The History of Technology in Education

The possible impact of emerging technology on the future of education

The new technologies have invaded the whole life and are involved in almost all of the human activities, technology changes most things. Nowadays, we entertain using technology, work using technology, communicate using technology, learn using technology; it is of daily use. Certainly, it is the 21^st century; the age of technology which “is fundamentally changing our institutions and support systems, especially our schools and their classrooms”, Leneway (n.d.).  The schools and classroom need to be redesigned or transformed to be ready “to respond to the rapidly changing needs of today’s 21^st century students”, Leneway (n.d.). To tell the truth, “twenty-first century schools need twenty-first century technology”, Prensky (2005).  The new capabilities that technology continues offering could play an integral role in supporting education and improving human performance, the new technologies such as Smart Board, Tablets, iPad, iPod, Smart phones and more “are much more than accessories”, Ramasubbu & Wilcox (2009). People expect to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever they want to; the Internet open windows to make all that happen.

To transform education in the 21^st century, “the digital age, we need new curricula, new organization, new architecture, new teaching, new student assessments, new parental connections, new administrative procedures, and many other elements”, Prensky (2005). Leneway states that “public education and its classrooms have to change or die”, as cited in Leneway, (n.d.), p.3. The resistance to change is still a key barrier to technological adoption and a more challenging; it is one of the big factors that stand in the way for more and faster progress in technology adoption in education. To keep classrooms alive and in good health to interact with the rapid changes of the 21st century, instructors have to update their knowledge, improve their skills, and apply new teaching practices. To do that, the Internet provides a powerful tool for accessing information and instruction. “However, when good teachers have the right tools, training and attitude, the engagement and excitement in the classroom can be transformative-for both the students and the teacher”, Leneway ( n.d.).

What's more, we need to stop doing the wrong things. What we really need now is to utilize technology to do innovative things, “doing new things in new ways”, Prensky (2005),  not only repeat doing the old things through using technology, though it is useful, it is not what we are looking for from utilizing technology in education, but we need to be creative in what we are doing, we suppose to do new things using the new technology that offers great educational applications; we need to change the role of the school and the way we prepare students for their future lives, so we can do better. Besides, we have to stop doing things arbitrarily; “Random creation of software by teachers and other individuals--some very good, much bad”, Prensky, (2005). Since teaching is “an art or a science”, Marzano (2009), so that systematically incorporating technology in education to meet our educational needs of the 21^st century is our goal. The online learning, mobile computing and electronic books are good examples of effectively and efficiently using the new technology which makes education on demand within the learner’s hands.

It is not adequate to only install technology in the classroom or to place a computer in the hands of each student though it is important; “One-to-one computing, in which each student has a device he or she can work on, keep, customize, and take home. For true technological advance to occur, the computers must be personal to each learner”, Prensky (2005). What I mean is that, “we should not focus our decisions on technology but on methods that will facilitate learning”, Reigeluth & Joseph (2002). As a result, “let's not just adopt technology into our schools. Let's adapt it, push it, pull it, iterate with it, experiment with it, test it, and redo it, until we reach the point where we and our kids truly feel we've done our very best. Then, let's push it and pull it some more. And let's do it quickly, so the 22^nd century doesn't catch us by surprise with too much of our work undone”, Prensky (2005). The “Ubiquitous computing, where every teacher and student has his or her own computing device that is not shared with others”, Tech & Learning (2007), could be very momentous if it is combined with the best of staff development. “Learning digitally will only transform schools and student performance if we make wise program decisions, invest mightily in professional development and emphasize strategic training”, McKenzie (1999).

Because of the huge technological revolution, we need to perform huge changes to what we are doing in our education system to answer the question of “why is it that technology has transformed the way we shop, bank and interact with each other and not yet had the same impact on teaching and learning, at least as educationally stands today?”, Speak Up 2011 (2012). Making the required changes to accomplish the desired impact of emerging technology on the future of education is “a big effort? Absolutely! Our kids deserve no less… they live in an incredibly fast-moving world”, Prensky (2005). And also because “Our students will face career choices that do not even exist at this time”, Speak Up 2012 (2013). “If we want to move the useful adoption of technology forward, it is crucial for educators to learn to listen, to observe, to ask, and to try all the new methods their students have already figured out, and do so regularly”, Prensky (2005). To summarize, technology cannot replace teacher’s capabilities and technology “has enormous potential to add such that the classroom can become a student centric-learning environment. The task is then to figure out how teachers, peers, and technology can all work together to transform classrooms into these creative learning environments. But, it also needs to be remembered that in reality, teachers make a classroom great - not the technology placed in the classroom”, Leneway (n.d.). 

