The use of EdTech in religious education has the potential to increase the efficiency of teaching and learning. Understanding the design, relevance, and use of EdTech is crucial for increasing students’ attention and encouraging them to take greater ownership of their learning. Religious education (RE), in secular usage, refers to the teaching of a specific religion or religion in general, as well as its various components of beliefs, doctrines, rituals, traditions, ceremonies, and personal duties. Religious education refers to a kind of education that is mainly independent of academics and that typically views religious belief as a core principle and operating mode, as well as a requirement of attendance, in Western and secular society. It is practiced in several European nations. Confessional religious education or non-confessional religious education is taught in schools as a distinct topic or blended into other courses. Knowledge, creativity, a culture of interpersonal communication, and teacher assessment are all factors to consider. Student, instructor, educational subjects, and EdTech in religious education are all important variables and elements in any education. All of these play a special function in the communication process in 21st-century religious education during this pandemic. Religious education, like all education, begins in the home of the parents.
EdTech is a tool to help religious education teaching-learning processes, and it should be integrated into all subjects taught in all schools, not utilized as a separate instrument. Furthermore, any technology-related learning, such as EdTech, should be based on the theme and objectives of the subject to be taught as well as the educational goals. Students’ critical thinking abilities to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve issues, and make informed decisions using suitable tools and resources are enhanced in religious education classes when EdTech is used. EdTech is a valuable tool for RE application because of its efficiency, allowing activities to be completed more swiftly and simply. Religious education instructors can use EdTech to gain access to local, national, and global materials that aren’t normally available in the classroom. Furthermore, when used in conjunction with religious education, EdTech promotes interaction, collaboration, and communicability, allowing RE students to interact with sources or other people in ways that they could not with their professors or books.
It may also be expanded to video conferencing with other partners teaching RE at national and worldwide levels, bringing together various populations of learners to examine multiple perspectives on a given topic or collaborative project. It allows students to participate in active learning and be creative in their exploration, expression, and presentation of their work. RE instructors can use ICT sources and networks to develop classroom resources and activities through the use of technology. Furthermore, social media platforms like WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook keep the instructor up to date on what’s going on in the world of RE and religious concerns in the diaspora. educational technology may also be an excellent instrument for disseminating beneficial knowledge and current events regarding faiths throughout the world. Learners’ comprehension of RE is enhanced through educational technology, allowing them to make educated judgments regarding the necessity to study the topic and its relevance to the communities in which they live.
Teachers must be conversant with new educational technology tools and be able to integrate them into the teaching-learning processes in religious education classrooms. The use of educational technology (EdTech) in the classroom allows students to engage with content, instructional materials, the instructor, and the other students in the class. EdTech can promote the creation of technically literate teaching professionals by supporting learning arrangements in the classroom. EdTech, for example, may connect students and teachers to knowledge sources. In the following ways, educational technology improves RE teaching-learning processes:
- Using a variety of EdTech tools may accommodate a variety of learning styles.
- Using the sharing of resources, learners may collaborate with their peers and partner schools.
- As a consequence of processing course work and examination results, students’ performance may be tracked.
- Enhances topic understanding, information access, knowledge and information exchange, and professional growth in the field of RE.
Technology is not a panacea for 21st-century educational issues during this pandemic, but it is effective, saves time, and has the potential to improve outcomes. As the internet and its applications have progressed, it is clear that digital technologies are altering how students get content knowledge. One of the biggest hurdles to adopting ICT, according to many RE instructors, is a lack of technological understanding and ownership. In the RE teaching profession, there is a digital divide between technology-savvy instructors and non-savvy teachers. This scarcity of knowledge-based RE educators may stymie technology uptake and implementation in the classroom. Religious education teachers must embrace instructional techniques in today’s knowledge-driven environment.