Discussion topics and concepts week five

teaching Methods -- Implications of Technology

It is already clear that technology has changed modern education and that the continual evolution of digital technology, in particular, will correspond to simultaneous changes in education in the future. Overwhelmingly, the impact of technology in education has been positive; however, in some respects, it also presents challenges to optimal delivery of educational materials as well as to the supervision necessary to ensure that the changes to education associated with technology continue to be positive. To a large extent, teachers play the most important role in determining the quality and character of the influence of technology on the education of their students.

Practical Issues in Incorporating Technology in the Classroom

In my experience, one of the unanticipated challenges of incorporating digital technology into my classroom has been the additional amount of time necessary to establish the policies, procedures, and protocols necessary to control its use and ensure that it is a productive tool rather than a distraction. On one hand, students are typically excited and enthusiastic about the opportunity to use digital media and other technologies in their studies (Luppicini, 2008; Mcmillan-Culp, Honey, & Mandinach, 2005). On the other hand, I can attest, first-hand, that the same enthusiasm that is a benefit in some respects can also be a barrier to effective learning and (especially) to the most economical use of classroom time unless it is addressed properly. In my experience, it is absolutely essential to minimize its potential as a distraction.

Another potential problem that I have encountered relates to the unreliability of information that is typically available on the Internet. Without direction and targeted assistance from teachers, students often exhibit little if any ability to distinguish legitimate and intellectually credible sources and those that are utterly devoid of any legitimacy or credibility. However, I have managed to turn that potential barrier to learning into a beneficial lesson in and of itself. Specifically, I have created assignments whose principal purpose is not the underlying substantive focus of the assignment, but rather, the methodology for distinguishing different sources of information in terms of their reliability. In my experience, it is actually possible to transform this potential liability of digital technology in the classroom into a definite benefit. That is primarily because the topic of identifying credible academic sources of information was rarely, if ever, a topic that was ever addressed previously. Today, students who have had to participate in exercises designed expressly for that purpose are much better qualified to do so than many of their predecessors.

Future Implications of Technology in Education