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Brandon Holst Professor Malcolm Campbell English 1102 April 22, 2014 Technology has Changed the Way we are Educated Nowadays, our society is leaning towards educational technology. What exactly is educational technology? It is the study and practice of facilitating education and learning, to improve the performance of students, through the creation and use of management appropriate technological processes and resources (Educational Technology). When I think of educational technology, I think of knowledge. Knowledge is such an asset to have in this world. The more knowledge you have, the better off you are going to be. I always hear from my parents that knowledge is power. I could not agree more because as Im starting to step into the real world, Im realizing how competitive it is. As an individual, youre probably thinking that technology has been a huge asset for how well you have done in the classroom. We can all say that we use the internet every day for many reasons. Its a quick and simple way for accumulating information. However, have we ever thought about the other side of things involving educational technology? Have we thought about what tools our parents generations used for their education? Do we only think about the benefits that come with integrating technology with education? We have come a long way ever since the first portable computer was invented in

1975 (Bellis). A lot of teachers didnt have the things we have today and some may be incompetent to teach digitally. The rapid pace of technology has created many opportunities for students and schools, but it brings challenges too. There is no doubt that educational technology has its opportunities. The opportunities include greater access to rich, multimedia content, the increasing use of online course taking to

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offer courses not otherwise available, the widespread availability of mobile computing devices that can access the Internet, the expanding role of social networking tools for learning and professional development, and the growing interest in the power of digital games for more personalized learning (Davis). Students are being exposed to a lot of content as they go through their school career. Most of the content is online now and thats how students are accumulating information. Online learning in many forms is on the rise in schools across the country. Students across the country now have a long list of choices when it comes to e-learning. The options often includes full-time, for-profit virtual schools; state-sponsored virtual schools; supplemental online learning courses offered by brick-and-mortar schools; and charter schools presenting a hybrid option of digital material coupled with face-to-face instruction (Davis). The International Association for K-12 Online Learning estimated that more than 1.5 million K-12 students were engaged in some form of online or blended learning in the 2009-10 school year (Johnson, Adams, and Haywood). At the end of 2010, supplemental or full-time online learning opportunities were available in at least 48 of 50 states (Johnson, Adams, and Haywood). Options for full-time virtual schools are growing. Students from kindergarten through high school can seek out online schooling opportunities, which usually include virtual teachers and a combination of synchronous and asynchronous online learning (Davis). Its a great way for students to ask more questions and interact online with more face to face instruction. With courses that offer an online instructor, some researchers say, Students have had the most success with hybrid or blended education (Davis). Hybrid education means students can use digital content with a face-to-face instructor, or an online instructor and an in-class teacher may work together to assist students. A good example is Hawkes learning. I used Hawkes last semester for math and it was successful in helping me learn the material better. It had an

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instructor that gave step by step instruction for every problem. To add on to that, web- based games are starting to become widely used in schools. According to the Horizon report, it predicts game-based learning will be widely adopted by mainstream classrooms within two to three years (Johnson, Adams, and Haywood). Some educators hope that games and simulations will provide a way for students to picture themselves in career paths that they never thought of before, and some argue that games and simulations can connect students to real-world situations in a safe and low-cost environment (Davis). For me, online games have always been great in helping visualize things better and think harder. At the same time, a growing number of students now are taking advantage of online courses. Schools are tapping into e-learning for a variety of reasons. It can help students complete more credits, saves money, offers a wide variety, and helps with scheduling conflicts (Technology in Education). In addition, online courses can provide highly qualified teachers for classes that are not offered by the school (Technology in Education). A lot of my friends have done it and they said it helped them substantially get caught up. Since social media has taken over the internet, schools are trying what tools it has for education purposes. Many educators say the academic benefits of social networking are genuine. They allow students to work cooperatively on projects in an online environment that students are comfortable with. Teachers often report that a student who does not speak up in class will be more engaged on a social networking site (Technology in Education). Wikis and blogs allow students to work collaboratively and share their work with other people (Technology in Education). Blogs have been great for me this year in exploring my mind not just from me blogging but reading others too. Skype is also popular with teachers, particularly for allowing their students to connect with peers in other parts of the country or the world. Another tool I

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found out about is Voice Thread, which archives and indexes images, videos, text and audio. All levels of student education can use it including elementary students (Education Week, June 16, 2010). Who would have thought that social media could be used for educational purposes? Having all these opportunities has been great for students but there is another side to it. The World is changing, Education Secretary Arne Duncan says (Huffington Post). What Education Secretary Arne Duncan is saying is that our society is transitioning from textbooks to digital. When I say digital, I mean the usage of computers, phones and the internet. The reason we are moving towards that is that students are more engaged in getting work done, saves money, exposure to more content, etc. However, technology can create flaws for schools and students too. Lack of professional development, informal learning, personal learning, and technology usage to deliver effective formative assessments are huge flaws. With the widespread adoption of technologies in virtually every aspect of K-12 education, significant challenges are preventing widespread effective implementation (Nagel). According to researchers, though some of those challenges are systemic and some related to the technologies themselves. Teachers and education leaders share in the blame too (Nagel). "The NMC Horizon Report: 2013 K-12 Edition," was put together by the New Media Consortium as part of the Horizon Project, and it identifies key emerging issues. Key among all challenges is the lack of adequate, ongoing professional development for teachers who are required to integrate new technologies into their classrooms yet who are unprepared or unable to understand new technologies. "All too often, when schools mandate the use of a specific technology, teachers are left without the tools (and often skills) to effectively integrate the new capabilities into their teaching methods," according to the report (Nagel). Its understandable because a lot of older teachers didnt grow up with what students have today. A good example for this would be my

