Role of Educational Technology in the Teaching and Learning with the special reference on Teaching of Agriculture science in Secondary schools in Jaffna district

Abstract

In the 21st century, all fields are technologically advanced and education is no exception. Incorporating technology into teaching is a great way to teach young people. Method of teaching influencing the students' subject selection. Despite being an agricultural country, there is a low tendency of the students who select agriculture science as a subject in their senior secondary level education especially in the Jaffna district. The aim of this study was to identify the strategies needed to enhance the teachers’ effectiveness for the use of proper educational technology in teaching agriculture science. The objectives were to: (A) identify the current status of educational technology in teaching agriculture science, (B) identify the factors that influence the use of modern educational technology in teaching agriculture science, and (C) identify the barriers to modern technology integration in teaching agriculture science. The study population was teachers who teach agriculture science in senior secondary classes in the Jaffna district. Due to the low population, the whole population of this study was conceded as a research sample. Google form was used as the main instrument to collect the data. The link to the Google form was sent to the teachers through the ‘Viber’ community. Additional data were collected from additional directors of zonal education offices via structured interviews. Analysis of data includes mean, frequencies, and Pearson correlations. The study found that the experience in handling modern teaching aids, resource availability at the school, and proper training to the teacher to use technological aids in the classroom influences the method of agriculture science teaching. Proper training and seminars for the agriculture teachers and internet facilities available for classroom teaching would increase the usage of educational technology in practical activities and students assignments. According to the results, proper training of the teachers on the usage of modern teaching aids in the classroom and use of technologically advanced teaching aids in the classroom would enhance the integration of novel teaching technologies into the agriculture learning process and students’ involvement in the course.