Part+2

__ Part II. Imagining the future __ In this part of the assignment you should describe a possible future for the role of new technologies in school education. You should discuss the following questions, and, in answering them, present a description of one possible future for educational technology

How do you think practices in the use of new technologies in schools will develop over the next 10 years? Why?

Schools are already becoming relatively obsolete in 2011, and it can only be imagined that they will become more so over the next ten years. Classrooms as we understand them will be steadily phased out, as the ability to correspond through media provided by the internet becomes more readily available. Already distance education is becoming increasingly popular and more easily accessible, through tools such as video conferencing, forums, virtual realities (such as Second Life) and other such devices. The new generation of teachers entering the education system will also be far more willing to access, utilize and leverage the vast capabilities of modern technologies. A decade of constant updates to technology will mean that there will be no limits upon how or where a child can learn. Sites such as UltraNet are widely used throughout the Education system, and currently aide and influence the decisions of parents greatly in regards to the education of their children. It is assumed that the level of information being exchanged between educators, students and parents, via such sites as UltraNet will increase exponentially in the coming decade. This is driven, in part, by the shared desire of parents and teachers to gain the ultimate in education standards for their children and students, and to arm them with as much relevant and accurate knowledge as possible. It is, however, an increasing possibility that teachers as we recognize them currently will no longer be required in the same roles. As technology continues to grow, more emphasis is placed on the student being a responsible, self-reliant learner, and less upon the teacher being the sole means of communicating knowledge. The role of educators will move more towards equipping students with the resources and abilities to seek knowledge for themselves, rather than remaining as it currently is, with teachers regarded as authorities upon such classroom knowledge. - Alyson

One Possible future for education and learning in the year 2021

Gone are the days when you could see year 7 students struggling to carry their backpacks full of textbooks off to their first day of secondary school. They no longer slug their textbooks around anymore, or their exercise books, folders, pencil cases or calculators. Everything they need for the day can be accessed on their ipad. The learning opportunities that students of the future are able to take part in are unbelievable. In one day students could virtually dissect a frog, have a chat with students from the other side of the world for L.O.T.E and get a tiny bit closer to helping their group in a virtual world save the planet. And this would be achievable without students even setting foot in their school! Schools have become more of a ‘home-base’ for learning rather that the key institution that provides a space for learning to occur within ( Blake-Plock, 2009). Goodbye traditional classroom with tables set out in rows and hello open flexible learning spaces. Students become more active and responsible for their own learning by taking on a more investigative role, exploring what they are passionate about and ensuring that the topic of the moment will vary student to student and class to class. Teachers must adapt to by moving from a dominant teacher role to a mentor/learning facilitator role, supporting and developing individual learners interests and preferences.

Summative assessment will have become a thing of the past as standardised tests are overlooked in favour of digital portfolios as a better way to demonstrate student achievement. Digital portfolios will eventually replace ENTER scores for university and will become school-leavers weapon of choice to impress potential employers ( Blake-Plock , 2009). Digital Portfolios will also help to eradicate the need for parent teacher meetings (well meetings that occur in the same room at least) as parents can easily access their student’s academic creations anywhere they can connect to the internet. The internet/digital media will also become the key mode of contact between parents and teachers (also helping to phase out set parent teacher interview times) and even possibly between teachers and students ( [|Barseghian], 2011)!

In 2021 the number of tech savvy parents and teachers has exploded to enable and accommodate such a central role that technology in schools has taken as today’s technology loving students are tomorrow’s technology loving parents, teachers and innovators (Prensky, 2001a, cited in Richardson, 2006). Such a shift in society’s attitudes in the year 2021 has led to an increase in government funding for every student to receive subsidised or fully funded personal computers to allow universal access and equality to technology. -Kaitlin

References

Richardson, W. 2003, //Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms//, Corwin Press, California

Barseghian, T 2011, []

Blake-Plock 2009 http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/2009/12/21-things-that-will-become-obsolete-in.html

In what ways might this be a positive development for schooling and student learning?

The increase and implementation of modern technology in schools is positive in that it promotes the informational welfare of students. With the vast amount of technology becoming available, students will be required to become increasingly self-reliant, and will be held accountable for their own learning and educational capabilities.

Teaching will no longer occur in a static manner and environment. Technology is limitless in its ability to include students with varying learning styles and abilities.

Parents, students and educators will have a more transparent, and easier accessed relationship than ever before. Modern technology will reduce the current barricades, especially those created by the necessity for such relationships to be conducted in a face to face manner. - Alyson

[] benifits of e learning

interactive whiteboards benifits/ for kinesthetic learners []

In what ways might this be a negative development for schooling and student learning?

With the increase in technologies capabilities over the coming decade, students may lose the ability (or the ability may be reduced) to conduct themselves appropriately in social situations. Without the current classroom setting, and the role teachers currently play in the way students understand interactions with others, students may become overly focused upon technological interfaces.

