Challenges of Technology and Education

I've had this feeling lately that I don't really know what I'm doing/where I'm going with this project. I get the basic concepts of technology and education; that it's good to have technology in the classroom and that technology/web 2.0 helps students pay attention and more actively engage in the learning. But I've had this thought that all of this is just like: "Oh, duh. Tech stuff is cool." So, I talked to Miller and he helped me to decide to investigate the challenges faced by technology in the classroom. I had already thought about challenges, but the only one's I could think of were monetary or involved the teachers themselves.

This website I found lists some of the major challenges that education and technology face. Although money is listed as a challenge, it is less a lack of money in the school and more a lack of money at home that is worrisome. Many schools in urban, poverty-stricken areas may have access to technology at school, but the children are not able to use computers at home because the parents cannot afford it. Without access to computers at home, the technology in school does not have the desired affect because the kids spend more time learning basics than anything that would actually help. This brings me to another point mentioned on the website, about how, on average, students only spend around forty minutes a week on the actual computer, which is no where near enough time to actively learn from the computer. Kids would need to be on the computers much more often to get a real benefit from them.

One of the final points that the website mentions is the involvement of the teachers in the technology. The teachers need to actively embrace the technology if it is to be any good. The teachers need to plan lessons around technology, not just have technology be something cursory that is thrown in there because the the board of education wanted it. If a teacher uses the technology, so will the students. The students will embrace it if the teacher will. But, if the students can sense that the teacher doesn't really care, the students will not care either.

So, the future for my project looks pretty good. I have a plan, and I just need to figure out what tools I want to use. I am planning on using a movie picture site, where the pictures get mixed together to create a movie. I just have to finish up some research next week and then start the presentation.

The Future of Education

I have been continuing to do research for my project on Web 2.0/technology and education and have been visiting the blogs and websites of various educators who have studied this field. I have been reading some interesting articles on the status of technology and education, including this one on how education is used in colleges. I was planning on focusing on education in the secondary school or high school level, but this article was just too good not to use.

The article begins with a discussion of the different theories in teaching, and how some believe in "open education" in which the student is more actively involved in his learning and how some (mostly the octogenarians) believe in a more lecture orientated curriculum. The problem is that many students, at least those who actually want to learn something, do not want to be talked AT. They would rather be engaged/involved in the discussion. From personal experience, I would much rather have a teacher who involved the class, whether through debates or simple anecdotes, than a teacher who stood up and lectured for forty minutes.

The article then goes on to mention how Web 2.0 and open education are linked, and how, in modern times, one cannot have one without the other. Web 2.0 technology and tools engages the students and makes them more interested in the lesson, leading them to learning more. If a student can experience the concept being taught by the lesson in an engaging way, such as through an Animoto video or a collaborative Wiki, this will stimulate their minds and allow the knowledge to more easily be absorbed. The article ends with a discussion of how some Internet tools take us away from humanity but how some, such as Web 2.0, brings us closer to humanity by providing a way for us to interact with each other in a learning environment.

This article reminded me of a blog post I read by Patrick Higgins that discusses his recent trip to an education conference and how some teachers seem almost too timid to really embrace the educational tools allowed by Web 2.0. It got me thinking; could it be that some people really, whether subconsciously or actively, fear Web 2.0 for the simple reason that it will make them obsolete? I do not think teachers, or any type of educators, have anything to worry about as computers can never replace human contact/intelligence (unless you're considering AI, and I don't think we're quite there...yet.) Regardless, the link between the article and the blog post was interesting as they both hinted at the ultimate purpose of all these talks and conferences; finding a way to engage the student in a manner hitherto unknown. The ultimate goal of education is imparting knowledge and any way in which that goal is more easily achieved is indeed an advancement in the field.

Technology and Education: The Final Frontier

I've been mentioning Technolgy and how it relates/affects to education a lot on this blog lately. However, with this approaching research project, I have perfected my idea, and decided what I really wanted to focus on and investigate. I have been researching how education has infiltrated schools and how educators are using technology. Also, I have been looking at those educators who are resistant to the change in education, who may not embrace technological innovations in the same way that a more modern teacher would.

I have been reading numerous blogs and bloggers that write about these topics. One of these people is David Warlick whose blog, 2 cents, has been very helpful and informative. He often writes about how technology has impacted schools and what people learn from technology. Other sources I have been using are: 10,000 words (which involves journalism more, but is still helpful, especially as it concerns how journalism and technology meet which is a whole other blog entry) and chalkdust101, written by Patrick Higgins Jr. that has a plethora of informationm regarding the education of children and what the future of education is from a hand's on perspective. I have also been using various technology blogs, including: Mashable and NY Times Bits.

My future plans are to continue researching a bit more and then begin to compile my sources and start the project. I am planning on using a picture/music site to present my information, such as Animoto. I also hope to use an information gathring source and another Web 2.0 tool from the list.