Perceptions (3/27)

Chapter 4 The Information Age: An Overview of Romano mentions 12 perceptions related to technology and instructional process. I would like to discuss six perceptions that I am most interested in.

“Information technology empowers teachers by amplifying their capacity to readily provide their learners the heightened sensory perceptions of multimedia” (Romano, 2003, p. 48). In the past, the place for teachers to find information was library. Books were the best information to guide teachers. Nowadays, there are many sources that they can find such as the Internet, E-books, and so on. When teachers have more choices to gain their knowledge and information, it will be easier for them to empower their students’ abilities. When I first taught, I had to read a lot from the books in the library. Now I can use my computer and search from the Internet.

“The master teachers of the Information Age are those who develop the capacity to navigate the worldwide oceans of information and selectively retrieve that which can provide an enriched experience for their learners” (Romano, 2003, p. 50). This sentence has been true for a teacher. Good teachers do not only know how to teach, but they also have to know how to help their students improve regularly and being good guides for them. When I used to teach, I had to find more information beyond the textbooks to let my students know that a lot of more information out there. I did not want them to get stuck with the textbooks.

“Teachers plan, communicate, guide, and evaluate. Information technology can be adapted to allow the teacher to do these better and, thus, impact positively the efficiency of the teaching-learning process” (Romano, 2003, p. 54). I used to do everything by hand. I mean I had to write my lesson plan by hand, I had to make a test by hand, and etc. Now due to technology, it offers software programs that I can use to help my teaching better. There are some websites that offer you to create your tests and evaluate your students’ abilities. Technology really helps my life better and easier.

“There is compelling evidence that learning is heightened when teachers create visually rich experiences, thus engaging he learner’s entire brain—rather than only half” (Romano, 2003, p. 58). Teachers should know the differences between learners. Visual learners use the different way to learn from audio ones. Teachers should adjust their learning styles to fit all learners.

“In great part, the effectiveness of the communication phase of the teaching-learning process determines the outcome. Additionally, there are three critical factors that determine how well learners assimilate the information made available: fidelity, relevancy, and accessibility” (Romano, 2003, p. 58). Romano explains the three factors and also shows how to empower teachers and learners by applying all those three. I had never heard of these factors. I really think they are very interesting and helpful for me as a teacher.

“Information technology skillfully integrated into the curriculum will allow teachers to improve the fidelity, relevancy, and accessibility of the information they make available to learners. It is proposed that this empowers teachers so that they might do what they do—better" (Romano, 2003, p. 61). Effective curriculum will be very helpful for new teachers. When I first started my career as a teacher, I had to learn by myself and find an effective way to teach my students because I did not have the practical curriculum and I really had no idea how to adjust it for my classroom. I spent a few years to learn and try. Now I know that the effective and practical curriculum is very helpful and useful for both new and old teachers.


This class opens my eyes about technology. Many technology skills and information that I have learned make me want to apply them with my students. I think the curriculum should be the first thing to be concerned. When we integrate information technology into curriculum, it will be easier for teachers to plan their teaching and empower their students.

Reference:
Romano, M. T. (2003). Empowering teachers with technology. USA: ScarecrowEducation.