Technology will hugely affect students' abilities to carry out the currently simple, expected tasks of the classroom, such as reading and writing skills, and mathematical workings. Computers, and hand-held devices will be used so often in future education settings, that things such as spell-check and calculators will take the ability away from students.

As technology increases its capabilities, so too does the rate at which we access information. As many people are able to access and alter such information, it will be difficult to discern accuracy at times. - Alyson

Technology has shortened student’s attention spans:

· Most information in the internet is presented in short amounts of information which are to the point and the information or knowledge that these texts hold in received almost instantly. Such short bursts of information, Lister (2009) argues that this has contributed to theories that technology also appears to be damaging critical reasoning as well as attention span, leaving children less skilled at concentrating on a particular point for a long time. This makes it much harder for them to solve longer and more complex problems that require ‘extended’ concentration time. Recent studies have concluded that hyperlinks and multimedia were found to divide students’ attention, leading to reduced comprehension and learning or a “cognitive overload” in the learner (Carr, 2010). This cognitive overload makes it difficult for the learner to move knowledge from short term to long term memory, ‘short-circuiting the development of rich conceptual knowledge and critical thinking skills (Carr, 2010’). As the use of technology in the classroom expands how much will students concentration levels and concept development diminish?

Technology is eroding student’s maths, reading and writing skills.

· Spell-check and the slang that texters use are having a negative effect on their ability to spell properly. Why learn to spell when a computer can just fix all your mistakes for you? Or why would you bother to write the ‘extra’ letters in a word when you can significantly reduce the amount of effort it takes to say exactly the same thing? These aspects of technology become negative when students are unable to distinguish the informal language they use when texting from the formal English language they should be using in the classroom (Myhra, 2010). Students will become so used to their computers and iphones correcting their spelling/grammar/punctuation mistakes that if they ever had to write a sentence without technology’s assistance, they would struggle (Myhra, 2010).

The internet isn’t always safe

· The internet; full of easily accessible pornography, fraud and internet scams, identity theft, paedophiles and cyber bullying. Now and in the future students will have to treat their internet activities with a little more caution. The ability to talk to ANYONE on line has its advantages and its dangers. As students begin to live out more of their social lives and academic lives through technology what is on the net about them can create problems in the school community (cyber bullying/abuse). What comes up when they are searched on Google may also effect what schools/universities/TAFE/employers will accept them ( [|Schawbel], 2011).

Flexible schools/ Teachers available 24/7

· Flexible student learning and teacher availability 24/7 may lead to flexible school attendance times as students will want the right to chose when to study as well as what to study. Flexible school times would be a disaster. Can you imagine students in secondary school out and about (or at home in their room playing World of war craft) when they don’t feel like studying. Part of the 8:30-3:30 day is structured so traditionally the majority of time that parents are at work, their children and being minded in an institutional setting. Such a ‘school day’ ensures that students are safe, looked after and have a consistent routine in their day to day lives. Teacher availability 24/7 would significantly reduce the amount of personal time available to teachers to reflect, relax or have a personal life outside of school. The New South Wales Teachers Federation is already acknowledging the problem of 24/7 accessibility:

‘Controlling workload and maintaining a balance between work, life and family are industrial issues for all teachers. For many workers, including teachers, email communication can lead to the blurring of what is time for work and what is time for family and life outside work’ (Simpson, 2010).

Digital divide

· Without universal funding of new technologies and investment in services such as the National Broadband Scheme, an emphasis on the use of learning with technologies in schools will create digital divisions between learners and further disadvantage low socio-economic schools. Burns (2006) states that:

‘Computer and Internet use among K-12 students is affected by such socioeconomic factors as parent education attainment; poverty status, and family income. Additional factors of race and ethnicity; household composition; and metropolitan status wedge a deeper stake in use factors.’

Students with poor school access to technology and no home access to technology due to their location or financial situation are being denied full participation in the online community. This may affect their lifelong learning, familiarity and willingness to use technology in education and the workplace, adding to their level of disadvantage.

The rapid rate of technology change. "//Training teachers to use specific software packages not only makes their knowledge too specific to be applied broadly, but it also becomes quickly outdated. Technology is changing so fast that any method that attempts to keep teachers up to date on the latest software, hardware, and terminology is doomed to create knowledge that is out of date every couple of years//". (from Mishra, P, Koehler, M 2006, ‘Technological pedagogical content knowledge : a framework for teacher knowledge’, //Teachers College record//, vol. 108, no. 6, pp. 1017-1054)

References

Burns 2006 []

Lister []

Carr, N, 2010 []

Myhra- http://56wrtg1150.wikidot.com/negative-effects-of-texting-in-the-classroom

[|Schawbel], 2011 []

Simpson, S 2010 NSW teachers federation http://www.nswtf.org.au/edu_online/137/emaillap.html