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The Smart Techie was renamed Siliconindia India Edition starting Feb 2012 to continue the nearly two decade track record of excellence of our US edition.

September - 2009 - issue > Education

Technology & the Changing Role of the Teacher & Learner

Krishnan KS

Monday, September 7, 2009

Forward

Looking back at human history, only two technological inventions have changed the very role of the teacher and the learner. The first of these was the printing press. While books existed right from the early days of humankind, it was the printing press that allowed books to be mass-produced. The learner no longer needed to orally remember everything that was taught since books were more easily available for later reference; the teacher could complement the books and teach by referring to them. The need to memorize reduced as compared to the schools of old.

The second was the Internet which allowed computers to play a similarly significant role in learning. Access to structured information such as E-learning and unstructured information such as Wikipedia have created a revolution in the dynamics of learning. Here are some thoughts on how the role of the teacher and the learner will change in this new light.

The changing role of the teacher and learner

What is the role of the teacher? The popular belief that is that with the advent of technology, the role of the teacher will become redundant. However, this is a simplistic and incorrect view.

If we equate teaching to the dumping of knowledge, then that may be so. But teaching is more than that. If the real role of the teacher involves inspiring people, assisting them in expanding their boundaries and helping people realize their true potential; then the answer is that in reality the role of the teacher is even more enhanced than before.