Educational Technology

Technology has become a must thing for most young people today. It is because of technology that delivering of computer-based curriculum is possible. This has become a reality after a facility worth $62 million was started in Philadelphia in 2006 but with only a few students. Having been in existence for the last four years, the pioneers are heading towards graduation. Apart from using technology to surf social networking sites, many learners have achieved a lot in academic field by the use of the same. What used to be a luxury has now become indispensable to most teenagers. In their article, 'Teaching with Technology', McCormack, Stephanie & Donna, explore the study that describes the collaborative approach to integrating technology with a lab on bacterial transformation.

The research focused on bacterial transformation lab. Researchers was found out that, bacterial transformation was a very important concept for understanding the basics of genetic engineering- or the manipulation of an organism's DNA to produce a change in phenotype. In agriculture, genetically engineered plants can be made more drought-resistant or less prone to bruising than their non-modified counterparts (Press, 1995). In medicine, insulin is just one of many proteins synthesized through this process. The research also found out that, in the past, learners used to write reports to explain process of bacterial transformation up completion of physical lab. The researchers also noted that, although the learners enjoyed viewing the fluorescence and successfully followed the steps to complete the lab activity, their reports typically contained weak explanations and did not demonstrate mastery of the concepts. In a bid to expose them to the content and deepen their conceptual understanding, there was need to integrate technology into this annual lab activity beginning in 2008.

In an attempt to incorporate technology, researchers found out that there were many animations, videos, and podcasts available to educators on almost every topic. In order to reinforce the student's understanding of DNA transcription and translation before they began physical lab, the students were exposed to browse on University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center. The researchers also found out that, if students were to become producers of multimedia technology themselves, they must first analyze artifacts and develop production skills (Park et al, 2009). The two purposes that website evaluations served were that, as students focused on how multimedia professionals create an effective presentation, they jumpstarted their own planning process and the science content was reinforced. Later, as students completed the physical lab, it was evident that the website reviews had given them a better understanding of bacterial transformation. Compared to prior classes, students made fewer mistakes in the procedures because they understood the reasons behind the steps and were better able to anticipate the results and discuss the real-world applications of genetic engineering.

Although this project was aimed at creating a positive learning experience for the students, not all students learned about bacterial transformation. Some of the vocabularies that the students met only made some of them to get more confused. Secondly, there was a lot of time, which was wasted because teachers had to take their time in learning about video production (Barton, 2007). There was more time commitment for science teachers to develop familiarity with the technology and for the multimedia teacher to learn the basics of biotechnology. Putting that into consideration, it is evident that time which had been set aside for carrying out the project was spent doing other things. Given that not all students are fond of sciences, some of them found the whole project a real waste of time. However, the project served as a wake up call for all teachers to embrace the opportunities offered through the integration of technology and science.