Emerging Technologies

[Debbie Goldberg]

I found the 2010 Horizon Report: The K-12 Edition very interesting. These were a few of the "ah ha" moments I had as I was reading this article.

• Kids of the 80's, 90's, early 2000's have grown up in a world where digital games have always been an  important part of their lives
• Those born since the early 90's have never lived in a world without a global network
• Those born since early 2000's have never known a world in which that global network was not accessible from the palm of their hand

My first thought was "wow, no wonder so many of these kids are completely bored when they enter school." These students enter a building where most classrooms have a few computers to be shared among the whole class and if they are lucky, computer resource once a week. At home, they often have access to the family computer to practice learning games instead of the kindergarten activity books of long ago that could be purchased at the local grocery store! In a few years, children will enter school where most of their bedtime stories have been read to them using a Kindle or Nook. They may have no prior knowledge of how to handle a book.

 

Children find games engaging because:

• they have a feeling of working toward a goal
• endless possibilities of attaining success
• ability to problem-solve, collaborate with others, and socializing

Again, how many children have multiple opportunities during the day where they feel success? During a lesson, they may get called on only once to contribute an answer. Whereas, if there was technology being used, there potentially could be multiple affirmations on their progress.

 

Finally, I found the mentioning of up and coming technologies to be interesting to learn more about too. Cloud computing and collaborative environments will help students building their ability to collaborate with others which is an essential skill in the workplace. The use of mobile devices and game-based learning will continue to evolve in the next few years. I had never heard about augmented reality and flexible displays and plan to do additional reading on both of these topics.

 

As has been mentioned numerous times throughout the semester, we have a long way to go with the incorporation of technology in K-12 education. As future leaders, it will be imperative that we stay on the cutting edge as these advancements emerge in order to best prepare our students to be successful in school and life!

[E. Scott Broderick]

Love the "ah-ha...." I particularly like that the cyber geniuses are willing to continue to discuss and incorporate PLAY and GAMES and FUN!!! So important to learning and general personal development.

[Christopher Spawn]

It is interesting to think that the students we teach have never known life without cell phones.  It somewhat explains why they seem so dependent on them.  Imagine how we would react if the phone companies forced us to go back to rotary dial phones with cords.

[Nicole Freundt]

I know it sounds ignorant, but I never really considered the lack of adequate use of technology in the classroom the reason that some students get bored quickly, so great point. I know we are trying to rectify that in a lot of the school systems at this time, however, it does take time and money, which are two things lacking right now in education.

[Billy J Tucker]

I utilized a computer based game in my marketing class.  It is a nice tool to help drive home some teaching points.

 

As I look at all of my bookcases in my house filled with books.......the Kindle is starting to look good.