A Sample Book Review

by Jo Fitch.

The Book
Title : Educational Technology 2 (Selection, Production and Utilization of
Appropriate Technology Tools for Instruction
Author : Paz L. Lucido, Ph.D.
Type of book : Textbook
Publisher : Lorimar Publishing, Inc.
First copyright date : 2007
General Subject Matter : Technology in Education
Theme : How to make use of information technology in education
Thesis : The computer and its multi or hypermedia capabilities must be
used not simply for direct instructions, but for integration into the
curricula. Integration is the present challenge and given this
situation the Educational Technology 2 textbook has significance.
ISBN : 971-685-685-9
Price : PhP204

The Author
Paz I. Lucido, Ph.D. is considered an expert in the teaching profession. She is the president of
the Philippine Association for Teacher Education from 2006-2008. She sits at the Teacher
education Council as a Zonal representative for Luzon. She served as a member of the
Technical Panel for Teacher Education and chairman of the Committee on Graduate Teacher
Education. She was once the chairperson of the NCR Council of Deans of Colleges of
Education and the first representative from the academe in the Continuing Professional
Education (CPE) Council of the Professional Regulation Commission. She is presently the
head of the Centro Escolar University, Multimedia Instructional Assistance Department.

Dr. Lucido earned her Doctor of Philosophy in education major in Curriculum and Supervision
from Centro Escolar University, her MA in Education and Bachelor of Science in Education
major in History from the University of Sto. Tomas. She was a recipient of FAPE Scholarship
Grant for a Certificate in Educational Technology at the University of the Philippines.

Her continuing professional education includes book authorship on Educational Technology,

writing modules and articles, presentation of papers, and lectures on various topics in education
most especially on Instructional Technology and Educational Technology.

She is a recipient of several awards such as Outstanding Award in the field of Educational
Technology Management given by the University of Sto. Tomas.

Her professional background attests to her authority in coming up with a manual guide such as
this book.

Background and Rationale

This book is the second course in Educational Technology, a course concerned with integrating
technology into teaching and learning. It was written to help the would-be teacher become
familiar, knowledgeable and skilled at the proper application of educational technology. This
book, according to the author, “aims to align teacher education with the CHED-prescribed new
teacher education curriculum that is reflective of the National Competency-Based Teacher
Standards with the end in view of contributing to the formation of the ideal professional teacher
as concretely described in the seven integrated domains of the teaching and learning process.
The activities or exercises at the end of every lesson were intended not only for drill and
evaluative purposes but also for purposes of advocacy for current trends in education such as
reflective education, multiple intelligences, multicultural education, interactive and brain-based
teaching, authentic assessment and of bridging the gap between theory and practice.”

The Intended Audience

The teacher and the classroom are the beneficiaries of educational technology. Educational
technology equips the teacher with tools to become more effective and efficient in her task. This
book will make him/her discover the wonders of educational technology from lesson preparation
to execution of lesson plans to assessment of learning. The teacher will likewise see the
difference it will make in the attentiveness, interest, enthusiasm, and participation of her
students. Educational technology is an extension of the teacher, she being the first audio-visual
aid in the classroom. It is not and never will it be a substitute for the good and the great teacher.

Content Development
This is the author’s second book on educational Technology. The first, Educational Technology
1 was a collaborative work with Dr. Brenda B. Corpuz. Comparatively speaking, though this
second part appears to be simpler, it is too simplified for a topic as information technology. It
assumes that the target audience is adeptly literate in IT. It seems to sidestep the reality of
technophobic teachers. In Educational Technology 1, the writing style was very modular and
very friendly. The format may appear complicated because of the 10 features, i.e., A Quotation
beneath the Title, Focus Questions, Introduction, Activity, Analysis, Abstraction, Application,
Summing Up, Making The Connection, and a Personal Postscript at the end. In contrast, the
format of Educational Technology 2 is reduced to 3 parts: Introductory Statements, Self-Help
Questions, Discussion, some Enrichment Activity. Comprehensive is sometimes clearer, while
Simple can become too Minimalist and Empty. While Educational Technology 1made use of
descriptive symbols like graphs, tables, figures and graphics, Educational Technology 2 barely
used illustrative materials to add more color into the subject matter being discussed.

For a textbook that deals with IT, it is very odd that there are no links provided for resources in
the internet. A presentation of Dr. Bonk’s The World is Open would have been very helpful in
the formulation of this book.

In actuality, our 8 modules in EDDE 203 would have been perfect for what this book wanted to
accomplish. I find this book wanting in what it wants to accomplish. No, I would have second
thoughts recommending this book to anyone.

My Personal Stake
I have a personal agenda in choosing the book over others in educational technology. With all
the readings and resources provided for in our own course module, I was more interested on
how the concept of educational technology has been approached, used and put into practice. I
have always been interested in coming up with alternative instructional materials especially
those that use imaginative and thought provoking means to induce enthusiasm and increase the
drive for learning in students. With IT, imagination is the limit. So that it was a grab for me
when I saw this book. In reality, I would like to come up with a book of my own on Educational
Technology. I would actually improve on this one, utilize more online resources and make a
digital version if it even.

The Bibliography
The author made use of secondary sources as references. All ten of them are printed materials.
She used these resources as benchmarks in the formulation of her textbook. All of them are
about the integration of Information Technology in Teaching and Learning. I wonder why she
does not have resources from the internet. Perhaps she did some surfing but did not make use
any of them so she didn’t list them as resources. The publication of these resources date back
to as early as 1981, the latest, being the year 2000. Even the bibliography itself tells me that it
is very odd for an IT-related book not to have included online sources. //jofitch.