References:

1. Leneway, R. J. (n.d.). Transforming K-12 Classrooms with Digital Technology: A Look at What Works!
2. McKenzie, J. (1999). How teachers Learn Technology Best. From Now On Press.
3. Marzano, R. (2009). “What do we know about the effect of technology on student achievement”, a video lecture at the 2009 CUE conference: Part one & Part two.
4. Prensky, M. (2005). Shaping Tech for the Classroom; 21st-century schools need 21st-century technology. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/adopt-and-adapt-shaping-tech-for-classroom
5.  Ramasubbu, S. & Wilcox, B. (2009). Center for Digital Education: Mobile Learning in Classrooms of the Future. Retrieved from http://www.centerdigitaled.com/edtech/Mobile-Learning-in-Classrooms-of-the-Future.html
6.  Reigeluth, C.M. & Joseph, R. (2002). Beyond technology integration: The case for technology transformation. Educational Technology, 42(4), 9-13.
7. Speak Up 2011 (2012). National Findings K-12 Students & Parents. Mapping a Personalized Learning Journey: K-12 Students and Parents connect the Dots with Digital Learning. Retrieved from http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/2012_PersonalizedLearning.html
8.  Speak Up 2012 (2013). National Findings K-12 Educators and Parents. From Chalkboards to Tablets: The Digital Conversion of the K-12 Classroom. Retrieved from: http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/SU12_DigitalConversion_EducatorsReport.html
9. Tech & Learning (2007). Key Technology Trends: The latest America's Digital Schools survey highlights key funding challenges for district administrators. Retrieved from: http://www.techlearning.com/features/0039/key-technology-trends/44437

See these videos:

1. Marc Prensky: What going to happen next in education?

2. Robert Marzano: What do we know about the effect of technology on student achievement?
Part one
Part two

The Art & Science of Teaching-Dr. Robert Marzano

“It’s Not ADD—I’m Just Not Listening!”

Marc Prensky in his “Engage me or enrage me” presents his main idea about how to utilize technology effectively and efficiently to engage students in learning instead if using it as “Eye-candy”, “creating engagement is not about those fancy, expensive graphics but rather about ideas”, Prensky, (2005). He describes three kinds of today’s students; students who are truly self-motivated, students who are going through the motions, and students who are “tune us out.” Prensky, (2005). The motto of the first kind of students, who represent no problem and they are fewer and fewer in schools, is: “I can’t wait to get to class.”, Prensky, (2005). I think doing “new things in new ways”, Prensky, (2005)j, may be doubling their learning outcomes. While, the motto of the second kind of students, who realize that their future may depend on the grades, is “Engage me or enrage me.”, Prensky, (2005), they study the night before the test to achieve a passing score; they are not representing too big challenge if we could, at least, keeping them at the same level, though engage them is important.

Prensky focus on the third kind of students who believe that school is devoid of interest and… irrelevant to their life… and they “tune us out.” Prensky, (2005). They represent a real challenge because in more and more of the schools, this group is quickly becoming the majority, their motto is “Engage me or enrage Me.”, Prensky, (2005). The kids do what engage them and they are good at , they master and understand systems ten times more complex than the “Yesterday’s education”. Nowadays we teach “tomorrow’s kids” with “Yesterday’s education”. But, where is tomorrow’s stuff, the stuff that engages the students, the stuff they are good at; the students are missing their stuff and that's what makes them so enraged. Twenty-first century education needs a lot of changes which engage the students in learning; they are not ADD, they are just not listening. Reiser & Dempsey (2011) say that “learners who fail to pay attention will never receive the information to be learned in the first place”. Thus, what we need to do to find this important factor; “listening”. Prensky, (2006), said: “I believe our kids will start listening again when we began to listen and, to value their passions and developing skills”.

“Games are Not the enemy”, Prensky, (2006). Prensky believes that video games have the power to do great things and like lots and lots of other things, they can be misused but if used correctly, video games have the massive potential that books and later computer did, Prensky, (2006). Educational games can engage students in learning, “they’ll be able to accelerate kids language and cognitive growth and, prepare them for the high-tech global world, they will live in”, Prensky, (2006). By experience, good video games, not “Eye-candy”, offer better learning opportunities and motivate student learning.”I believe that the real reason kids play computer and video game is that they’re learning”, Prensky, (2006). Prensky believes that “digital based-learning meets the needs and learning styles of today’s and the future’s generation of learners… is motivating because it is fun… is enormously versatile, adaptable to almost any subject, information, or skill to be learned, and when used correctly, is extremely effective”, Prensky (2007).