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parents. My parents are still ignorant on how to work an Iphone or how to do something on a laptop. Students know a lot more about how to work technology than teachers which is not good on the teachers part. Another challenge is lack of informal learning. To define informal learning, its the learning that accumulates through daily activities outside of school. Rigid lecture-and-test models of learning are failing to challenge students to experiment and engage in informal learning. But, according to the report, opportunities for such informal learning can be found in non-traditional classroom models, such as flipped classrooms, which allow for a blending of formal and informal learning (Nagel). To define flipped classrooms, its a form of learning where students watch lecture videos online at home (Nagel). Its logical since students sit on the computer all day rather than read a textbook. However, the lack of informal learning points towards individuals that dont spend much time outside of school reading a book. 80% of the people Ive asked if they like to read said no. That just shows that we just read the internet which doesnt challenge us as much. Also, lack of personalized learning (change of pace for an individual to meet their needs) has been a challenge because there's a gap between the vision of delivering personalized, differentiated instruction and the technologies available to make this possible (Nagel). So while K-12 teachers seem to see the need for personalized learning, they aren't being given the tools they need to accomplish it, or adequate tools simply don't exist. Every student has a different pace of learning and the teachers need to have the right tools in order to be on their level. Lastly, failure to use technology to deliver effective formative assessments has been on the radar. The report noted: "Assessment is an important driver for educational practice and change, and over the last years we have seen a welcome rise in the use of formative assessment in educational practice. However, there is still an assessment gap in how changes in curricula and new skill demands are implemented in education; schools do not always

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make necessary adjustments in assessment practices as a consequence of these changes. Simple applications of digital media tools, like webcams that allow non-disruptive peer observation, offer considerable promise in giving teachers timely feedback they can use" (Nagel). That just tells you that a lot of schools arent on the same track as others. Everything is going towards digital and schools need to know how to utilize it with assessments. To sum it up, technology has worked great in many ways for our education. However, my final claim is that since there is no stopping change in technology, teachers need to be taking educational technology classes. This would help them gain insight on strategies to challenge students in a different way from what they were taught. It would also help them be caught up with what students do on the internet and what not. Technology is a great way for students to be engaged in gaining knowledge as long as its utilized the right way. For example, eliminating math websites that give the answer to every equation or not allowing students to use calculators come test time. Also, teachers continuing to use social media as a way to expand ones mind like blogging thoughts would be great. The more your mind expands, the better knowledge youll have gained as Ive learned this year from doing technological education. Now I would be wrong if I said students werent coddled to death with technological tools. We definitely are, and thats where our society is heading. The internet practically gives you the answer to everything without having to read a book. Yes, I agree with integrating technology in education as long as teachers still challenge us more so we are capable of living a successful life in the real world. A blogger said, The internet has made us lazy (Reich), and I couldnt agree more with that. Our generation of students wants to get things done quickly and rely on the internet to help them. I know I use the internet a lot for everything too because I get lazy. My English teacher last semester said Writing with a pencil shows what kind of writer you really are. Its true

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because I tend to make more mistakes with a pencil than typing. When you look at our parents generation, they were better at writing because they didnt have technology to help them. They made mistakes like we do but they are able to perceive them better. In high school, I would write a paper and let my parents read it. They would look at me and just crumble it up because my grammar was not up to par. It just tells you how my parents generations education was compared to mine. Later in life, youre probably going to have a situation where you need to problem solve using your head. You cant expect a device to do everything for you. People need to have confidence in themselves and challenge themselves. Its a tough world out there and being able to do things on your own will be significant.

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Works Cited Autio, Ossi, Jenni Hietanoro, and Heikki Ruismki. "Taking Part in Technology Education: Elements In Students' Motivation." International Journal Of Technology & Design Education 21.3 (2011): 349-361. Education Research Complete. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Bellis, Mary. "The History of Computers." About.com Inventors. About.com, 05 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Davis, Michelle R. "Hybrid Charter Schools on the Rise." Education Week- Digital Directions. Editorial Projects in Education, 15 June 2011. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. "Facts About Educational Technology." Educational Technology. Laws.com, 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Johnson, Adams, and Haywood . The NMC Horizon Report: 2011K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The Media Consortium, 2011. 25 Mar. 2014 Lederman, Josh. "Arne Duncan Calls For Textbooks To Become Obsolete In Favor Of Digital." Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 2 Oct. 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Nagel, David. "The Journal." 6 Technology Challenges Facing Education --. 1105 Meda Inc, 4 June 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Reich, Brian. "The Internet Has Made Us Lazy." WeMedia. We Media, 22 Apr. 2009. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. "Technology in Education." Education Week. Editorial Projects in Education, 1 Sept. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.