Abstract:
The 1990's heralded a transformation of a significant sector of our society from a passive, one-way, instructor-to-student learner audience to an aggressive, self-directed, inquiry and discovery learning based audience. This transformation was brought about both by a revolution in traditional classroom instructional methodologies and emergence of the Internet and technology-facilitated instruction. Nearly 90% of a teacher survey group indicated that use of the Internet is an integral part of today's elementary and secondary school classroom or homework instruction. With more than 65,000 sites being added to the Internet daily, the Internet provides real-time, nearly instantaneous access to a wealth of information on every conceivable subject. Agricultural technologies is no exception. Use of the Internet can provide instructional opportunities and connectivity of faculty to traditional, new, and diverse audiences. However, in order for faculty to be successful, they need to take a marketing approach to technology-facilitated instruction while at the same time shifting their perspective from information delivers to instructional facilitators and guides. Research has shown that successful technology-facilitated instruction requires appreciation of learner preferences and a mix of presentation platforms and instructional media. Two significant lessons learned from experiences reported here are: 1) successful and rewarding instruction via the Internet requires interaction, engagement, and connectivity between the instructor and the student. and 2) availability and access to Internet resources do not guarantee classroom or instructional success. Guidelines for integration of Internet supported technology-facilitated instruction into the shifting paradigm from traditional agricultural instruction can make the transition a rewarding opportunity.
Keywords:
technology instruction, opportunity
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