I just finished reading the article by George Veletsianos on emerging technologies (2015). I appreciated how he attempted to define emerging technologies. Even though it took me about three reads to get through it! Emerging technologies versus established technologies has defined by George are:
- not necessarily new
- coming in to being (meaning they are developing)
- go through hype cycles
- are not fully understood (how will they shape education in the future ?)
- may not be trusted
One of the statements that Veletsianos made that really stuck out to me was in regards to education and it's resistance to change. Education in general may not always embrace emerging technologies. This is because the impact on student learning is not fully understood. Perhaps sometimes classrooms/districts that embrace technology are seen as not to be trusted. Many parents want their children to have the same learning experiences that they did. I wonder if time will change the perspective of education and what it means to have fully integrated technology in every classroom. I think of my children 7th, 9th and 11th grade in the fall as the pioneers of education and technology. I wonder if their children will be the students who truly see the impact of what emerging technolgies will have on education?
As a parent I'm learning to embrace what their schools are starting to focus on in the classroom. As a teacher I'm learning how to embed technology in my classroom.
The 2015 NMC Horizons Report emphasized that time is needed to allow for teachers, parents and districts to catch up to what emerging technologies are beginning to offer. Also reliable and equal access to the internet should be considered as a contributing factor. I know I have a lot to learn not only as an educator but a human who is learning to embrace technology.
References
NMC Horizon Report K-12 Edition (2015) Retreived from:
http://www.nmc.org/publication/nmc-horizon-report-2015-k-12-edition/
Velestianos, George (2008, November 18). A definition of emerging technologies for education. Retrieved from:
http://www.veletsianos.com/2008/11/18/a-definition-of-emerging-technologies-for-education/#sthash.6xHTIVNg.dpuf
Veletsianos
Veletsianos
Melissa-
ReplyDeleteYou talk about education being resistant to change, and I too read this in many articles. I wonder how much of this can be influenced by the teacher. Do you think that including emerging technologies in teacher education program would help this process?
In our last course we discussed the importance of including our students' culture in the classroom. I think one way things are changing is that our students' culture includes forms of technology that we may not fully understand. Using technology may be a way for students to see relevance and application of their learning to their life outside of school. This is easier to think of in the high school end of things, but how do we do this with our littles? That's something I aim to study this semester :)
(It won't let me sign with my WordPress account: akreadingteacher)
Kayla I think because you commented as your google email. If you click on the arrow (next to comment as) will it allow you to choose wordpress as an option for commenting.
ReplyDeleteI like you comment on what fully integrated technology in each classroom would look like. That is a key question, what does integrated technology look like in the classroom? The hype starts with a device like and I-pad and says everyone should have an I-pad without really thinking what student will do with them. Good work.
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteReliable and equal access to the internet is a major issue! When I walk into a local classroom in rural Oregon and compare it to the computers I have available to me in my own classroom, the difference is like night and day. I have so much more technology! Our struggle is with bandwidth and being able to access games like Minecraft during the school day so that students may collaboratively build scenes that replicate the scenes described in books and that match with their own visualizations of what these might look like.
There are many issues with trusting technology. This has hindered many schools from the idea of students using their own mobile devices in class; such as to research a question they have, or to look up a word on their phone. There is the whole issue of cyberbullying and students learning ways to get around a school filter with their personal devices. But we still need to grow with the changes. As is the case over many years, educators are called to do the impossible! Today this applies to harnessing technology for learning and letting students use it freely for educational purposes while at the same time keeping them safe. I believe your children might surprise us with solutions – problem solving. Maybe interview them would open all our eyes more.
Aleta