The ability to access information anywhere at anytime and the ability to organize the information in new ways. Beyond today's 2D Internet is the potential of 3D virtual simulations. Already students in engineering are able to use CAD and virtual simulation software to learn how machines work before ever touching a real one.
Nichoe,
Yes, there are several of those sites which you can "Google" and they have taken the place of the clicker technology we have seen for a while - the only challenge is that EACH student must have a phone in order to text the responses. For some of our schools, this is still an issue as many students still do not hvae individual phones. You can still purchase clickers, however, so that every student can participate.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
Based on my face-to-face courses, students use their mobile devices and social media often. Though I cannot recall the name of the site, however, there is a site which allows you to create questions and have students text the responses. The responses can then be shown real-time via the internet. Also, some instructors use their own social media sites to communicate with students.
The internet and wireless access have completely changed the way that people learn. There is so much more information available to students now, and it is easily accessed. The downside to that, of course, is that students have to be taught how to filter the good information from the bad. I think that may be a losing battle, actually, as most people I know are unable to sort credible information from junk, but that is another discussion. Wireless access took the internet further and made it available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Students and instructors can access information at any time. If a question arises in class, it is very easy to search for an answer together and ensure that everyone understands the answer.
Ava,
Very true...instructors should be aware and in touch with what students are doing in the classroom, however, the bigger challenge is to create active, collaborative learning experiences for students rather than allowing long periods of "self directed" work going in the classrooms. Much of that should be done outside the class time and in class should be focused on working together and applying information to real contexts of use.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
On this topic of how to let the students guide themselves to a place where they use the technology as a tool to authentically learn and not use it as a crutch to cheat, is a critical step in classroom management. I believe as Instructors, it is a "hands on" learning process for us because we must find that area which addresses the students ability to use the technology to find answers and then for them to feel confident in their knowledge of that info so that they do not need to cheat. We all store info in different ways and that is the beauty of the technology: it allows the student to find information in a manner that "speaks" to them (i.e., the type of learner they are).
Does this require instructors to be more perceptive or have more knowledge of the available spaces for learning?
Vimlarani,
Very true...and the ease at which the instructor knows and uses the technology. It is important to keep trying and practising new technology in order to keep our courses current and applied.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
The two most important tools that will have impact on students are Web 2.0 tools and social media (Twitter, Wiki, Google doc, Facebook, etc.) used for academic interaction. Educational technology has a significant positive impact on achievement in all subject areas, across all levels of school, and in regular classrooms as well as those for special-needs students. Educational technology has positive effects on student attitudes. The degree of effectiveness is influenced by the student population, the instructional design, the teacher’s role, how students are grouped, and the levels of student access to technology. Technology makes instruction more student-centered, encourages cooperative learning, and stimulated increased teacher/student interaction. Positive changes in the learning environment evolve over time and do not occur quickly. Seven or more "multiple intelligences" that are of equal importance in human beings and develop at different times and in different ways in different individuals. Multi-media can go a long way to addressing these intelligences, much more than traditional teaching methods. In comparison to Web 1.0 tools, Web 2.0 tools allow Web 2.0 allow presentation, video, mobile and community tools. These tools are about revolutionary new ways of creating, collaborating, editing and sharing user-generated content online. It's also about ease of use. There's no need to download, and teachers and students can master many of these tools in minutes. Technology has never been easier or more accessible to all as it is today.
Dr. Stacee,
I agree that the technology provides constant connection and I also think that because of that, current students truly expect that kind of connectivity to content, instructor, and peers throught their learning experience.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
There are many ways in which technology applications can influence the characterization of today's learners as being nomadic. Two general classes are the ability to access information in multiple platforms and instantaneously (internet, mobile connections - phone, ipad, etc.) and the ability to engage in social communication to enhance learning (chat, blog, social media). By capitalizing on real-time and asynchronous opportunities facilitators can create dynamic learning environments that are relative to the learner's interests which then sets the foundation for extended self-directed and collaborative learning.
Jaclyn,
I would not "expect" a specific response to this question - multiple technologies and multiple applications in learning. I am interested in how teachers use technology to mediate and deliver education.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
I know this isn't the answer that you are looking for but I have been using Facebook Groups for Schools in teaching several of my college courses - https://www.facebook.com/about/groups/schools and I am using Mobile Devices to integrate students' own technologies - see http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/communication-activities-using-mobile-devices/ fro some of the mobile-driven activities I used in an undergraduate course on interpersonal skills.
melissa ,
I'm assuming you're referring to lab time here? Yes, there is the application piece which usually requires demonstrations - technology can support and/or mediate the demonstration of skills as well - can you think of examples of that using presentation or projection technology?
Dr. Ruth Reynard
I believe that hands on is important rather then using the internet for the entire course instruction, students she be able to learn hands on
I enjoy the thread. However, it's not the tools...you still have to read, write and think critically. From the comments above, the technologiesy and applications that gain favor offer accessibility, portability, ease of use/consumption. These enablers offer more opportunity for learning but it is the original technology - the human brain -that counts most. The comment on the wild west is a fair comparison. It seems technology has not settled sufficiently to let educators settle on standards. This technology (discussion threads) is only a step up from email. So we work with what's available and chase the next best thing to reach the student.
an application would be the smart phones and the ability to travel the internet with great ease. there is so much information on the internet now that students can learn about any topic of intrest at any time all in the palm of there hand
Yes, Mariska. Technology has progressed rapidly and continues to change. The implications for teaching and learning are vast. Rather than see social networking tools as diminishing relationships, could it be that they are being redefined...and could these new relationships benefit the learning process?
I believe that the two main technology applications that influence the characterization of students today are social networking and smart phones. The students have become more impatient than even my generation. If you are familiar with the term "microwave generation", remember that it was used to refer to those of us who are now in our mid-thirties. Technology has developed exponentially since we were deemed the most impatient, "gotta have it now" generation in history. That is no longer the truth. The majority of our students are accustomed to asking a question to a friend via text and getting an almost instaneous response. They are able to google anything and get automatic bibliographies from a phone or PC.
Social networking has caused a level of familiarity that can be very destructive. Real relationships are not the norm anymore and frienship has been reduced to the click of a mouse. Because of this it is more challenging to get students to respect the traditional classroom setting and to hold their attention. I have found that autonymous projects tend to keep the students focused longer than class discussions (unless they are debating).
Good questions, Cleve. I hope others on this thread respond...from my perspective, I see those challenges as always with us whatever the technology or lack of it. Motivating students to not cheat but to work authentically is part of our work as instructors. The appropriateness of the use of the technology emerges from well defined and relevant assignments. The design of instruction is what supports the overall success of the learning for the students.
The internet and mobile and networking phones are characteristic of many students today. I struggle with the idea of students using these devices in the classroom sessions due to the potential for cheating and the distractions that they cause the students in class during presentations. I would be willing to integrate these methods, but how do I help the students understand that there is a proper time and place for their use?
