| Modern society is in the presence of an era when science and technology is prevalent, withits functions permeating almost every facet of social life. As a common application of Science&Technology, instructional technology now is integrated with teaching approach continuously,casting a deep influence on teaching contents, teaching methods and relationships betweenstudents and teachers. All this made it a tough task calling for urgent research from the directionof pedagogy. Another theoretical and practical problem demanding for more attention turned outto be how to rescue the negative impacts brought by instructional technology in this humanactivity under the technical social background.The connotation of “technology” is changing constantly and created dynamically with thedevelopment of society. There are rich meanings of it as is showed in the cognition oftechnology among scholars.“Technology” in philosophy of technology actually refers to theproduction technology which can remould the natural world while Instructional Technology is ofgreat difference from production technology. Social technology is a system incorporatingmaterial technology, skills, ways and methods to realize some social purposes. As a positivepower to remould the society, technology is applied in every aspect of society, aiming atoptimizing the world or satisfying people’s needs in material and spiritual life. In a broad sense,Instructional Technology is collectively referred to as a social technology in micro-lever,combining method system with appliances to optimize teaching activities involving the educated,instead of instructional media or information technology in a narrow sense. InstructionalTechnology is a system mixing the components of knowledge, media and experience. From themorphological view of Instructional Technology, it includes not only application formtechnology such as didactics and psychology, but also intelligent technology concluded by ateacher through his or her own experience and designable technology based on teaching rationale,psychology, Aesthetics and ergonomics to develop teaching equipment and software.From the view of evolution of instructional technology, the embryonic stage is of atraditional, experimental and direct teaching skill. Teacher’s personal charm and intellectualexperience are main factors in teaching activities. Teachers teach in the form of words and deeds.The effect of teaching depends much on instructor’s language of instruction, teaching emotionand individual character. Only when the teacher is of high prestige and unconscious impact can the students have the spontaneous feeling of “direction to teachers”. Influenced by the researchmethod of Science and Technology, Instructional Teaching turns to rely on the research result ofpsychology. Periods of Teaching activities is divided according to students’ learning psychology,which makes it of universal significance on the way to scientism. The emergence of teachingmachines is particularly a product of programmed learning as well as the bud product ofautomation in Education Technology. With the development of technology and medialogy,teaching machines incline to be multimedia, intellectual and fictitious. At the same time,instructional technology is heading to be intellective and webified with the application ofinstructional technology and artificial intelligence Technology in teaching activities.From the point of relationships between instructional technology and value of man,instructional technology is embodied with the values of utility and humanity. The utilitarianvalue lies in the efficiency of satisfying teaching activities and achieving of goals ofscientification and normalization. The humanistic value lies in people’s needs to educate duringthe application of instructional technology. It is not resting object, but undertakes the duty ofteaching people in the process of application, showing people’s rationality, creativeness andhumanity. Instructional technology promotes effective teaching; meanwhile, it sinks into thedilemma of paradox. The main paradox can be reflected in the following factors: liberation andcontrol, efficiency and objective, existence and nothingness. Firstly, in the process of achievingteaching normalization, teaching is restricted to rationality and technology, where teacher losesthe right to speak but being a passive performer. Secondly, Instructional Technology is used topromote transmission, elevate efficiency and make evaluation. However, in practice, once thetechnology is valuable it will be used unlimited. In this way, the teaching aims and significanceare ignored while solely focusing on the function of technology. Thirdly, instructionaltechnology is applied to eliminate the uncertainty in teaching process. Teachers’ responsibilitiesof themselves are greatly weakened though at the same time they gain a sense of identity inteacher professionalization. The essence of humanity required in instruction is dissolvedthoroughly which degrade teaching to be a mechanical operation. The blind worship ininstructional technology gives rise to the prominent feature of dissimilation. Education chasedfor qualified, calculated and accurate design, organization