THE CHANGING GLOBAL ECONOMY
In understanding the importance of the integration of technology throughout K-12 education, it is essential to recognize that the U.S. economy is being rapidly transformed from one based on industrial production to a global one in which information production and exchange are the single most significant economic forces. It is critical that the nation's schools prepare young people for the technological and global world in which they will function. Schools can now, with network-based learning activities, enable students to participate in global communities of learners throughout their K-12 education.
It is also important to recognize the ways in which changing views about learning relate to what is now possible with technology. Increasingly, educators hold constructivist views of learning. They emphasize the importance of students acquiring skills through their active engagement in challenging learning experiences. This is coupled with an emphasis on authentic learning in which students solve complex, real world problems using their knowledge and analytical skills. As discussed below, there are many examples of how technology can be used in accordance with constructivist principles to foster authentic learning experiences.
ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY
Advances in technology, including developments in networking technologies , have made possible new types of educational applications which can significantly expand classroom learning environments and opportunities. Not only are new tools available to schools at affordable prices, but more technology applications are now possible, making it increasingly easy to integrate technology into every aspect of instruction. Rather than serving as "add-ons" to instruction, technology tools can now be integrated seamlessly within instruction in all subject areas and grade levels.
REDEFINITION OF TEACHERS' ROLES
New technologies also conform to the emerging new roles for teachers amid the nation's in the mid-1980's. Increasing emphasis is being placed on the importance of teacher autonomy and exchange. Within an environment enhanced by technology resources, teachers are able to engage in rewarding innovations in their own teaching and to share these uses of technology with other colleagues both at the school site and elsewhere.
NEW COLLABORATIVE ROLES FOR STUDENTS
Current educational technologies also fit well within the new collaborative learning approaches that are recognized to be effective with learners at all grade levels and of wide-ranging abilities. These approaches, which are consistent with the view of learning that was put forward by Lev Vygotsky (discussed in Lecture #2) are part of the new responsibilities of students as active learners.
NEW APPROACHES TO ASSESSMENT
Changes that have occurred in assessment approaches fit closely with the power of educational technology to engage students in real problem-solving and in creating products that exhibit their skills. The movement toward authentic assessment (discussed in Lecture #10) has placed an emphasis on performance tasks, portfolios and exhibitions. Each of these can be undertaken with or enhanced through the use of technology.
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Focus Area #1: What are some examples of educational technology in the classroom? Based on your own experience and on the video segments you have seen in this class:
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A MODEL FOR THE EFFECTIVE USE OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
The nation's school reform effort has as its fundamental objectives increasing learning, especially of advanced and higher-level skills, and enhancing motivation and self-concept of all students, regardless of their backgrounds. There are a number of instructional approaches that have, during the past decade, emerged as especially supportive of improvement within elementary and secondary schools.
The ten elements of what are now accepted as particularly successful instructional approaches can be substantially facilitated through educational technologies. Each is important for transforming teaching and learning and achieving meaningful school reform. These elements provide a framework for helping teachers identify how available technologies should be used within the classroom to create high quality learning experiences. The ten elements are identified below and contrasted with conventional modes of instruction.
While these student-centered ways of learning are important for all students, they are particularly valuable for disadvantaged students at risk of school failure (see Lecture #5). For those who have traditionally failed within the country's school system, technology offers a dramatically different kind of classroom and improved learning outcomes.
This makes it particularly important that schools serving low-income and minority communities have equal access to technology, an issue of major concern to educators across the nation. Notably, a distinct "added value" that current information technologies and the Internet provide is the opportunity for students from widely differing backgrounds to interact with both students and resources from around the globe that relate to their own cultural backgrounds.
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Focus Area #2: Integrating educational technology into the classroom
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We will examine briefly a few of the fundamental types of educational technologies that are used most frequently in classroom instruction. Many applications are illustrated in the course video, described further in Chapter 14 of the text, or discussed in the hot links within this lecture. In looking at these different types, we will cluster them in relation to their two basic purposes -- instructional and administrative -- and deal with a limited number of frequently used applications.
A comprehensive discussion of different types of educational technologies is contained in Using Technology To Support Educational Reform by Barbara Means et al. (U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.: 1993), a report which is online in its entirety. In addition, discussions of visions for the use of technology, including planning and implementation strategies. are available through the documents available on the World Wide Web.
Instructional Uses of Technology
Multimedia Learning and Teaching: The use of multimedia technologies allows for the use of several different types of media to improve instruction, to address the multiple different ways in which students learn (see Lecture #4), and to create deeper levels of student understanding through simultaneous use of sound, visuals, music and text. The three primary sources of multimedia teaching materials are laser videodiscs, CD-ROMS, and the World Wide Web.
Laser videodiscs -- This optical disk technology allows instant access to any frame on the videodisc and includes audio, text, graphics and full-motion video. This enables teachers to go to a frame at any time they choose and can enhance the quality of lessons and facilitate instruction at the "teachable moment" -- responding to children's questions as they occur. Another benefit of laser videodiscs is that they have the capacity for multiple audio tracks. Many programs are available in Spanish and English, particularly for the elementary level. This can provide an ideal solution for teachers in classrooms where many children speak Spanish and need to use their primary language in order to access and build upon their prior knowledge.
CD-ROMs -- Compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM) is an optical disk technology that allows storage of large amounts of digital data, again including audio, text, graphics and full-motion video. CD-ROM encyclopedias are now available that provide, at relatively low cost, the opportunity for any classroom to have its own reference source. In addition, CD-ROM learning programs are available. Among these are programs that take popular children's stories and read and animate them, with interactive activities for children and, in some cases, the option for the text and audio to be in English and one or more other languages.
