Education and implicitly educational services become extremely important in the context of the knowledge-based society. Therefore, this study investigates the trends in delivering services identified through research of literature, as well as based on personal experience in providing educational services. It has been concluded that information and communication technology creates a vast opportunity to improve the way of delivering educational services within the knowledge-based society, to develop (educate) people's awareness of the need for knowledge, as well as their skills for the knowledge-based society.management, educational services, information and communication technology, knowledge-based society

ZAMFIR Andreea

English

Research Papers in Economics

  1055 
TRENDS IN DELIVERING EDUCATIONAL SERVICES WITHIN THE 
KNOWLEDGE-BASED SOCIETY 
Zamfir Andreea 
Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest 
Faculty of Management 
 
Education and implicitly educational services become extremely important in the context of the 
knowledge-based  society.  Therefore,  this  study  investigates  the  trends  in  delivering  services 
identified through research of literature, as well as based on personal experience in providing 
educational  services.  It  has  been  concluded  that  information  and  communication  technology 
creates  a  vast  opportunity  to  improve  the  way  of  delivering  educational  services  within  the 
knowledge-based society, to develop (educate) people’s awareness of the need for knowledge, as 
well as their skills for the knowledge-based society. 
 
Keywords:  management,  educational  services,  information  and  communication  technology, 
knowledge-based society 
 
JEL classification: A22, I20, L80. 
 
1. Introduction 
The  “key  words”  in  managing  services  within  the  knowledge-based  society  are  knowledge, 
people  and  networks.  Therefore,  education  (and  implicitly  educational  services)  becomes 
extremely important in the context of the knowledge-based society. This is the reason for trying 
to  briefly  disclose  in  this  study  some  of  the  trends  in  delivering  services  identified  through 
research  of  literature,  as  well  as  based  on  my  personal  experience  in  providing  educational 
services.  Since  knowledge  is  assessed  throughout  people’s  life  (lifelong  learning),  people’s 
awareness of the need for knowledge should be developed (educated), as well as their skills for 
the  knowledge-based  society.  Given  that  information  and communication  technology  plays  a 
major  role  within  the  knowledge-based  society,  it  is  reasonable  to  use  it  for  delivering 
educational services. 
 
2. Developing (educating) students’ need for knowledge 
The task of developing (educating) the student’s need for knowledge is a challenging one because 
it  implies  changing  the  educational  practices,  its  adjustment  to  new  contexts  within  the 
knowledge-based  society.  The  generation  of  learners  within  the  knowledge-based  society  is 
different from the preceding one within the industrial society (Figure 1), in the sense that some 
main  cognitive  style  changes  have  been  observed  (Mitchell  and  Savill-Smith,  2004).  For 
instance, high thinking speed, action speed, interconnection and “friendship” with technology are 
all changes in the cognitive style of modern students. These changes may be considered in the 
process of teaching and learning in order to stimulate learners’ awareness, interest, and desire to 
know more and more and to induce them the feeling that they cannot survive as workers within 
the knowledge-based society without lifelong learning. 
Therefore,  educational  policies  and  practices  should  give  emphasis  to  a  lifelong  learning 
perspective (Zamfir and Plumb, 2007). The main reason for this is that the spiral of knowledge 
everlastingly expands due to the application of knowledge to knowledge. Consequently, we may 
assume that if students are educated to apply knowledge to knowledge in the process of learning 
as well as in day-to-day life, then this process will became habitual, and their permanent need for 
knowledge will be encouraged and developed. 
 
     1056
Figure 1 Comparative approach of the cognitive style within the knowledge-based society 
and within the industrial society 
 
 
(Source: Adapted from Mitchell and Savill-Smith, 2004) 
 
