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THE FIRST DISCUSSION QUESTION:
In view of the information you have found so far as well as the accumulated knowledge you have on your topic already, what obstacles do you see preventing the implementation of emerging technologies in the educational environment? How could some of these obstacles be overcome? Looking into your personal crystal ball, what changes, if any, do you think will happen in education in the next five to eight years as a result of the technology? Remember, many factors drive change - while teachers and school boards may not see a need to change, this new generation may force their hands and demand change. Or not. What do you think?
--Janice
Open source has to overcome many obstacles if it is ever to replace proprietary software. According to Richard Stallman, there are three challenges that the open source community faces. The first obstacle to overcome is "secret hardware". In order for programs to be free, open computer architecture must exist. Since open source operating systems stil require hardware drivers to function, computer manufactures must make their system component designs available to create such drivers. The second threat is proprietary libraries. Software libraries must be free to keep operating systems open source. The largest threat to open source is software copyrights. Copyrights keep program features from being distributed without restrictions. If others are not allowed complete access to work on a program then how will it get better? This forces programmers to seek alternative software to use in creation of open source systems. To overcome these obstacles, the open source community needs make their software user friendly. People are so used to the status quo that they fear trying something new. In five years, open source software will capture a significant share of the software market. More schools will revolt against the Microsoft juggernaut and switch to open source software.
--Luis
One obstacle that I can see to prevent from Podcasting to enter into the education environment would be the lack of knowledge from the administration and/or teachers. This is where the MTT on campus plays an important role. As I started to do research on Podcasting, I noticed that it can be time consuming at first but it will eventually get easier as you keep creating them. It would take a lot of time and patience from both administrators and teachers but with good motivation and training, you can not help but see how crucial it would be for those students that are coming in late to your class due to students being migrants, schedule changes, etc… I don’t think that it would make a huge impact on the school’s budgets. There are several free computer software that the teachers can download and use in their classroom to create their own podcasts.
I can see through my crystal ball that teachers are going to like using podcasting once they are introduced to it as it will save them time and effort. They will be able to use and reuse their podcasts and make changes as the years progress. What a great tool that has been invented for us educators. The quicker the word is spread, the quicker the students will benefit from this new innovative tool.
--Mildred Jeffries
A major obstacle I see that will prevent the implementation of emerging technologies in the educational environment is money and the budget amount allotted for the year. Also school districts need to get ready for the incoming generation that has been emerged in technology. These children will expect technological gadgets and systems ready to challenge there intellect. I foresee that in eight years smartboards and Elmo’s will be common use in the classroom, the use of streaming media will increase, each classroom will have enough computers for the students to use and more technological gadgets will be used to access students understanding of the lessons. Education would need to promote the use of streaming media into thier curriculm, students tend to remember what they saw for a longer amount of time then on what they read.
--Janie Gutierrez
In some cases, money will be the issue. Keeping up to date on current technology is expensive. In a recent class this summer, one of my classmates commented that schools may not be able to be on the cutting edge but should be able to provide practice in what is becoming standard as far as technology gadgets go. I think I agree with that, especially for elementary and middle schools. As a librarian, I know that districts may block some sites that we are studying. For example, all chat rooms, many blogs, and certain sites considered “gaming” are filtered out to “protect” students from viewing inappropriate material.
My crystal ball seems to show that a lot of changes will happen as soon as those who have grown up in this technology explosion era become of the educators of tomorrow. We may have to hang on a few more years to see some real changes take place. If we don’t provide future teachers with tools they are comfortable with, they will have a hard time teaching and holding the attention of future generations.
--Laura
Laura, I agree that having the money and technology does not a successful curriculum make. The technology needs to be understood and accepted by administrator, students, and expecially teachers. Otherwise, any changes to the current system will be feared and resented.
--Luis
All organizations are driven by values and beliefs. Within the school organization, these values and beliefs drive all decisions including administrative practices, budget allocations, and curriculum. One obstacle that may impede the use of emergent technologies is that the school organization may not value or believe that emergent technologies are necessary for learning. However, the real issue may be that teachers, as the primary instructor and user, may not believe or feel comfortable in weaving emerging technologies into the fabric of classroom learning. I believe that this trend has begun to change and will continue to change slowly as teachers become more proficient users of technologies themselves. The use of cell phones, online checking and payment options, online shopping, and other daily uses of technology are contributing to the comfort level. As teachers become greater consumers of technologies and become more comfortable with technology, I believe that they will demand the use of technology to teach. Administrators will have to respond. I think that the next five to eight years are very promising and we will see a huge expansion in classroom technologies.