References:

1.      Prensky, M. (2005). “Engage me or enrage me”. Educause review Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf

2.      Prensky, M. (2005)j. Shaping Tech for the Classroom; 21st-century schools need 21st-century technology. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/adopt-and-adapt-shaping-tech-for-classroom

3.      Prensky, M. (2006). Don’t bother me mom-I’m learning. Paragon house.

4.      Prensky, M. (2007). Digital Game Based-Learning. Paragon house.

5.      Reiser & Dempsey (2011). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. Pearson.

See this You Tube: Marc Prensky part one and
click here to see part two: "Engage me or enrage me".

Disrupting Class

How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns

By Christensen, Horn & Johnson (2011)

The book consists of 9 chapters in which the authors discuss how currently the school and learning system is, why and, how they should be. In other words, they offer the answer to: how disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns. The authors state, “the current educational system-the way it trains teachers, the way it groups students, the way the curriculum is designed, and the school building is laid out- is designed for standardization”. They also mention if schools are “serious about leaving no child behind”, schools cannot teach their students with standardized methods, schools must attempt to “teach each student in the way his or her brain is wired to learn”. Hence, “schools need a new system if the goal is to educate every student”, they “must find a way to move toward a student-centric”.

“Why schools struggle to teach differently when each student learns differently”, in chapter 1, the authors believe that all know we learn differently “through different methods, with different hooks, and at different paces… so why can’t schools customize their teaching” instead of “standardize the way they teach and the way they test? The authors believe that computer-based learning is “a step on the road toward student-centric technology” which “is the escape hatch from the standardization, opens the door for students to learn in ways that match their intelligence types in the places and at the paces they prefer by combining content in customized sequences”. The teacher role should be “a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage”. All right, but “how can schools make the shift to a student centric classroom”.

 “Making the shift: Schools meet society’s jobs”, in chapter 2, the authors demand schools to do like what most companies do; “companies want to keep improving what they do- and generally they quite good at doing just that, companies typically improve their products at a much faster pace than costumers need”. The authors point out that”society has hired school to perform four distinct jobs: preserve the democracy and include democratic values, provide something for every student, keep America competitive and, eliminate poverty”. They reveal that “although people spent billions of dollars putting computers in schools”, it has resulted in little change in how teachers teach and students learn, schools still not enough motivated to improve. The authors believe that “the disruptive theory provides the framework for school to migrate to a student-centric classroom”.

“Crammed classroom computers”, in chapter 3, the authors refer to Clinton’s four transformative vision for computing in class: “modern computers and devices to all students, classrooms connected to one another and the outside world, making educational software an integral part of the curriculum and as engaging as the best video game and, having teachers ready to use and teach with technology”. They also state that the second two of these visions “are as distant as ever; why haven’t computers brought about a transformation in the schools the way they have in other areas of life”. They believe that to migrate to a student-centric classroom, schools needs to use computers not as a tool or as a topic or as another activity center or for word processing or to search the Internet for research paper or play games but “as a primary instructional mechanism that helps students learn in ways that are customized to their type of intelligence”. The authors strongly believe that schools spent so much money on computers to achieve so little gain; “schools have crammed computers into the existing teaching and classroom model”.

“Disruptively deploying computers”, in chapter 4, the authors state that “the disruptive transitions from teacher-led to software delivered instruction are likely to proceed in two ways: computer-based or online learning and student-centric technology”.

“The system for student-centric learning”, in chapter 5, the authors believe that “in the first stage of disruption, an innovator makes a product much more affordable and simpler to use than what currently exists. “In the second stage, another technological change (modular design) makes it simple and inexpensive to build and upgrade the products”. They also believe that we learn the material much better when we teach it than we’re sitting passively in a classroom listening to someone explain it to us.

“The impact of the earliest years of students’ success”, in chapter 6, the authors state that “98% of education spending occurs after the basic intellectual capacities of children have been mostly determined”. Moreover, some programs “are an ineffective mechanism for addressing the challenge of better preparing children for school”. There are “changes must occur before school starts, during age 0-4” and, money must be spent “where it has maximum impact and not waste it on programs that will fail”.

 “Why so many students seem unmotivated”, in chapter 7, the authors believe that “student-centric learning will play a key role in addressing the challenge of motivation”. And if kids are motivated, excited and engaged to learn and if we make possible for each one to learn effectively, we will have an education system with a great performance record. It is a big challenge that most have not cracked. The authors state that “teachers and parents offer education, but many students are not buying what is being offered”. The reason why students are not motivated to buy “the offer” is that it wasn't yet good enough.