Learners growing up and working within the knowledge-based society are far more experienced 
and able to process information rapidly than were their predecessors within the industrial society. 
Therefore,  they  may  be  bored  and lose  interest  for  continuous  knowledge  (learning)  if their 
capacities are not exploited and properly stimulated in school, in the process of teaching and 
learning (Zamfir, 2008b). However, it has been noted (Plumb and Zamfir, 2008) that to some 
extent curricula still tend to contain theoretical knowledge, which dominates practical learning   1057 
and thus changes the educational practices. In this context, applying a learning-oriented approach 
is a must. 
Furthermore, the learning-oriented approach has to consider the cognitive style of the learners 
within  the  knowledge-based  society.  They  are  intensely  using  new  technologies  such  as 
computers, internet, cell phones, simulations and computer games (Mansour and El-Said, 2008: 
772).  Moreover, the  generation  of  students  within  the  knowledge-based  society  find  modern 
technology very useful when they search for things of their own interest (Milkova, 2008). As a 
result,  the  traditional  teaching  methods  no  longer  match  the  current  student’s  needs  and 
behaviour.  As  teachers  cannot  change  students,  the  best  way  is  to  adjust  their  pedagogical 
approach  to  the  students  and  to  create  new  learning  environments  supported  by  artificial 
intelligence (Prepelita-Raileanu, 2008; Dondon et al., 2008; Paladini and De Carvalho, 2008; 
Saarinen et al., 2008). These learning environments facilitated by the development of information 
and communication technology add value when compared to traditional learning environments, 
and also respond to the learning needs of 21
st century students (Saarinen et al., 2008).  
Practically, based on my personal experience, I can assert that having in mind the elements which 
define the cognitive style of students within the knowledge-based society one can educate the 
students’ need for knowledge through various means, such as: assignment of team tasks, appeal 
to  the  students’  imagination,  practising  open  (free)  discussions,  avoiding  answers  to  some 
questions, etc.  
With regard to team tasks, instead of individual tasks, these stimulate knowledge sharing and as a 
result, students may ask themselves new questions starting from the ideas and knowledge shared. 
Trying  to  answer  these  questions  in  order  to  solve  the  team  task  will  require  searching  the 
literature, making logical connections, discussing and identifying new aspects of the subject they 
are studying. As well, when teachers avoid answering to some of the questions posed by the 
students, the latter will be interested to find it themselves. Appealing to the students’ imagination 
by asking them to imagine different situations, cases or solutions to the problems may contribute 
to educating their need for knowledge because afterwards they might be interested to know if 
their imagined solutions were or not discussed in the literature, applied in practice, or if it can 
actually be applied in the future and how.  
 
3. Developing students’ skills for the knowledge-based society 
Living,  learning  and  working  within  the  knowledge-based  society  requires  specific  skills, 
emphasising  on  creativity  and  innovation,  as  well  as  on  communication  and  collaboration. 
Students should be able to demonstrate creative thinking, to construct knowledge as a means of 
individual or group expression, to use models and simulations to explore complex systems and 
issues, to interact and collaborate using a variety of digital environments and media in order to 
support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others (ISTE, 2007). Technologies 
that support teacher-student and student-student interaction, whether real time or asynchronous, 
promote and support collaboration and discussion (Yoder, 2008). People have now more diverse 
and  frequent  interaction  opportunities  than  they  have  ever  experienced  before,  due  to  the 
development  of  the  Internet  and  its  communication  possibilities  such  as  Email,  chat,  Web 
discussion  forums,  etc.  (Woo  and  Reeves,  2007).  This  fact  could  lead  to  a  better  teaching-
learning process and also to the creation of new and attractive methods for teaching and learning. 
Educational process could be improved with communication tools that provide synchronous and 
asynchronous  opportunities  for  interaction  and  collaboration.  Blogs,  podcasts,  real  time 
interaction,  and  virtual  worlds  could  be  incorporated  in  education  to  create  a  learning 
environment that strengthens teaching and motivates learners (Yoder, 2008) so as to gain the 
skills needed within the knowledge-based society.  
In the last few years, there has been a growing understanding of the important role of information 
and communication technologies in education. Various new models of education are evolving in 
response to the new opportunities (Barak, 2007) that are becoming available by integrating new   1058
technologies  and  computer  applications  into  the  process  of  teaching  and  learning.  The  new 
educational model is characterized by the interdependence of communicative interaction, new 
technologies, the development of computer applications, the design of computer-based tasks and 
focused activity for learners to become critical thinkers and creators of knowledge (Kimber et al., 
2007). 
Recent  educational  research  from  a  socio-cognitive  perspective  has  validated  students’ 
collaborative  engagement  with  new  technologies  and  heightened  understanding  of  influential 
factors shaping the effectiveness of peer interactions, learning contexts and computer interfaces 
for enhancing learning (Kimber et al., 2007). All these changes pose considerable challenges for 
the educators and business trainers who wish to promote literacy skills (Mitchell and Savill-
Smith, 2004). 
One significant pedagogical approach gaining credence through research and classroom practice 
is  students’  collaborative  engagement  with  problem-solving,  computer-based  tasks  for  more 
effective  learning  (Kimber  et  al.,  2007).  There  are  some  characteristics  of  the  computer 
applications that contribute to the engagement of the students in the process of learning, such as 
rules, goals, interaction, outcomes and feedback, challenge, problem solving, etc. (Mitchell and 
Savill-Smith,  2004).  Teachers  should  focus  their  efforts  to  ensure  that  students  are  given 
opportunities to work collaboratively with electronic knowledge-creation tools in their learning 
process  to  enhance  their  learning.  When  students  are  encouraged  to  externalise  their  mental 
schemas and clearly communicate their understanding of the interconnectedness of ideas verbally 
and graphically, then student-designers are effectively engaged in productive, reflective, creative 
practices (Kimber et al., 2007).  
 
