Educational Technology Questions and Answers

Answer: B

The interactive tool is teleconferencing (printed 'Teleconferncing').

Teleconferencing, by audio or video, connects teacher and learners in real time, so learners can ask questions and discuss as the session goes on. That two-way exchange is what makes it an interactive form of learning.

Video, news and podcast lectures are consumed by the learner one way, recorded or broadcast, without live interaction with the teacher.

Answer: D

All three, so the answer is (i), (ii) and (iii).

Assistive technology is any device, piece of equipment, or software that helps a person with a disability work around challenges to learn, communicate and function. Examples range from hearing aids and wheelchairs to screen readers, speech-to-text programs and communication boards.

Limiting it to devices, to equipment, or to devices and software leaves out a recognised category, which is why the narrower options are wrong.

Answer: C

The Web 2.0 features are (i), (iii) and (v).

Web 2.0 is the participatory web of blogs, wikis and social media. User participation is democratic, since anyone can contribute (i); interaction is two-way, with users both reading and writing (iii); and content is dynamic, changing as users add and edit it (v).

Closed content (ii) and passive, read-only use (iv) describe Web 1.0, the static web of the 1990s, so options including them are wrong.

Answer: B

The portal is Shodhganga.

Shodhganga, hosted by the INFLIBNET Centre under the UGC, is the national repository of Indian electronic theses and dissertations. Universities deposit their Ph.D. theses there, making them openly available to read and review.

Shodhgangotri is the companion repository for research synopses and proposals, not full theses. Shodhsindhu is a consortium giving access to e-journals, and e-Pathshala is the NCERT portal for school e-textbooks.

Answer: C

The key's answer is behavioural technology.

Behavioural technology applies the principles of behavioural psychology, worked out in laboratory experiments such as Skinner's operant conditioning studies with rats and pigeons, to the modification of human behaviour, including teacher behaviour. Reinforcement, shaping and contingency management all come from these experiments, and microteaching and interaction analysis grew from the same approach.

Teaching technology draws on philosophy, sociology and science more broadly. Instructional technology is concerned with designing instruction and learning materials. Media technology refers to the hardware and software of communication. Only behavioural technology is rooted directly in laboratory experiments in psychology.

Answer: D

The knowledge applied is (i), (ii) and (iii): philosophical, sociological and scientific.

Teaching technology is described in Indian educational technology texts as the application of philosophical, sociological and scientific knowledge to teaching, in order to achieve specific learning objectives. Philosophy gives the aims and values, sociology the social context and needs, and science, especially psychology, the methods and principles of effective teaching.

'Individual' knowledge is not one of the three bases; teaching technology is a systematic application of organised knowledge, not of one person's knowledge. Every option containing (iv) is wrong.

Answer: C

The MOOC portal is SWAYAM.

SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds), launched by the Government of India in 2017, is the national platform for Massive Open Online Courses, offering free courses from school to postgraduate level, with credit transfer for many of them.

HRDC-UGC refers to the UGC's Human Resource Development Centres, which run orientation and refresher courses for teachers. e-Pathshala is the NCERT portal for e-books and school resources. INFLIBNET is the UGC's information and library network centre. None is the MOOC platform.

Answer: B

The technology is Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 is the participatory, social web, in which users create and share content as well as read it: blogs, wikis, social networking, video sharing and collaborative tools. Interaction is two-way and participation democratic, since anyone can contribute.

Web 1.0 was the early 'read-only' web of static pages, where information flowed one way from site owners to users. 'Web 1 K' and 'Web 2 K' are not recognised terms.

Answer: D

Assistive technology helps students (i), (ii) and (iii): learn, communicate and function better.

Assistive technology is any device or system that increases, maintains or improves the functional capabilities of a person with a disability. Screen readers and Braille displays help students learn, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices help them communicate, and wheelchairs, hearing aids and adapted keyboards help them function better in daily activities.

Each of the narrower options leaves out a real purpose: communication is a central aim, and so are learning and everyday functioning.

Answer: C

The three technologies are (i), (ii) and (iii): hardware, software and courseware.

Computer Assisted Instruction needs hardware (the computer and its devices), software (the operating system and authoring programs) and courseware, the instructional programs and lesson materials designed for teaching a particular subject. Courseware is the educational content packaged for computer delivery.

'Contentware' is not a standard category in descriptions of CAI; the content is part of the courseware. Every option containing (iv) is therefore wrong.