--Sylvia
One major obstacle that will prevent the implementation of emerging technologies in the educational environment is the cost or school’s budget. Also, administration may not be totally sold on the idea of emerging technologies and may choose to spend the money elsewhere. One way to overcome this is through professional development on the topics. Perhaps letting others know the potential benefits for the students will change administrators’ outlooks on emerging technologies. The district or campus technology could show examples of how podcasts, secondlife, wikis, etc. can be used to supplement our traditional curriculum.
This generation is a high tech. generation where cell phone texts, computer communication through my space, and much more encompass the daily lives of many. Thus, I foresee a definite push for change whether the education system is ready or not.
--Ruby Rodriguez
Janice said: "Remember, many factors drive change - while teachers and school boards may not see a need to change, this new generation may force their hands and demand change." This is the exact same thing that Marc Prensky, author of "Don't Bother Me Mom–I'm Learning," stated in his presentation to community college professors from all over Texas. When I worked in advertising, we told our clients that they needed to listen to their customers to know how to advertise them. Knowing your target audience aids in the selection of images, fonts, text copy, colors and the appropriate medium to reach them. If you don't speak their language and reach their needs, your product/service doesn't move. It's the same with education. While the message hasn't changed all that much over the past decades, the delivery hasn't either. Many have already stated that budget and motivation (could it be fear?) keep schools from updating their curriculum with technology. The research I did on Millennials kept mentioning the digital divide that exist between this generation and their instructors. What many babyboomer led schools need are teachers who are motivated and willing to embrace technology, not to help them present, but to help students learn. Budget is also a huge factor in implementing proper technology in school, otherwise we haven't passionate teachers without the means to carry out their ideas or instruction to a generation absorbed in media. While grants do exist, I still would like to see businesses step up and invest in the institutions that are training their future employees. Of course, students will probably have to start wearing school uniforms that look the same as sponsor-driven Nascar drivers.
Oops, I said all that and didn't even relate to games in education. The biggest challenge is the mindset and the thought association with the term "gaming." However, with 80% of all Millennials being gamers, this is an area ripe for education beyond the games used to teach elementary aged children. I'm out of space, but look under the relevance portion of my wiki when I get it posted.
--Jason Ford
I already see educational environments aligning themselves for the future. They are beefing up the technology infrastructure as well as other technological capabilities. One major obstacle I see will be at the planning stage of implementation for most districts. Given the budget constraints of most educational environments implementation of any emerging technology must be well planned. It is my opinion that most educational environments lack the expertise or experts to properly plan implementation phases. In my experience with several implementations of databases and other applications a well planned approach is highly important. Most districts implement technological advances without a plan which causes the district to not get the full advantages of the product. With the emergence of the Instructional Technology field I think there will be more professionals in this area to assist districts with implementation of emerging technologies. I also think that in the next five years there will be a trend toward strategic planning before implementing emerging technologies. We all know that budgets are tight for all educational environments, because of this the educational sector will be forced to plan carefully which will help with the financing of emerging technologies. The success of emerging technolgies will be a direct result of planning. Within the planning must be well planned marketing of the technology and training of staff. Believe it or not educational environments must sell all staff on the benefits of a technology. This will remedy the fear that some may have with using a new emerging technology.
--Daniel Runnels
The obstacles I see preventing the implementation of mobile technologies in the educational environment is the lack of knowledge from administrators and teachers. In most campuses school administration is not aware of the new technology available, neither are the teachers. Most teachers as the years go by they develop a comfort zone in their way of giving their lessons. They do not like to change the material and resources they use every year. It is very hard for them to try something new, even if it is for their and the students benefit. In some cases some teachers might know of new technology and would like to use it in their classroom, but it might not be available in the campus. Usually the new technology is costly and administration would rather set aside the money for other use. This is where the MTT would play a very important role in the campus. The MTT would be in charge of finding technology affordable or that would meet the budget of the campus. The MTT would make administration aware on how it would benefit school-wide, and provide the trainings for the teachers. This way the teachers can smoothly transition into using new technology in their everyday lessons. Such as using elmos with audiovisual projectors, laptops with the students, and the interactive whiteboard. Present generations are not the same as previous generations and the future ones will definitely will not be the same as today’s. Technology is constantly changing and is everywhere. In Korea they are already planning to move into digital textbooks in the next five years. Even if we do not like to use the new technology our children and grandchildren will grow up using it, and so are our students. The best thing to do is to realize that change is good and that we need to keep up with the new innovative technology. I believe the MTT in the campus will be a great help to overcome these obstacles.
