- Apply research to support learning in a technology-enhanced environment
"Someday,
in the distant future, our grandchildren's grandchildren will develop a new
equivalent of our classrooms. They will spend many hours in front of boxes with
fires glowing within. May they have the wisdom to know the difference between
light and knowledge." - Plato
Classrooms today are nothing like that of classrooms dated 40
years ago. Those classrooms of 40 years ago were a far cry from those in
Plato’s time. As technology expands so does the possible uses that open doors
for students to learn in a way that is engaging and appropriate for living in a
high technology, global society. Technological advancements have led to the
development of “electronically mediated instruction” (Mixed skies ahead: What
happened to e-learning and why, 2004) or also known as e-learning; “any type of
non-classroom academic offering – including Internet (intranets,
extranet), satellite (broadcast),
video-conferencing or other virtual setting,” (Fletcher, 2004), audio/video
tape, interactive TV, DVD and CD-ROM.
E-learning can be the key to education in the future due to time and locale
flexibility, addressing many learning modalities at one time, and as technology
evolves and take society into the 22nd century.
In 2000, W. C. Symonds predicted
that “a technology revolution is about to sweep America’s classrooms.” This has
happened tenfold in the last 12 years. Technology has advanced so drastically
that students can have their choice of an education forum. Classes can be taken
as a hybrid course, online class, or traditional class, while allowing students
“to overcome many of the barriers that people encounter when taking part in
education and training” (Clarke, 2007).
How technology is used in the class
is what makes e-learning so versatile. Students and teachers that are worried
about the planet can use blogs to reduce the amount of paper used for
assignments, taking an aspect of the class “green.” Using presentations that
include video clips and examples or interactive problems helps with the
motivation and engagement of the students. Web 2.0 tools are interactive which
allow students to experiment and design presentations, web pages, or just about
anything their minds can dream of. This raises the participation of students to
a new level as they can make educational choices about their own learning.
Innovations biggest obstacle is in
antiquated thinking that everything has to be done in the comfortable known
way. Union City, New Jersey was one of those school districts that was not only
impoverished, but was failing the standards established by the No Child Left
Behind Act (NCLB) doing things the established way. They were not given much
choice to improve; they were facing state seizure if something was not done to
improve the quality of education their students were receiving. Schools were
equipped with the latest technology and according to Margaret Honey, the
director of the Center for Children and Technology in New York City, it became
“one of the most, if not the most, wired urban school district in the U.S.,”
(Symonds, 2000).
With the addition of the technology
component, Union City restructured more than just its curriculum. The District
restructured the school day, teacher training program, and their budget. The entire dynamics of the district and Union
City educational system changed. The changes promoted more involvement of the
students in their own learning and focused on the use of technology to expand
the classroom and lessons to include the Internet. (Symonds, 2000)
Although Union City School District
is not like the typical school district, now that it has been technologically
integrated, it does offer a look at what can be in store for future students.
“Most of America’s 53 million children in kindergarten through 12th
grade still attend schools designed for the industrial, if not the agrarian,
era,” (Symonds, 2000). Symonds calls the technologically re-invented schools
like Union City School District “school for the New Economy.” This takes
education out of a single classroom and opens up an international classroom
with unlimited possibilities.
Using new technology in classrooms
to entice students to actively participate in their own learning will require
more than just the purchase and installation of computers or smart boards. The
key to passing on the necessary technology skills to the students still comes
down to the teachers. Teachers will need to be properly trained on how to use
the equipment, software and how to design appropriate instruction for students.
To recruit highly qualified teachers more incentives need to be offered. This
may be something as simple as higher pay or more training. Programs have been
designed for higher education facilities, such as Ashford University, to enable
teachers to hone their skills in instructional design with an emphasis on
integrating the use of technology in traditional and virtual classrooms. This
can and will affect the number of teachers capable of being classified as
highly qualified under the NCLB Act.
Learning models for using technology
are defining how people will be successful and productive in a global-economic
society. Instructional designers are steering education away from the
industrial era right into the oncoming traffic of the technological age, and
without the proper training and use, society can be left standing on the
sidelines wondering when and where technology passed them by. “The same
technologies that have forced corporations to remake themselves for e-commerce
hold the potential to similarly transform U.S. education” (Symonds, 2000).
There are two schools of thought
about e-learning: “e-learning is not only quicker and cheaper to deploy than
traditional forms of learning, but it can be much more effective,” and “today’s
e-learning is both inadequate and ineffective,” (Ketter, 2010). In the new
technology paradigm, instructors will no longer be the end-all-be-all of
instruction and learning; learning will go from being teacher-centered to
learner-focused. Instructors will become facilitators or guides of learning;
allowing students to discover knowledge as they direct their own learning
beyond the school and classroom walls. To meet the demands of technology filled
classrooms, it is estimated that 2.5 million teachers will need to be hired and
trained. (Symonds, 2000)
Knowing what an
online portal is and how to access online resources can guide students to
knowledge and information they find exciting and worthy of searching for and
knowing. When looking at the overall picture of teacher training for the role
of facilitator, it may be helpful to focus on the changing goals of education
in the United States and other countries around the world. There has been a
major movement in the understanding that the role of education plays a huge
part in the new global economy and international society through electronic
access to instantaneous information. Without education and the use of
technology, today’s world may not function as well. E-learning is not continent
or country specific to North America or the United States.
With this in mind, one needs to remember that students learn
best with real-life problems, real-life people and not necessarily in
classrooms. As teachers are trained in technology and instructional design, and
students are guided to focus on real world problems, students will be able to
gauge how important the information they are guided to is and how it is
relevant to their lives.
In high school
one learns how to use a calculator for calculus and physics. When that same
person enters the workforce, he or she might take their knowledge of a keypad
to learn how to use a cash register. The same can be said for e-learning. A
person learns a new technology and uses it until it is replaced with a newer
and better technology. Whether it is laptop computers, blue-ray disk players,
cellphones, personal digital assistants (PDA), iPads, e-readers, digital
cameras, or even gaming systems technology is advancing at alarming rates and
if these are not embraced for engaging students to discover information about
the world they live in, education can be lost. Students today live in such a
fast-paced society that without the use of technology and instant gratification
for information or knowledge, students can become bored and turned off. With
the advent of modern technology and e-learning beyond the classroom walls,
people can reach new heights in attaining an education that has never before
been imagined.
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