Educational Technology: Pedagogical Lessons from a Study in the Persian Gulf States

Since the dawn of early human civilization, new found tools and technology were constantly being used and innovated in the quest for propagating and preserving knowledge and to improve the overall edification process of society. The use of sticks being used as pens on sand, gave way to colored stones and dyes used on cave walls and cliffs and, soon after, leather to write and to write on. Later, as technology improved in the middle ages, man started using quills and liquid ink leading to fountain and ball-point pens by the Twentieth century. Film, television, projection and the recent addition of computer assisted education have all been important steps in this long saga of integrating technology in improving the propagation of knowledge.

While Information Technology remains a relatively recent phenomenon, the promotion of educational reform resulting directly from classroom use of new tools and equipment has been around for more than a century. Efforts to reform education through computer infusion and the histories of deploying earlier audio-visual technologies such as film, radio and television have been applied in many parts of the world. “The question is no longer whether to use technology in education institutions but how to use technology to change practice to reach new goals—as a catalyst for change and as a tool in creating, implementing, managing and communicating a new conception of teaching and learning, as well as the system that supports it” (Cradler and Bridgforth, 1996).

A close look at technologically leading nations clearly shows that Educational Technology (ET) is considered to be an indispensable part of the education delivery process. This paper aims to assess the present status of ET’s implementation in schools, by analyzing the current requirement for ET, discussing the dichotomy between traditional education and ET, understanding the importance of funding for ET and detailing issues of timely and appropriate training and development for teaching staff.