--Delia Villarreal
Using wikis as an example, the biggest hurdle to be overcome is a philosophical one. In any academic environment, the teachers are used to being regarded as the experts. Thus, there is a (perceived) hierarchical relationship between the knowledge of the teachers and the knowledge of the students. However, wikis support no hierarchy. Every user who edits a wiki is the equal of every other user. The correctness and value of their comments is all assumed to be exactly the same, whether they come from a PhD or are a high school dropout. Similarly, teachers are used to exerting a lot of effort to maintain control of a classroom, and wikis typically lack any sort of tools that could be used to manage (micro-manage?) the contributors. I think this is true from the student perspective, as well. Wikis would be problematic for participants who feel the need to be strictly guided and controlled.
The question of "expert knowledge" is an issue in other emerging technologies, as well. Teachers who are well-versed in their subject matter may simply be lacking in technical skills, and thus intimidated by new technologies.
I have no "crystal ball" answer to these difficulties, because to a large degree they are simply a question of maturity. There is no technological solution to the problem of "letting go." So far as wikis are concerned, I do think schools will gradually adopt wikis as a format for group projects, and that eventually it will be perceived as one of the "standard" options.
--Marla Kimmel
Two of the most prevalent obstacles in implementing gaming technologies in education have to be budget and resistance to change. Gaming equipment can range from inexpensive to very expensive. Inexpensive if there are computers already in place, and all that is needed is a desktop. Where it gets expensive is getting special equipment to play a particular educational game. However, the problem with getting financing for these tools is the lack of understanding and resistance to change from administration.
I agree that eventually their hands will be forced, but then again I am at a school that has barely enough computers as it is. We are very behind, and it has even gotten better in the last two years. With gaming there is a certain stigma that is attached. Many games are viewed as a distraction, and teachers ask “why would you use this in the classroom?” when they should be asking is “HOW?”.
To overcome these obstacles it must be a group effort from the teachers, parents, and students. Everyone shouts enough; eventually someone listens and makes a change. To do this people need to see the benefits instead of just hearing about it. Success stories need to be brought to the forefront as examples for all the schools to follow. I think in the next 5-8 years we will see a great technological growth in most schools. I hope to see legislation to support this change and mandate it everywhere.
--Kelly Ellis
I already see educational environments aligning themselves for the future. They are beefing up the technology infrastructure as well as other technological capabilities. One major obstacle I see will be at the planning stage of implementation for most districts. Given the budget constraints of most educational environments implementation of any emerging technology must be well planned. It is my opinion that most educational environments lack the expertise or experts to properly plan implementation phases. In my experience with several implementations of databases and other applications a well planned approach is highly important. Most districts implement technological advances without a plan which causes the district to not get the full advantages of the product. With the emergence of the Instructional Technology field I think there will be more professionals in this area to assist districts with implementation of emerging technologies. I also think that in the next five years there will be a trend toward strategic planning before implementing emerging technologies. We all know that budgets are tight for all educational environments, because of this the educational sector will be forced to plan carefully which will help with the financing of emerging technologies. The success of emerging technologies will be a direct result of planning. Within the planning must be well planned marketing of the technology and training of staff. Believe it or not educational environments must sell all staff on the benefits of a technology. This will remedy the fear that some may have with using a new emerging technology.
--Daniel Runnels
Comments (20)
Anonymous said
at 9:03 pm on Jul 15, 2007
Response to Mildred - Not sure if we comment here or under the person’s name in another color to make it show up. I think your podcasting idea would work with secondary kids, but not so easily with elementary kids. I work in an elementary library. I use PhotoStory in the same way you described podcasting. I have movies made about “How to Check Out Books”, “How to Find AR Books With A Lot of Points”, etc. I can reuse these and have them saved in a folder on my desktop for kids to get to whenever they need to – like for new students.
Anonymous said
at 9:06 pm on Jul 15, 2007
Response to Janie
I agree that the future kids will “expect technological gadgets and systems ready to challenge there intellect.” Remember playing school when you were little. I remember needing and getting a little blackboard to teach my sister with. Then with my own kids, having to buy them a whiteboard to practice with like their teachers. I wonder in the future if they will have to buy their kids things like multimedia projectors – to hook up to laptops they already have.
Anonymous said
at 9:09 pm on Jul 15, 2007
Response to Sylvia
“One obstacle that may impede the use of emergent technologies is that the school organization may not value or believe that emergent technologies are necessary for learning.” This is so true, Sylvia. I can see where administrators and district technology directors really can make an influential difference on campuses. Having someone with a vision can make a big difference.
