Health Education and Technology Essay

According to Bastable, â€Å"Technology has had such an impact on workforce training that it has given birth to a new industry and a new set of buzz words that define an Information Age approach to staff education. † (2007, p. 548) Thus, the inclusion of technology early on, as in its integration to education, has been deemed necessary. However, due to the evolution of technology, curriculum design and implementation in the field of health education will undergo a series of changes and modifications. These various changes will be determined based on the outcomes of technological evolution, the perceived potential of technology to change the landscape of health education in the future, and the educational theories, principles, approaches, etc. developed by respected members of the academic institution through research studies. According to Iwasiw, Goldenberg, and Andusyszyn, â€Å"Curricuralists should gather data about technology and informatics for health care and education, as well as expected developments† (2008, p. 13) Based on pertinent information gathered by academicians, the focal point and foundations of curriculum design are expected to change. Apart from the traditional contents of the curriculum, the scope of curriculum design should be broadened in order to include the â€Å"e-health paradigm of heath care† (Iwasiw, Goldenberg, & Andrusyszyn, 2008, p. 113), literacy in information technology, health education across disciplines, and health education in the changing world. In addition, due to the impact and contributions of technology to the field of health, allowing the course nursing informatics to become compulsory will help in opening up opportunities for the improvement of curriculum design through the undeviating inclusion of technology and informatics. When we think about it, making nursing informatics compulsory makes the course an important learning area or aspect of health education. Consequently, much needed attention will be diverted to the improvement of the course by making course objectives, contents, instructional processes, and so on, up-to-date. Thus, the quality of health education, due to its appropriateness with current technology, will also improve. Just as curriculum design changes due to the evolution of technology, the implementation of the curriculum during instruction is also expected to change. As Bradshaw and Lowenstein (2006) have discussed, the delivery of the curriculum as influenced not only by traditional concepts in education but also by technology â€Å"require organized and planned educational experiences that are guided to promote lifelong learning as well as individually motivational and experiential learning activities that involve a variety of experiential teaching methods† (p. 272). Due to the inclusion of technology in the curriculum, the process of instruction will become more complex such that the assessment of the students and the selection of instructional tools, methods, and approaches are not merely based on student interests, learning capacities, learning content, etc. but also on the kinds of technology that fits the curriculum content. (Bradshaw & Lowenstein, 2006) In terms of the instruction, the instructional process is facilitated by the use of technology. However, when it comes to learning content, the integration of technological concepts become necessary. In addition, the scope of learning content also varies from time to time since available technological tools and devices intended to facilitate heath education and health care processes change over time. For these reasons, diversity and variation should be accepted and acknowledged by academic institutions since the curriculum design and the implementation of the curriculum shall change along with the evolution of technology along the way.