Before you proceed further with this lesson, I would like you to read an article by Prof. Najeemah Mohd. Yusof on "Managing diversity in Malaysian schools" and when you are done reading make a list of all the traits of diversity found in a typical Malaysian classroom. Against each trait also describe what each item on the list means to you as a teacher.

The history of using techniques and technologies for mobilising or improving affectivity in the teaching learning process has been long and involved varied stages of development based on understanding of teaching-learning process and availability of different techniques, technologies and gadgets at different points of time. A review of the related historical articles will show that different technical terms have been used to describe and explain these developments which include terms such as audio-visual aids, teaching machines, programmed learning, instructional technology, educational technology, information and communication technology, etc. While terms such as teaching machines and audio-visual aids are no more used in today's related literature, terms such an ‘educational technology', ‘information technology' and ‘information and communication technology' are commonly used and an integration of these concepts has enriched the conceptual understanding and integration of developments in the field.

Two commonly used terms in Computer and telecommunication sciences are Information Technology (IT) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Do IT and ICT mean the same?

IT (Information Technology) is only used to describe the concepts and techniques that relates to computer science, including hard coding, software development, hardware development, scripting, and such other concepts. ICT (Information and Communication Technology), however would mean the use of these in the context of people and society. In this sub-unit we are considering the use of IT and its applications for education. Hence, our concern will be to understand which ICT is better and which ICT applications can improve the core teaching-learning processes and management of education within a given societal context. The previous sub-units of this unit have discussed the meaning of the term ICT in detail. However we did not attempt to have a comparative understanding of the terms ICT and educational technology.

The term and the field of educational technology has been in existence for the past almost fifty years emerging from concepts of programmed learning and audio-visual aids on one hand and ‘general systems theory' on the other. What would educational technology (ET) mean as compared to ICT in education? Are these two concepts one and the same in today's context? Let us examine this issue in the first two sections of sub-unit 1.4.

Let us start with a video clipping which attempts to get a simple definition of ‘educational technology'. During or immediately after seeing this video, note down the different definitions provided.

Let us look at a couple of definitions of educational technology.

Robert M. Bernard, PhD, Professor, Concordia University who has worked considerably in educational technology and also led the team which produced the video, consolidates the concept of ‘educational technology' as given below:

"Educational Technology is the application of science such as psychology, multimedia science and digital revolution to educational problems. Our job is to know how to use this technology effectively to produce results that are better than the results we would produce if we did not have those tools."

The above definition of ET highlights three aspects:

1. Technology derived from application of different sciences.
2. Effective use of this technology.
3. Outcome better than without technology.