Anonymous said
at 9:13 pm on Jul 15, 2007
Response to Ruby
“Perhaps letting others know the potential benefits for the students will change administrators’ outlooks on emerging technologies.” I agree with you, Ruby. Without a vision, it is hard to make plans to use things like technology gadgets. You may even receive a piece of equipment and figure out the basics, but never even realize it has the capability to do something far greater. (That’s me with my cell phone. I only use the call feature. The MP3 part, texting, etc. are something I don’t even attempt. I have no vision for it. I’ve had no training for it.)
Anonymous said
at 12:04 am on Jul 16, 2007
Response to Mildred - You mentioned a lack of knowledge being a key factor. This is so true. It's a such a shame that we let a lack of knowledge of something keep us from stepping out and trying something new. I wonder if their isn't a bit a fear involved. The dean and I are stepping out and trying to encourage our awesome history teachers to do podcasting. They are great in the classroom and would be great in a podcast. We didn't wait till they came to us, we ordered the ipod and microphone and said, "we want to try an experiment..." We are even letting them borrow the ipod to get used to it. Our history of rock-n-roll teacher is going to thoroughly enjoy that. He hauls around a ton of CDs with him. Now they will fit in his pocket.
Anonymous said
at 12:09 am on Jul 16, 2007
Response to Sylvia - You mentioned schools and teachers not valuing technology. You are right. There is a mindset that seems to say, I didn't have it growing up when I was a student and students don't need it now. Yet, if you asked them if they were bored out of their mind when they were in school, they would have probably confessed, yes. Many instructors and, unfortunately, university instructors teaching future students, don't see a need for it. "Technology ruins their minds," I hear an educational professor say. So, in his courses, he just passes on his mindset to future instructors who will use him as a mental model. The good news is that there is a generation coming into teaching who have growin up with technology and hopefully will bring it into the schools. They just have to get past those darn old-school instructors in charge of their degree.
Anonymous said
at 12:13 am on Jul 16, 2007
Response to Janie - You mentioned that children will expect it. You are absolutely right. I have a video from Panasonic that demonstrates wonderfully how students have to "power down" when they come into the classroom. Are we preparing them for the high-tech fast-paced industry they will be working in? They already live this life outside of the classroom, why not find a way to integrate it. I think at some point virtual schools are going to become more and more popular for some (not all) students who want to learn their way.
Anonymous said
at 9:52 am on Jul 17, 2007
Response to Janie: You mention that the school system should promote streaming media into the curriculum. Well, at my district(Mission CISD), UnitedStreaming.com has been promoted and encouraged for the past 2 years. I was in charge of checking how many teachers at our campus actually used it. Not many. As for the district as a whole, we still need some work. What I noticed is that when I reported to the administration about our sorry results, no one seems to care. I think the district's technologists have the gist of things, but they don't have administration to back them up.
Anonymous said
at 9:59 am on Jul 17, 2007
Response to Laura: I'm glad you mentioned the filtering issue. I always work on my lesson plans on Friday and Sunday for the week at home. I come up with these awesome lessons and quite a few of them integrate the web. Many times I have had to use my back up plan because the websites are not viewable at my campus. I just don't understand how a sight on main idea is going to hurt anyone. We have a school technician, and I asked him to bypass this message screen so that I could get on with my lesson, but he said that it was too much trouble, and he had to send a report, etc. Well, I told him to get to work because I was going to begin the lesson the next day--and I did.
Anonymous said
at 10:05 am on Jul 17, 2007
Response to Sylvia: You mention that teachers may not feel comfortable in weaving in emerging technologies into their classrooms, and that changes may occur slowly. My concern is how slowly and what can we do to speed up the process. I'm just afraid that if we sit back and wait for people to adjust that by that time the technology would have already advanced to something even more complex (in their eyes). Many times people respond to me by saying things like "I just got used to the computer and now I have to learn this." Perhaps the problem is that everytime something emerges, something isn't too far behind it. Those that don't catch on, just end up giving up.
Anonymous said
at 2:47 pm on Jul 17, 2007
Laura wrote: "...schools may not be able to be on the cutting edge but should be able to provide practice in what is becoming standard as far as technology gadgets go." Exactly. And I think schools show a remarkable lack of imagination when it comes to purchasing technology for the classroom. For instance, how many schools even consider open source alternatives over expensive commercial software licenses? Which brings me to one obstacle that is often overlooked: the relationship between school districts and their vendors. This is at the heart of every purchasing decision they make, and in some ways renders any discussion of "the best options" completely irrelevant. If a vendor sells $1000 Dell computers running Windows, the district won't even consider anything else, even if it could be had for one-tenth the price.
