quickly and the costs per student are lower.
Technological developments in information management and communication to the immediate future in education allow the first applications of information systems geared to teaching in the transmission of information. It is imperative then analyze to what extent the appropriate use of new technologies for storage and transmission of information, overcome and eliminate these deficiencies, and that more information means more freedom and better decisions, but less information means less power, less freedom and wrong decisions in essence, less information-less development and more information-more development.
The emergence of new technologies such as multimedia computing and high-speed networks and information highways, have created new opportunities for technological development. Moreover, its application in the teaching-learning processes with efficient support in the management of information determines the different instructional strategies to traditional lectures with a direct presence.
Multimedia technologies with the use of such networks are considered the new computer revolution in the teaching-learning process. This is due to its ease of use of telecommunications and television, creating environments that integrate the different media used by man to convey a message, such as text, graphics, images, sound and video, plus a fundamental issue is the user interaction with the system.
Currently there is great concern to educational level on the conditions, rules and structures that must meet the educational institutions to ensure that their students are prepared for the technological world they face. A regulation is required or basic structure as a guide for curriculum developers, educators and decision makers related to education.
All students should have the opportunity to develop technology skills that support learning, personal productivity, decision making and daily life. The profiles and associated standards must provide a structure that prepares students to become lifelong learners and make informed decisions about the role that technology plays in their lives.
We must innovate in distance education should be handled with great care not to fall into useless technologies. Both teachers and students seem to agree to seek, defend and promote academic innovations. The problem comes in when specifying what to innovate.
In this sense, universities have managed to improve communication and exchange of information through computer networks. They offer a range of services that facilitate communication (email, file transfer, consulting librarians, shared storage, connections from homes, backing up data, remote printing, Internet access, etc.
Regarding this point, the universities in Puerto Rico have made major efforts in the field of distance education, have been introducing new technologies to better serve students and teachers, giving efficient support material information, so that this is one of quality, updated and efficient.
The informatics is indissoluble fusion of telecommunications with information technology. Currently no single computer can think of and capabilities of these pass into the background because what matters is that the computer is a transport vehicle and reporting at the time and place where it is needed. No computer, no computer, no networking or telecommunications. The information must not be contained in your computer where you work; you should be able to travel to him.
We see, safely, what is the tendency of new technologies, we must prepare our graduates to that can manage and achieve productivity gains and improved quality of life by use of tele-computing resources
The advantages of using a telematics network, complemented by remote technology (online courses) can be seen from the following perspectives:
a) It facilitates learning by making the process more innovative, practical and enjoyable, allowing the use of multimedia presentations as well as document scanning and other means. It also reinforces the ability of reading, writing and problem-solving approach.
b) Enables the collection of works from the same number of teachers and authors that can be shared. It also encourages collaborative work among teachers, students and administrators who have common interests and experiences.
c) Access for all members of society to more current and accurate information to and from any point on the globe. Allows access to primary information sources and facilitates the location of information.
d) Increased interaction in the educational process with the potential to establish a bridge between home and college, through which teachers, administrators and family members can review and discuss student progress. The interactive network allows the teacher to control and assess and guide student performance and students get feedback whenever needed.
e) Ability to work at individual pace and at a convenient time, regardless of ability or disability, or their jobs or profession.
f) Allows the training of teachers, students in the computer and communication technologies, with educational benefits and preparation for the workplace.
With this futuristic vision we teachers of new technologies in education consider the concept of learning as information processing rather than accumulation of information, based on the principle that knowledge is not assimilated or replayed, but constructed and reconstructed (continuous analysis).
Therefore teachers must become a true educators and teachers of creativity, critical thinking and logical as well as mediators between the knowledge, information and apprentices.
The professional role of teachers must change to one of facilitator of learning, where we have to become much better curriculum designers and developers of educational material, as well as learn the basics of interactive systems and cultivate a sensitivity to achieve better recognize what impacts the senses.
One way of intruding on the issues outlined above for educational changes that are required for the third millennium through the recent contributions of educational technology in three key areas:
a. The theory of human learning (approaches related to how people learn)
b. Instructional theories (materialized in new approaches to the design of instruction) and
c. The contributions that education gives the emerging information technology (interactive media-based high technology).