            “Improving education research”, in chapter 8, the authors state that “education is certainly unique and many elements of it will remain an art”. And, “having skillful teachers who use their judgment to understand and relate to students is terribly important”.

“Organizing the Innovate”, in chapter 9, the authors mention that if video games “used for good ends, can teach our children, they can also be used to teach the underlying principles of mathematics or engage students in reading. And what’s more, if done properly, children love playing them. If better learning is the goal, we need “to create the conditions that motivate teachers and students to do whatever it takes to get better results”.

My reaction: I strongly believe if everyone agrees that we learn differently, from my experience that is exactly true, so schools must adopt different ways of teaching since the kids have different ways of learning. Actually, it seems to me unfair to keep asking kids to learn while we use ‘teaching languages’ we know, while kids don’t. The question is how schools use teaching methods while learners need different learning methods; customization instead of standardization in schools is the appropriate solutions, I think so too. The book repeats saying that billions has been spent to crammed technology in education with little effect, thus, schools need to re-allocate their money to be spent on the right project at the right time to be effective and efficient in preparing kids for school, maximize the impact through successful programs and, create a balance between inputs and outputs in schools. Schools must continue to improve what they are doing to meet the learner’s future needs instead of struggle to meet today learner’s needs. Stop trains the teachers for the past is critical, future teachers need to have the skills to do better in the 21^st century learning environment. I also believe that schools must adopt a systemic reform approach which include the whole education paradigm and use the right tools to change; just crammed technologies in education is not adequate to achieve the desired learning outcomes, it explains why new technologies have little impact on education while they have a huge impact on other life activities, why students are not enough motivated and engaged to learn while they have a good motivation to feel successful and make progress and they are engaged to have fun with their friends. Education is a science; it always need to be updated and enriched with latest researches, it is an art; it always needs skills and new practices. Computer-based or online learning and student-centric technology will change the way the world learns.

        The authors of this book use use numbers and they have specific information about the usage of the new technologies in schools and other life activities, while we do not have such kind of information to judge if that is right or not. Sometimes, I feel we are just stuck between two groups; one believes that 21^st century  learning cannot be effective and efficient without utilizing the new technologies  in a transformative way in education and the other group don’t think so and they consider anyone discus the role of  technology as “commercial marketers and sales men”. I believe that many people agree that the role of new technologies in schools is less than its role in business and other life activities. Siegel (2003)mentions “Why haven’t learning technologies delivered to the same degree as technologies in business, science, entertainment, or communications? Will learning technologies ever offer more than convenient access to information or mind-numbing lessons? Perhaps the answer has less to do with the technologies themselves and more to do with how we use the technologies to achieve learning”.

      Individually, I believe that people need to stop talking about how many schools use technology in the classroom, using technology is not the goal. “Technology is not an end in itself. It is merely the highway or the car or the airplane which takes you where you want to go”, McKenzie (1999). The question is how many schools utilize technology in the classroom effectively and efficiently and we can measure the outcome and if it is worth the billions that spent to only cram technologies in education. Leneway (n.d.) states that “Teachers, peers, and technology can all work together to transform classrooms into these creative learning environments… teachers make a classroom great - not the technology placed in the classroom… good teachers have the right tools, training and attitude, the engagement and excitement in the classroom can be transformative - for both the students and the teacher”.

Reference:

1. Christensen, C.,  Horn, M.  & Johnson, C. (2011). Disrupting Class: How disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns. New York: Mc Graw-Hill. 
2. Leneway, R. J. ( n.d. ). Transforming K-12 Classrooms with Digital Technology: A Look at What Works! (Draft chapter).
3. McKenzie, J. (1999). How teachers Learn Technology Best. From Now On Press.
4. Siegel, Martin. (2003). Falling Asleep at Your Keyboard: The Case for Computer Imagination. Indiana University.

See these videos: Disruptive Innovation, Christensen
                                            Disrupting class, Horn

Google Map

Google Map

What is it? Google Maps is a powerful, user-friendly mapping tool available on the internet. In addition to driving directions and local business information, Google Maps also provides terrain maps, satellite imagery, and a “street view” of the real world. Using the “My Maps” feature students and teachers can also collaborate to create their own maps by adding new place markers that include text, images, and 

Why use it? Students can use Google Maps to:
• Keep track of class pen pals
• Take virtual tours of countries where a language they are studying is spoken. (Include planning for local transportation, site-seeing, dining and hotel reservations!)
• Learn about animal and plant life by embedding information in maps of different habitats.