4. Using information and communication technology for delivering educational services 
Nowadays  educational  practices  are  profoundly  changing  by  integrating  information  and 
communication technologies into the process of teaching and learning. Knowledge society and 
growing demands for highly skilled and educated people are elements that claim for the change 
of traditional teaching and learning processes. Modern students need to update their knowledge, 
skills and competences (Beleviciute and Sileikiene, 2006). Therefore, teachers should redesign 
their courses by adopting new educational methods and appropriate technologies to fully exploit 
the benefits of web-based learning environments (Lee et al., 2007) and computer applications in 
education (Zamfir, 2008b). Although some progress is being made, relatively few authentic web-
based learning and lifelong learning programs have been developed and implemented at different 
levels of education (Zamfir, 2008a). One type of changes is related to an integration of various 
kinds  of  computer-based  learning  systems  as  supplements  to  conventional  teaching  methods 
(Zamfir, 2007). 
Many  possibilities  are  available  for  using  information  and  communication  technology  for 
delivering educational services (e.g. PowerPoint presentations, E-mail, Chat, discussion forums, 
or special software). One of them is computer simulation (which integrates computers, software, 
virtual networks, people, and knowledge iterative processes) that could be successfully used in 
economic and managerial education. Some recently conducted studies (Zamfir, 2008c, Zamfir et 
al., 2009) have confirmed that it is very useful to simulate the activities of a company in order to 
develop students’ competences and skills that they need for their real-life activities. Teachers 
could  integrate  into  their  teaching  activity  technological  tools  such  as  computer  simulation, 
which promote interaction and critical thinking among students, and seem highly motivating and 
make learning enjoyable for students. 
 
5. Conclusions 
Education and implicitly educational services become extremely important in the context of the 
knowledge-based  society.  Consequently,  we  have  briefly  disclosed  some  of  the  trends  in 
delivering  services  identified  through  research  of  literature,  as  well  as  based  on  personal   1059 
experience in providing educational services. Since knowledge is assessed throughout people’s 
life  (lifelong  learning),  people’s  awareness  of  the  need  for  knowledge  should  be  developed 
(educated), as well as their skills for the knowledge-based society. Given that information and 
communication  technology  plays  a  major  role  within  the  knowledge-based  society,  it  is 
reasonable  to  use  it  for  delivering  educational  services.  If  students  are  educated  to  apply 
knowledge to knowledge in the process of learning as well as in day-to-day life, then this process 
will  became  habitual,  and  their  permanent  need  for  knowledge  will  be  encouraged  and 
developed.  In  this  respect,  we  have  briefly  illustrated  how  information  and  communication 
technology could be used to deliver educational services. 
 