Therefore, the actual teaching requires the inclusion of methods and means that correspond to the development of new technologies and the generalization must have the knowledge when we know that training should not have borders and should be integrated. The generalization of knowledge is the basis for further development of those who come after us in the scientific and technological progress. To ensure the assimilation of this knowledge is necessary to implement external actions by the student, before processing in solving mental problems.
On the other hand, must rethink the teaching methodologies, review the contents that are required to assimilate, define the concept maps of the area in question and show only the elements and essential relations generalized for the student to internalize that knowledge.
In this regard, active participation is necessary to discover the student’s knowledge under the guidance of the teacher. Form a student is required in the future use knowledge independently without the help of the teacher or the environment and to propose their own solutions.
If this methodology is implemented, it ensures that the professional future will be pro-active, thus able to create new knowledge in the area of your expertise and provide new solutions, best suited to problems that arise. Professional training is required before thinking about being used to develop new sources of employment to solve the increasing problems specific to their field. To which he acquires these skills is necessary to structure the teaching aids, videos, computers and other multi media, with the possibility of more closely mimic reality to be shown and also the knowledge structure with features raised above.
Universities in Puerto Rico have advanced technology, and provide teachers and participants the opportunity to interact in cyberspace, where participants have the opportunity to explore remote and teachers to design courses and study materials (online courses). This can be experiences that are unique from several points of view. Moreover, with the support of multimedia type multi-sensory stimulation, can express and understand complex processes and abstract concepts, with the support of networks and electronic highways, virtually abolished the distance to access the knowledge that other people or devices have, making possible the articulation of time and space to learn. It has tools for intellectual cooperation, to participate in analyzing and solving problems of global interest, without losing the local viewpoint. It can be noted that online courses provide the user with the following benefits of innovation and improvement, such as:
a. Optimizing the communication between different users that comprise the university community, through the use of services such as email, video conferencing, discussion forums, etc..
b. Enables the exchange of information (documents, reports, messages, reports, etc.). Between different members of the university community, through services such as file transfer.
c. Optimizing the use of computational resources of the university community. By having the ability to share printing resources, communications resources, storage resources, databases, applications, information systems, etc.
“Exchange of information at national and international level with other organizations. Through access to Internet.
d. Allows the development of corporate projects that aim to provide comprehensive solutions to the university to consider both economic and technical aspects. Internally, the university will share resources between different units that constitute it, implying a decrease in investment of the project. The implementation of such projects is achievable in stages, in line with budgetary realities.
e. The integration of new computing and communication infrastructure facilitate and optimize the daily work of university staff, thus optimizing the performance of it.
As teachers we seek to promote in our students the use of new technologies like the Internet, we must first know the tool that we present. What level of knowledge are we talking about? From that allow us to guide the work of the participants, not thinking that if not fluent in the subject as a whole can not work in comfort. Working with the Internet is to be open to discover on each page, at each site, information and technology that we integrate our teaching task. It enables us to guide participants in the diversity that is presented through the screen. It means accepting that students can master more than us the tool. Search share work experiences, thereby achieving overall growth and solidarity.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Bearing in mind that technological evolution requires ongoing and active role in shaping human evolution, the university will develop human resources with a moral and ethical standards on par with technological developments, able to develop and implement technologies needed to meet our own demands, and thus overcome the situation of being mere importers and consumers of information and technology.
It is necessary to plan the implementation of new technologies in different areas of higher education in order to make appropriate decisions that ensure the cost-benefit and optimizing use of the same mass and provide for the maintenance of these resources to ensure productivity and efficiency.
The information technology should be used in proper proportion in the social economic and technological development, preserving and promoting cultural identity. Furthermore, stored information centers and provide not only scientific and technical information but also cultural, automatically become promoters of a cultural identity.
More Technology Learning Articles
Tags: continuous development, continuous learning, human aspect, learning distance, literate individuals, new millennium, new paradigm, professional competence, resource constraints, social impacts