Teachers can use Google Maps to:
• Plan a field trip with students.
• Create a map of the school or school events for parents.
• Teach history by embedding primary documents into interactive maps for students to explore.

Click here to see how to use Google Maps

Reference:
Google Maps in the Classroom.
         

I create my map about Iraq, we all need to know about other countries and cultures. I embed some information about this country with some picture that tell us some story about important and famous cities and historical and religious places. These information and pictures are available on the Internet and it is too easy to save the information and save the image’s link then insert them.

 View Iraq in a larger map

Twitter

            What is Twitter? It is many different things to many different people. It can be used by a family to keep in touch, or a company to coordinate business, or the media to keep people informed or as an educational tool to engage students. Twitter has become the perfect social messaging tool because of its ability to follow people and have followers, and the ability to have interact with Twitter on a cell phone, it is a great tool for quickly communicating a message to a group of people. From newspapers to magazines to TV stations, it seems everyone is adopting Twitter as the coolest thing, it is a great way to keep track of the news. Through Twitter, the user can ask all sorts of questions to the Twitter universe, and the more friends you have, the more detailed answers you will receive.

How can I use Twitter in education: I Tweet about upcoming due dates or assignments or tests or quizzes, I encourage students to use Twitter to collaborate on different projects. I may want to incorporate Twitter into lessons that track hash tags and use it social media to communicate ideas. Twitter could be used by the instructor and students to connect with the community; uses Twitter to reach a broad audience discussing the latest cultural or educational events in the area and encourage others in the community to attend. With enough resources in the  Classroom, I can allow students to tweet their own notes during lessons and share with their peers. Twitter could be used to connect classrooms; teachers and students from around the world can collaborate on projects using Twitter as a communication tool. Engage parents; Parents of K-12 students interested in daily classroom activities can follow teacher tweets discussing some of the lessons learned and any progress on projects. Make recommendations; benefitting both students and their parents, teachers may like the idea of using Twitter to discuss films and documentaries or books to check out at home. Also, at the conclusion of each lecture, I can ask students to use Twitter to type a 140-character or less summary of what they have learned and perhaps pose any questions to be considered in the next class.

References:

1. Miller, S. Teach Hub.com. http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom

2. K. Walsh. (2010). 100 Ways to teach with Twitter. EmergingEdTeach.

3. Daniel.N.10 Great Uses of Twitter.About.com

See this video

Concept Mapping

What is it ?

A concept map is a visual organizer that can enrich students' understanding of a new concept. Using a graphic organizer, students think about the concept in several ways.

Why we use a concept map in the classroom?

 It assists students classify new information.

 It aids students to make significant connections between the main idea and other information.

 A concept map is  easy to construct and can be used within any content area.

Click here to see how to brainstorm using Bubble.us.

Sample:

This is a concept map that I create to express a grammar topic which is ”Understanding Sentences”. This way assists both the teacher and the student to keep the information simple, organized and complete. It is another new way of presenting the information and integrating technology in classroom instruction. It gives the teacher the option of using the computer’s strength to facilitate teaching and improve learning. Also, it gives both the student and the teacher the opportunity to be creative, so they can design the lesson in an appropriate way for them to understand.

Jing

What is Jing?

It is a computer software program used to share images or movies with others on the Internet. It has a number of uses, both for business collaboration and enhancing the online conversation or social networking sites. With Jing, users have the ability to create an image of an item that appears on their desktop, it also provides the ability to make videos that show users completing a series of steps useful for instructing others. Jing allows users to add text or draw items like arrows on images to provide labels or captions.

How to use Jing in my classroom? 

• Great training video for quick and easy access for students. 
• recording lessons that students can access anytime, anywhere.
• making videos to help the substitute teacher and students if the teacher have to miss class. 
• Live Demonstrations; demonstrate how to use the features of a program. 
• Tutorials; explain a difficult concept or idea. 
• Address a common misconception about a task. 
• Answer frequently asked questions. 
• Assignment Tips: Highlight important or commonly misunderstood aspects of an assignment.

References:

Davies, F. (2013). eHow tech. What is Jing?

Elizabeth. (2010). How to use Jing in your classroom? I love EdTeach.

Koepke, K. & Koop, B. (e.d.) Using Jing in Your Classroom. Created by CATL:http://www.uwlax.edu/catl

I created a brief Screencast about how to use Google Translate in translation, it is one of several options  the new technology offer to the students to use the electronic dictionaries; especially the student who learn a foreign language. By experience, these kinds of dictionaries are too important in facilitating and improving the translation quality and saving time when we use them effectively and efficiently.

Click here to see how to use Jing: Quick video tutorial