RSA #2 (Teachers & Technology)

              Link to Article: Teachers & Technology

              With new media technologies changing the face of our world, the Internet, interactive television viewing, smart phones, and video games are developing at a pace never seen before.  As a result, many educational reformers suggest mastery of these technological tools in academic settings to help prepare students for post-secondary education, workforce employment, and global citizenship. According to Wallace (2012), “With the billions of dollars dedicated to instructional technologies in U.S. schools over the past thirty years, there has been a corresponding expectation that teachers should be using it in the classroom to prepare learners for the world they will be living and working in.” However, in reality, a lot of teachers are not integrating technology into their classrooms because of numerous barriers.

              There are many factors that deter technology use in the classroom: first-order barriers – equipment, resources, and support; second-order barriers – skills, and attitudes; and third-order barriers – school structure and culture. These barriers are unavoidable, unpredictable, and ever-adapting as new innovations are introduced to the classroom setting. First-order barriers are surface-level, behavioral, and dependent on concrete resources such as time, money, and materials. On the other hand, second-order barriers require greater personal investment because they challenge a teacher’s core beliefs and identity in the classroom. Finally, third-order barriers include how a teacher negotiates physical resources and pedagogical beliefs within the school environment. “When barriers layer one upon the other, teachers are faced with persevering through the stumbling blocks or yielding to the status quo” (Wallace, 2012). 

              I really like how this article separated the different barriers of implementing technology in the classroom into three different categories. It goes to show that some barriers cannot be helped by teachers, while others can totally change how a teacher teaches. Out of all three of the categories I think my school and my own teaching style would fall into the second-order barriers. Our school has the resources, all our students are 1:1 now, and the money to provide Internet and technological tools to our students. Our district strongly believes in innovation and using the technology we have available to help our students learn better. However, from all my years in schooling I was never taught how to use technology in a classroom because we didn’t have it available. Therefore, to shift how I learned and how I teach using a whole new approach, would take a lot of planning, time, and passion.

Resource: 

Wallace, K. (2012). Teachers & Technology: Identifying Uses, Barriers, and Strategies to Support Classroom Integration. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/KmqtwB

RSA 1 (Effectiveness of Online Educational Technological Tools)

Link to Article: Online Tools Article

              This article details and examines the usefulness of online educational technological tools for teaching and learning in higher education and the challenges that lie ahead. An online education is an education that is received using a variety of technologies and is considered a “distance education” with an internet-based delivery. Online education is rapidly expanding by leaps and bounds across all aspects of education – from corporate training to higher education to PK-12 educational settings. As a result of online learning, teacher effectiveness in meeting students’ learning needs has improved, and students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills have been enhanced as well. According to Mbuva (2015), “by 2007 the increase in online education had grown from the 2.35 million online students to 3.9 million students who were taking online classes” (p. 115).

              Some of the technologies that have been proven effective in driving teaching and learning to higher heights are Blackboard, Moodle, Desire 2 Learn, Angel, WebCT, Skype, and Webex. These Learning Management Systems are part of the information communication technologies (ICT), which have constituted e-learning and enhanced teaching and learning in higher education. While the advantages of convenience, time efficiency, accessibility, dynamic interactions, and creativity help promote online learning, there are several challenges that still lie ahead. For example, equity and accessibility to technology, hidden costs, technical problems, a need for self-discipline in students, and lack of adequate training for faculty to name a few. In the end, Learning Management Systems, when used as online educational technological skills, are enhancing education and making teaching and learning more meaningful and easily communicated than ever before.

              While I certainly agree that e-learning is quickly become a trend in our world today and that there are several advantages to receiving an online education, I think it also limits face-to-face communication, collaboration, and relationship building skills. I think a major part of school is students forming relationships with their peers and teachers. When teachers have established relationships with their students, the students feel more comfortable making mistakes and they just create a more welcoming environment. I also believe it limits students’ skills of communicating and collaborating face-to-face with one another. They’re so used to texting or emailing someone that some have forgotten how to have an actual conversation!

Resource:

Mbuva, J. M. (2015). Examining the effectiveness of online educational technological tools for teaching and learning and the challenges ahead. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 15(2), 113-127. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/rG4V5U