Where are we now with educational technology?

Technology in education is an assumption in modern America, and it is not because all schools have upgraded to the newest and best equipment with the latest designs. The current generation of school-aged children grew up with current technology. Everyone under the age of 17 has known web browsers and cell phones as the norm for their entire lives. Whether it is necessary for education or not is irrelevant because it is already there.

Between 1983 and 2000 there has been a trend of declining interest in school for students. Fewer students believe schoolwork is meaningful, interesting and important. This was a transition period for a technological divide between students and their teachers, and it demonstrates that teaching students in the manner they understand as relevant makes a large difference in how they feel about school. (Apple, 2003)

A more current examination of this school-aged generation’s attitude toward technology demonstrate that their normal is fairly different than people even 10 years older. They are very comfortable using social media and having every aspect of their life in a public forum. Their main means of communication is digital and they are comfortable with ideas of globalization and remotely doing work. (Pew Research, 2007)

It becomes clear that in order to reach students, we must be increasingly aware of how they speak. Technology is not just gadgets, it is their language. They receive and send information differently than the way most adults did, so learning to reach those students in a way they see relevant can help those disaffected and provide an open learning environment.

By integrating technology into the classroom, making it second nature, educators can make more efficient use of the time they have as well. If students are already using web searches, texting and social media to enhance their daily lives with efficiency, using those tools can also enrich their education. Instead of using texts for research, they can do web searches. Markers and posterboard make way for social media-like presentation software. Questions about assignments no longer need to wait for class when students can simply text their teachers. And those teachers can more readily examine and reuse digital material through assistive collation, revising their lessons based on experience with what works, giving more classroom time to analysis and critical thought. (Gullen & Zimmerman, 2013)

“Using technology for its own sake” is an oft-made criticism of digital integration, but it also may be the best argument for its use. Cross-generational boundaries in its usage are an impediment to learning, especially when there are clear uses that make for a more efficient, informed classroom.

References

Apple Computer, Inc. (2003). Achievement for All Children: An Apple Perspective.

Gullen, K., & Zimmerman, H. (2013). Saving time with technology (benefits of infusing technology into instruction). Educational Leadership, (6).

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. (January 9, 2007). A Portrait of “Generation Next.” Retrieved January 31, 2014, from http://www.people-press.org/2007/01/09/a-portrait-of-generation-next/.