Stacey Terrill- Technology to Teach

Levine, S.J.(1995).Taking Advantage of New Technology for Education. Journal of Extension (Online). 33:4 4COM2. Available from http://www.joe.org/joe/1995august/comm2.php

The article I read this week discussed using technology to educate. It gave examples of online shopping and setting up travel arrangement with ease and from the comfort of your home. It then tied this to education in Extension with the concept that we should not “accessorize with the latest gadgets” but make the learners experience improved. The article was not the best written in my opinion but I found one concept very interesting. This was the idea that technology must not be looked at as merely a way to save money, time, and make educators’ lives easier. Instead, we must user a learner centered approach in which we focus on the improvement of the learning experience.

For my work and the work of many Extension specialists, technology could really improve our efforts. By recognizing that it is difficult to reach people statewide but that they may wish to seek information from the University online resources may help deliver information to these audiences. Previously, we have sent out fact sheets on information requested but now we plan to create a series of digital stories to create a more complete resource on topics commonly sought. We also have someone who has volunteered to translate all of our digital resources into Spanish. This is excellent because in the agriculture setting there exists a large migrant worker population who often do not speak English. By providing resources in their language as well as visually they will be able to learn about IPM.