The Role of Educators in the Age of Modern Technology

The role of educators is significant in building our society, but how has it changed throughout history? Researchers study the teacher’s role in education as the key element in the quality of education in the upcoming years of the twenty-first century. 

These researchers also say that technological advancements will not diminish the need for good and skilled teachers.  Also, there will be an increased need to attract a new type of teacher if we want to improve the educational system in the future.

Therefore, future teachers should be role models for skillfully using modern technologies and designing educational programs. Professional training programs for teachers should consider the new educational tasks for teachers and empower them.

The Relationship Between the Teacher and Technology

Modern educational technologies are not a substitute for the teacher, but tools in their hands that they can use to deepen their educational impact, and enhance their students' abilities to the fullest. 

Technology has supported the teacher's mission, making it a distinguished role that aligns with the information society and the student's needs, leading education into new paths.

In our article today, we will shed light on the new roles of the teacher in the world of modern technologies. 

First, we need to review the traditional role of the teacher and to what extent educational technologies have been able to change the teacher's tasks.

Read More: Effective Questioning Techniques for Teachers.

The Traditional Role of the Teacher

In the past, the teacher was the primary source of knowledge, which led to neglecting the learner's role entirely. This made the learning experience passive as it included receiving information without engaging the students' minds and thoughts. 

The teacher's main role was to transmit information to the students' ears, strictly adhering to the curriculum's topics. Many teachers trained their students on exam questions and how to answer them. 

As a result, teachers tended to summarize the =materials and condense them into booklets, which decreased students' self-learning and deprived them of constructive training.

Read More: Preparing Lessons- The Best Steps and Tips for 2024

The New Role of the Teacher in the Era of Modern Technologies

Modern educational technologies have contributed to developing the teacher's tasks and role, adding new roles that we will discuss in the following points:

Assessment:

The teacher must be able to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each student and consider their capabilities.

The teacher identifies students who need special educational programs and then takes the bad students by the hand and guides the good ones toward further development.

Design:

One of the newly required tasks of the teacher is to plan educational activities and ensure that the programs and activities are suitable for the student's level and their needs using digital learning or other techniques. 

Managing the educational process:

This is achieved through following a methodical approach that enables the teacher to control the educational material and achieve accurate feedback. 

This means breaking down the educational material into simple units and evaluating all of it. This enables the student to implement the educational program.

Preparing and setting up the learning environment:

The teacher's tasks are not limited to analyzing or modifying the learner's behavior but also include preparing the learning environment. When preparing the educational program, the conditions of reinforcement and behavior evaluation must be taken into account.

Social counselor:

Their role includes encouraging interaction among group members and fostering positive communication among students. They also collaborate with parents and colleagues to improve the educational process.

Specialist in educational resources:

The teacher must be able to use educational resources, maintain them, and evaluate their relevance to the educational objectives.

Read More: The Think-Pair-Share Strategy in Active Learning.

What are the Roles of Educators in Teaching Using Technology?

1. Educators use technology to facilitate student-centered learning.
2. They integrate technology into the curriculum.
3. Educators use online resources and digital tools to provide students with various learning materials.
4. Teachers assist students in navigating and troubleshooting technological issues.
5. Educators use technology for efficient and timely assessment.
6. They utilize technology to cater to diverse learning styles.
7. Educators foster collaboration by using digital platforms that enable students to work together.
8. Teachers model the use of technology for continuous learning.
9. Educators analyze student data generated by technology to identify strengths and weaknesses.
10. Teachers educate students on responsible and ethical technology use.

We can conclude that modern technologies have added new roles for the teacher and have yet to make them secondary. However, these tasks cannot be effectively carried out if all aspects of the educational process do not collaborate to achieve the educational objectives successfully.

Visit Schoolizer to learn all about your role as a teacher in our day and age.