Anonymous said
at 3:17 pm on Jul 17, 2007
Delia wrote: "The obstacles I see preventing the implementation of mobile technologies in the educational environment is the lack of knowledge from administrators and teachers." Agreed. But where is the incentive to learn these new technologies? Think of it like learning a new language; without daily practice, the information will never sink in. But learning new technologies--time consuming as it can be--always comes under the heading of "other duties as assigned." There is no financial or other incentive offered, nor is the provided training adequate to the task. Furthermore, due to the expense of the technologies, access is often restricted. So, while people may expect or demand it, little or no thought is put into its implementation, in my opinion. At the very least, school districts need to prepare teachers to use these technologies both at school and at home by providing them with free, unrestricted access and compensated training. This would go a long way towards eliminating their resistance, and improving their learning.
Anonymous said
at 3:36 pm on Jul 17, 2007
Jason wrote: "The biggest challenge is the mindset and the thought association with the term 'gaming.'" And that isn't just in the mindset of the teachers and administrators, but it's in the parents, as well. In discussions of technology in the classroom, parents are often portrayed as a purely benevolent force for positive change, while the teachers are portrayed as the entrenched academics who resist all things new. I think we need to recognize this for the simplistic caricature it is. None of the players here should be thought of as a unified, homogeneous group. But the observation about the word "gaming" is right on target. With many of these technologies, the perception that needs to be overcome is the one held by the people with the least knowledge or experience using it.
Anonymous said
at 7:31 pm on Jul 17, 2007
I thought this was funny. On my way out of the campus this evening, I noticed a teacher speaking to a class on the different learning styles of children to future educators. What caught my eye wasn't the topic, but the fact that she was using an Overhead transparency projector (you know, the old school kind). And what was funny was that there was a perfectly good computer and video projector ready to use. Here she is setting a mental model of how to teach future classes for these guys. It was almost like saying, "why take the time to convert these to powerpoint when I have a perfectly good transparency." I can hear the twisted sister song playing already.
Anonymous said
at 7:40 pm on Jul 17, 2007
Ruby wrote: "Perhaps letting others know the potential benefits for the students will change administrators’ outlooks on emerging technologies. The district or campus technology could show examples of how podcasts, secondlife, wikis, etc. can be used to supplement our traditional curriculum."
I agree with this. Show the technology and how it can be used. Let the educators, administration, AND parents see the benefits of this technology. I know in my school the most important voices to our district are the parents. The sad thing is many of them are not involved in their child's education. Ironic.
Anonymous said
at 9:51 am on Jul 18, 2007
I agree with Delia's comment in pointing out the importance of training teachers to "smoothly transition into using new technology in their everyday lessons". Providing the equipment is not enough. But training out context is also not enough. Teachers need to have someone model how the technology (any teachnology) can help them teach the same content in a new way. We need to ask, what are you trying to teach?" An model for them how that can be dome a differnt way. And then, we need to support them as they "try" it out --lots of calssroom support.
Anonymous said
at 5:53 pm on Jul 22, 2007
Comment to Ruby: It is great that ALL school districts in Texas have access to United Streaming through the regional service centers. My concern is that if districts/teachers do not use the tools, then the regional service centers will no longer agree to paying for the services. I think that the teachers do not realize how significant that tool is and how to use United Streaming. One (or two or more) teachers need to take the responsibility of showing others how to use the valuable tools that United Streaming provides. A tough call - but if many stand up and take the challenge - then possibly things can change. Think I am dreaming?
Anonymous said
at 5:58 pm on Jul 22, 2007
Comment to Ruby: Yep - I definitely think that people are overwhelmed by the advance in technology. It is almost as though they just waited too long to learn - then, again, they all probably know how to use cell phones (which in new, too). Those of us in education need to just keep plugging away trying to teach teachers technology - change is slow - but probably inevitable.
Anonymous said
at 6:01 pm on Jul 22, 2007
Marla wrote: "At the very least, school districts need to prepare teachers to use these technologies both at school and at home by providing them with free, unrestricted access and compensated training. This would go a long way towards eliminating their resistance, and improving their learning."
Now this would really encourage teachers and show them that the administration is willing to take support up a notch.
Anonymous said
at 6:10 pm on Jul 22, 2007
Comment to Jason: And all too often, that is the paradigm filling the halls of higher ed. Recent research is showing that the young teachers, just out of college, are not using technology any more than "old" teachers. Hmmm. Now why would that be true?
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