Technology is Transforming Teaching
I am a new educator who is almost fifty years old. When I received my undergraduate degree, computers were only glorified typewriters. When I received my graduate degree, the internet had become very useful for doing research for papers. Decades later, I am taking a teaching certification course that has exposed me to the larger role technology now plays in education. I will share some things I am learning as I come to terms with the impact that technology is having, can have, and should have on teaching.
Technology is transforming how educational institutions around the world conduct business. NAFSA (National Association for Foreign Student Affairs) surveyed hundreds of undergraduate and graduate schools and programs across the globe. Sixty percent of those who responded are using technology to build a virtual community, fifty percent advise their students using technology, and forty percent communicate with their colleagues through technology (How Social Media Technology Being Used). According to the National Education Association (NEA), in the U.S. “great strides have been made in infusing technology into schools and into the instructional process. . . Yet, despite the overall progress, many schools are not making full use of technology as a component of comprehensive school reform” (Technology in Schools: The Ongoing Challenge of Access, Adequacy and Equity, p. 1 ) Do we need to do more than just provide computers to schools in order to experience the full benefit that technology has to offer education? Yes, we need to do much more.
The national ratio of U.S. students to computers in public schools is 3.8 to 1, but it is not known what percentage of those computers are actually available in classrooms rather than allocated to a computer room (Technology in Schools, p.1). Also, the presence of computers and computer related technology does not mean that they have software for different grades, that technical support is readily available to troubleshoot issues when they arise, or that teachers are properly trained to use the technology that is available. And what exactly do we want to accomplish with the wonders of information and communication technology? The NEA’s vision for technology and teaching is expressed in the following terms, “The technology environment of today's public schools should match the tools and approaches of the work and civic life that students will encounter after graduation.” Towards that end, they have the following policy recommendations.
1. Improve access to technology
2. Increase Internet access, address software issues, and expand
technical support
technical support
3. Expand professional development in technology
4. Capitalize on teachers’ and students’ enthusiasm about technology
5. Involve educators as advocates (Technology in Schools, p.3)
Interestingly, studies show that when educators and students engage with technology their enthusiasm, motivation, and interest in what they are doing go up (Technology in Schools, p.2). Therefore, the NEA supports incorporating in teacher training programs the use technology for instruction (Positions on Technology and Education).
However, Austin Beck believes that technology has the ability to transform teaching in even greater ways. On a blog post on the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) website, he states, “Often, when schools adopt technology in the classroom they implement a software that is extremely aligned with their standards and that takes students on a very linear path through the subject they are learning” (Beck, 2017) My whole educational experience was “linear”. While such a traditional and narrow approach to learning is needed in some ways, Beck (and apparently the CCSSO) believes that technology can expand what we can accomplish through education. He believes technology “. . . should not create an education model that focuses on a few cognitive outcomes while leaving behind other critical outcomes like exploration, collaboration, problem-solving, engagement, and self-regulation” (Beck).
The Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) released a report in 2014 called "Using Technology to Support At-Risk Students’ Learning". Research was reviewed regarding students who were likely to fail or drop out of school due to various reasons (e.g, pregnancy, necessary employment, lack of supports for learning English). When technology was used in a more linear way, presenting knowledge and then testing the comprehension, the results were not much more promising than non-technological approaches. "However, other approaches have been more productive. Research has indicated three important variables for success with at-risk students who are learning new skills: interactive learning; use of technology to explore and create rather than to 'drill and kill'; and the right blend of teachers and technology" (Using Technology, p.6).
The Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) released a report in 2014 called "Using Technology to Support At-Risk Students’ Learning". Research was reviewed regarding students who were likely to fail or drop out of school due to various reasons (e.g, pregnancy, necessary employment, lack of supports for learning English). When technology was used in a more linear way, presenting knowledge and then testing the comprehension, the results were not much more promising than non-technological approaches. "However, other approaches have been more productive. Research has indicated three important variables for success with at-risk students who are learning new skills: interactive learning; use of technology to explore and create rather than to 'drill and kill'; and the right blend of teachers and technology" (Using Technology, p.6).
As I reflect on the NAFSA survey of international schools and the NEA technology policies, I can see that they recognize that teachers and students need to know how to use technology. However, CCSSO’s vision of technology in education and SCOPE's report cause me to realize that we are still at the beginning of the technology in education revolution. We are not talking about new ways of doing the same old thing. Technology is transforming the way we learn and the outcome of learning, and today’s educators need to prepare learners to fully engage their world with the help of technology.
Reference List
Beck, Austin. (2017). The Future of Learning Technologies and Open Educational
Resources. Retrieved from http://www.ccsso.org/Resourhttp://www.ccsso.org/
National Education Association. Positions on Technology and Education. Retrieved from
National Association for Foreign Student Affairs. How Social Media Technology Being Used.
Retrieved from https://www.nafsa.org/_/File/_/ea_tech_report_how_used.pdf
National Education Association. Technology in Schools: The Ongoing Challenge of Access,
Adequacy and Equity. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/58795.htm
The Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education. (2014). Using Technology to
Support At-Risk Students’ Learning. Retrieved from
https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/scope-pub-using-technology-report.pdf
The Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education. (2014). Using Technology to
Support At-Risk Students’ Learning. Retrieved from
https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/scope-pub-using-technology-report.pdf