References 
￿5  Barak, M. (2007), Transition from traditional to ICT-enhanced learning environments in 
undergraduate chemistry courses, Computers & Education, 48 (1): 30-43. 
￿5  Beleviciute, I., Sileikiene, I. (2006), Integrating Learning Management and Knowledge 
Management Systems, Proceedings of the 3
rd WSEAS/IASME International Conference on 
Engineering Education, Vouliagmeni, Greece, July 11-13, WSEAS Press: 108-113. 
￿5  Dondon, P., Legall, J., Dagorette, M.M. (2008), A Human behaviour modelling to improve 
the quality and effectiveness of the relation between students and teachers. Impact on 
student’s motivation, Proceedings of the 4
th WSEAS/IASME International Conference on 
Educational Technologies (EDUTE'08), Corfu, Greece, October 26-28, WSEAS Press: 11-
15. 
￿5  International Society for Technology in Education – ISTE (2007), National Educational 
Technology Standards for Students, 
<http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for
_Students_2007.htm>, last accessed March 1, 2010. 
￿5  Kimber, K., Pillay, H., Richards, C. (2007), Technoliteracy and learning: An analysis of the 
quality of knowledge in electronic representations of understanding, Computers & 
Education, 48 (1): 59-79. 
￿5  Lee, T. H., Shen, P. D., Tsai, C. W. (2007), Applying Web-Enabled Problem-Based Learning 
and Self-Regulated Learning to Involve Low Achieving Students in Learning Application 
Software, Proceedings of the 8th WSEAS International Conference on Mathematics and 
Computers in Business and Economics, Vancouver, Canada, June, 19-21, WSEAS Press: 
219-225. 
￿5  Mansour, S., El-Said, M. (2008), The Impact of Multi-Players Serious Games on the Social 
Interaction among Online Students versus Face-to-Face Students, Proceedings of the 7
th 
WSEAS International Conference on Applied Computer & Applied Computational Science, 
Hangzhou, China, April 6-8, WSEAS Press: 772. 
￿5  Milkova, E. (2008), What Can Multimedia Add to the Optimization of Teaching and 
Learning at Universities?, Proceedings of the 7
th WSEAS International Conference on 
Applied Computer & Applied Computational Science, Hangzhou, China, April 6-8, WSEAS 
Press: 704. 
45  Mitchell, A., Savill-Smith, C. (2004), The use of Computer And Video Games for Learning. A 
Review of the Literature, London: Learning and Skills Development Agency: 24-26. 
￿￿5 Paladini, E. P., De Carvalho, F. G. (2008), Dynamic and Communicative Teaching Methods 
with Artificial Intelligence Techniques Support, Proceedings of the 5
th WSEAS / IASME 
International Conference on Engineering Education (EE'08), Heraklion, Greece, July 22-24, 
WSEAS Press: 132-137. 
￿￿5 Plumb, I., Zamfir, A. (2008), Development of Higher Education in Romania, Theoretical and 
Applied Economics, vol 4 (521) (supplement), issue 4 (521) (supplement): 157-164.    1060
￿￿5 Prepelita-Raileanu, B. (2008), Learning and Teaching in the Digital Age, Proceedings of the 
7th WSEAS International Conference on Education and Educational Technology (EDU'08), 
Venice, Italy, November 21-23, WSEAS Press: 106-111. 
￿￿5 Saarinen, E., Lainema, T., Lahteenmaki, S. (2008), Experiencing Virtual Team Membership 
Decentralized Decision-Making Processes Leading to Meaningful Learning, Proceedings of 
the Seventh IASTED International Conference Web-based Education, Innsbruck, Austria, 
March 17-19, ACTA Press: 328-332. 
￿￿5 Woo, Y., Reeves, T. C. (2007), Meaningful interaction in web-based learning: A social 
constructivist interpretation, The Internet and Higher Education, 10 (1): 15-25. 
￿￿5 Yoder, M. (2008), Constructivist Teaching 2008: Virtual Worlds, Promising Technologies, 
Inspiring Examples, Proceedings of the Seventh IASTED International Conference Web-
based Education, March 17-18, Innsbruck, Austria, ACTA Press: 293-298. 
￿￿5 Zamfir, A. (2007), E-learning within the Knowledge-Based Society, Proceedings of the 9
th 
International Conference “The Risk in the Contemporary Economy”, November 29-30, 
“Dun￿rea de Jos” University of Galatz, Faculty of Economics, Galatz: EUROPLUS: 268-
274. 
￿￿5 Zamfir, A. (2008a), Management of E-Learning Services in European Union, Proceedings of 
the Seventh IASTED International Conference on Web-Based Education (WBE 2008), March 
17-19, Innsbruck, Austria, ACTA Press: 121-126. 
￿￿5 Zamfir, A. (2008b), Impact of Using Computer Applications in Education on Teaching-
Learning Process, Proceedings of the 7
th WSEAS International Conference on Applied 
Computer & Applied Computational Science, Hangzhou, China, April 6-8, WSEAS Press: 
684-688. 
￿45 Zamfir, A. (2008c), Teaching and Learning Management through Managerial Simulation, 
Proceedings of the 9
th WSEAS International Conference on Mathematics and Computers in 
Business and Economics, Bucharest, Romania, June 24-26, WSEAS Press: 167-172. 
￿￿5 Zamfir, A., Plumb, I. (2007), New Opportunities for Educational Management into 
Knowledge-Based Society, Proceedings “Romania within the EU: Opportunities, 
Requirements and Perspectives. International Conference”, volume II, Section 2: 
Management – Marketing – Tourism, Sibiu: “Lucian Blaga” University Publishing House: 
457-465. 
￿￿5 Zamfir, A., Plumb, I., Dobrin, C., Popa, I. (2009), Using Computers and Simulations in 
Business Education, Proceedings of the 10
th WSEAS International Conference on 
Mathematics and Computers in Business and Economics, Prague, Czech Republic, March 
23-25, WSEAS Press: 147-152. 
   

TRENDS IN DELIVERING EDUCATIONAL SERVICES WITHIN THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED SOCIETY

http://anale.steconomiceuoradea.ro/volume/2010/n2/168.pdf

TRENDS IN DELIVERING EDUCATIONAL SERVICES WITHIN THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED SOCIETY

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Research Papers in Economics