Chiazoka K.Inyamah To make education learner-oriented,there came the need to fashion out policies and practices that would bridge the gaps in learning in the society.Although educational goals are stated in the National Policy on Education(2004),they can become futile ventures if proper implementation is not effectively carried out. In Nigeria,policies in Education have continued to be amended and revised since the 1969 Curriculum Conference that gave birth to that NPE in 1977,revised in 1981,1998 and 2004 respectively.Referring to the NPE (2004)Section 1,Article 99,"Policy on Educational Services", Educational Technology is spelt out.The policy emphasizes to need to develop and improve upon educational programmes.Educational technology being a process-product which helps in facilitating learning has great role to play in providing more effective and sufficient means of achieving of the objectives of teaching and learning(Ogunlade,1999). If Educational Technology has potentials for helping to enhance the achievement of educational goals,then proper application will no doubt,help in bridging the gaps in learning especially when it enables students to make choices about how to learn and take on a much more active role in learning process while utilizing the various technologies provided for education in the digital age.What then is Educational Technology? The Meaning of Educational Technology Many have explained Educational Technology in different ways.For instance,Aziz (2010) defined it as the implementation of appropriate tools/techniques and processes that facilitate the application of senses,memory and cognition to enhance teaching practices and improve learning outcomes Association for Educational and Communication Technology (AECT)(2004)saw it as a study of ethical practice for facilitating learning and improving performance by creating,designing and managing appropriate technological process and resources. Luppicini(2005)described it as a field concerned with the design,development,utilization, management and evaluation of processes and resources for learning From the definition above,Educational Technology answers the following questions in education:What is the educational problem to be solved?How can it be solved?What resources can be used solve it?How can the Educational outcomes be measured?In other words.Educational Technology is a systematic approach to solving educational problems. For the goal of Educational Technology,in the Edutech Wiki,(2014)it is explained that Educational Technology sometimes aims at increased efficiency or effectiveness of current practice, but frequently,at pedagogical change.It addresses fundamental issues of learning and social organization etc. Educational Technology and the National Policy on Education The idea of making policies in education is to provide a guideline as to what is to be done and how it is to be done in order to promote the effective running of the education system.In the NPE (2004),emphasis is given to the process and practice of Educational Technology under the section 11 that deals with Educational Services.There,it is stated that educational services facilitates the implementation of educational policy,the attainment of policy goals and the promotion of effectiveness of educational system.It is further stated that the goals shall be to (i)develop and improve educational programmes,(ii)enhance teaching and improve competence of teachers (iii) make learning experiences more meaningful for children as well as develop and promote effective use of innovative materials in schools. 22 To make education learner-oriented, there came the need to fashion out policies and practices that would bridge the gaps in learning in the society. Although educational goals are stated in the National Policy on Education (2004), they can become futile ventures if proper implementation is not effectively carried out. In Nigeria, policies in Education have continued to be amended and revised since the 1969 Curriculum Conference that gave birth to that NPE in 1977, revised in 1981, 1998 and 2004 respectively. Referring to the NPE (2004) Section 1, Article 99, “Policy on Educational Services”, Educational Technology is spelt out. The policy emphasizes to need to develop and improve upon educational programmes. Educational technology being a process-product which helps in facilitating learning has great role to play in providing more effective and sufficient means of achieving of the objectives of teaching and learning (Ogunlade, 1999). If Educational Technology has potentials for helping to enhance the achievement of educational goals, then proper application will no doubt, help in bridging the gaps in learning especially when it enables students to make choices about how to learn and take on a much more active role in learning process while utilizing the various technologies provided for education in the digital age. What then is Educational Technology? The Meaning of Educational Technology Many have explained Educational Technology in different ways. For instance, Aziz (2010) defined it as the implementation of appropriate tools/techniques and processes that facilitate the application of senses, memory and cognition to enhance teaching practices and improve learning outcomes. Association for Educational and Communication Technology (AECT) (2004) saw it as a study of ethical practice for facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, designing and managing appropriate technological process and resources. Luppicini (2005) described it as a field concerned with the design, development, utilization, management and evaluation of processes and resources for learning. From the definition above, Educational Technology answers the following questions in education: What is the educational problem to be solved? How can it be solved? What resources can be used solve it? How can the Educational outcomes be measured? In other words, Educational Technology is a systematic approach to solving educational problems. For the goal of Educational Technology, in the Edutech Wiki, (2014) it is explained that Educational Technology sometimes aims at increased efficiency or effectiveness of current practice, but frequently, at pedagogical change. It addresses fundamental issues of learning and social organization etc. Educational Technology and the National Policy on Education The idea of making policies in education is to provide a guideline as to what is to be done and how it is to be done in order to promote the effective running of the education system. In the NPE (2004), emphasis is given to the process and practice of Educational Technology under the section 11 that deals with Educational Services. There, it is stated that educational services facilitates the implementation of educational policy, the attainment of policy goals and the promotion of effectiveness of educational system. It is further stated that the goals shall be to (i) develop and improve educational programmes, (ii) enhance teaching and improve competence of teachers (iii) make learning experiences more meaningful for children as well as develop and promote effective use of innovative materials in schools. Chiazoka K. Inyamah