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