and control, eroding teachers’humanistic spirit gradually. Under the influence of apparent scientific, rational and effectivetechnology, teaching in essence is descending to a process of expelling teachers’ creativity andpersonality and then shields the manifestation of personalized teaching. As a result, theemergence of teaching intelligence is restrained when depending on the formulized technologyto deal with the versatile and vigorous teaching task. Pedagogical practices deviates the nature of interaction between main subjects. Students are enslaved by the rigescient disciplinaryknowledge, disciplined by the formed ideology, turning out to be the target of control andexamination. Their cognition, emotion and experience become numbness little by little in theincreasingly generalization of media technology. According to the technical factor of teachingdissimilation, the main reasons of its dissimilation can be concluded to be the natural quality,social attribute and utilitarian value of pedagogy, as well as the regulation of teaching system tothe adhibition of instructional technology.The application and blossom of teaching technology cannot be achieved without theregulation and guidance of teaching values. Education possessed the responsibility oftransmitting the essence of humanity, which lies not only in the perfection of human beings, butthe process of the activities itself. This is of the creation of people’s spiritual life meaning whichis also the humanistic appeal of the developing pedagogy. Therefore, teaching technology is notonly equipped with the technical characteristics in general meaning but also special humanity.Urgent introspection and critics are needed in the perspective of humanism because of the blinddevelopment and application of pedagogy. This also reminds us that the fundamental principlescan be attributed to adaptability, fairness, aesthetical and educational property.To have a profound humanistic reflection of Instructional Technology and establish ateaching will that transcending machinery, is a tough rational step to get rid of the restriction oftechnological tools in the technical epoch nowadays. Three points should be put emphasis toutilize instructional technology flexibly. First and foremost, teachers should hold a piousemotion towards teaching and revaluate their own value and meaning. Secondly, to interprete theinherent significance of curriculum knowledge. Teachers should focus on stimulating students’inspiration to experience the inner beauty of knowledge instead of simple, mechanical way ofutilitarian teaching methods. Thirdly, to infuse sincere teaching language into classroom teaching.This is a significant approach to return to the true nature of education. Knowledge is a static andrecessive carrier in education, demanding for activation of teachers’ vigorous teaching language.Finally, technical teaching usually distorts the complex and flexible activities to rigid order offormula which ignores the complete existence of human beings. Factors that determine the effectof teaching such as people’s complex personalities, multivariant characteristics and socialenvironment are overlooked by this rational distinct controllable and predictable technologicalthought. The process of dynamic generation in teaching methods in vivid scene allows a full playof both students and teachers’ creativity and vigor. The humanistic factor should bepeople-oriented, putting teachers and students in priority, paying close attention to theiremotional and spiritual experience, putting emphasis on their personal development, all as a way to gain the goal of all-round development of human beings. Regressing to the value of humanbeings is of vital importance to return to the rational guidance of teaching value in the process ofperforming its functions of organization, management and reformation of spiritual world. As atechnical tool and supporter of teaching resources, instructional technology is the carrier ofteaching artistry which will be enforced in turn with the power of it. The best way to exemplify itis in teachers’ application during their teaching process. To tackle the problems of instructionaltechnology, an atmosphere of tolerance and independence is called for. To suffice it, being ateaching activity of cultivating people, human beings’ proficiency, valueless, emotion andexperience should not be ignored. Only when people’s status and value is rebuilt in this processcan we achieve the real triumph of technological revolution.The humanistic dimensions of the instructional technology is exactly the introspection onhuman beings’ survival and development, the inspection on the subjective value of teachers andstudents and the teaching significance in technological world. Teachers are the owner andpossessor of instructional technology. As a result, it is of vital importance for teachers toabandon the utilitarian technology reason and fulfill teaching intelligence to the utmost. In thisway, teaching itself will sublime from technology to a deeper sense of igniting humanistic spiritsamong educators and the educated when an enlightening and autonomous atmosphere isconstructed. |
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