Computer-Based Learning and Teaching: A number of distinct applications of computer technologies in instruction can be found. They all feature the use of computers to present material to students and to assist them in mastering it. However, they differ in their objectives, with some focused on acquiring knowledge and some on fostering higher-order thinking skills.
Computer-Assisted Instruction -- The primary use of computers in instruction for many years was computer-assisted instruction (CAI). In general, the objective of CAI was for students to learn specific material in small steps. One use of CAI has been drill and practice, in which students were helped to master and remember basic material after having received initial instruction. A task is given to the student by the computer program, the student responds, and the program provides feedback and reinforcement. Many believe this type of electronic drill does not take advantage of the unique capabilities of computers to improve education.
Intelligent Tutoring Systems -- A newer use of computers in instruction is an intelligent tutoring system (ITS). This approach differs from the early uses of CAI in that the problems used are typically complex ones and the computer tracks the students' reasoning through a series of steps, thereby identifying errors and misconceptions. Some ITS systems have been designed for such purposes as teaching algebra and other advanced mathematical reasoning, with preliminary data suggesting that they can be effective in identifying reasoning errors and helping students to understand how these problems are solved. Most educators believe that ITS technology offers significant promise for helping students, particularly in areas where it may be difficult to develop expert reasoning and where the capacity to diagnose an individual student's misunderstandings can be the key to his or her success.
Networking, The Internet and The World Wide Web: Computer networks, the Internet and the World Wide Web are three connectivity advances that have transformed the capacity of K-12 schools to access information and to communicate locally and globally. We will here discuss the Internet and the World Wide Web (computer networks are discussed in Chapter 14 of the text).
The Internet -- The Internet, often referred to as the nation's Information Superhighway, is a vast, worldwide system of interconnected information and communication networks. It contains millions of text-based documents, resources, databases and projects, thousands of which are relevant to K-12 education. There are currently more than 40 million people worldwide connected to the Internet. It is projected that there will be 100 million people online by 1998 and that most U.S. schools will be connected by the turn of the century.
The Internet allows all of those who are connected to it to communicate with any other Internet user through electronic mail (e-mail), using a computer and a modem and to instantly access the multitude of resources on it using a variety of procedures. Many Internet-based collaborative activities and group projects enable elementary and secondary students to share information and work with students from around the nation and the world in solving problems related to areas such as science, the environment and international relations.
The World Wide Web -- Referred to as "the Web", this component of the Internet is often described as a spiderweb-like interconnection of millions of information resources located on computers worldwide. It is a revolutionary new structure on the Internet in which an individual can go directly from any site to any site by clicking on "links." Material incorporated on and accessible at Web sites includes text, graphics, video and sound.
Individuals can experience and download the material at any of the vast number of Web sites, and much of this material is excellent for classroom use or for actual classroom learning activities. For example, many of the world's finest museums have online exhibits that teachers can go to directly from their classrooms simply by clicking on a link to that museum or entering its Web address (Universal Resource Locator or URL) on a Web Browser (such as Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer).
Examples of excellent Web sites for teachers are discussed later in this lecture and are found on the Educational Psychology Home Page, the Online Library of Resources for the course. In understanding the scope of educational advances possible through use of the Web, it is important to note the new learning experiences for students in the many schools, including those in California, that now have their own Web sites. It is also important to understand the engaging quality of many of the collaborative learning experiences across schools that can be found on the Web.
Administrative Uses of Educational Technology
Many administrative functions which teachers carry out in education can be made more efficient through the use of technology. These include, for example, use of software packages to create lesson plans and instructional materials, computerized gradebooks, test-scoring software, and programs for tracking student attendance.
Gender Differences in Attitudes Toward Computers
Many studies have shown that girls have less favorable attitudes toward computers than boys. This pattern has been found in elementary, middle and high schools, and in a number of different countries. Girls tend to report that they have a lower preference for using computers, consider them to be more difficult to use, and consider them to be less useful and less fun than do boys.
It is not clear why this is the case, but some research suggests that both girls and boys have seen computers as "male-oriented" and their use as being more appropriate for males than for females. It is well recognized that both teachers and parents need to encourage both girls and boys to use computers and to see them as appropriate for females as well as males.
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Focus Area #2: Implementing Technology Solutions
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TEACHER SUCCESS IN USING EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
Research has shown that a number of organizational and administrative factors enhance the success of teachers in using educational technology. It is necessary to recognize the importance of these so that dedicated efforts to introduce technology will be successful. The four factors are as follows.
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Focus Area #3: Steps To Effectively Using Technology in the Classroom
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EXAMPLES OF VALUABLE WORLD WIDE WEB SITES
There are hundreds of outstanding sites for educators available on the World Wide Web, and many of these are included on the Educational Psychology Home Page , the Library of Online Resources for this course. A number of sites that deserve special mention are identified below. Some are general sites and some are specialized ones that are particularly useful in addressing specific curriculum areas. All of those listed have an excellent array of no-cost resources for teachers, and many have online activities for students as well.
General Sites Useful To Teachers
AskERIC -- The Web site of the Educational Resource Information Center is maintained by the U.S. Department of Education. It has an extensive database of online abstracts on key educational topics, bibliographic listings of articles in education journals over the past several years, lesson plans developed by expert teachers, and links to specialized ERIC Clearinghouses on significant educational issues.
U.S. Department of Education -- This Web site has dozens of reports useful to teachers about the best of educational practices as well as guides for parents to assist them help their children as learners. A number of these guides are in Spanish and well as English. They can be downloaded, printed and distributed to parents.
Teachers Helping Teachers -- Through this Web site, teachers around the world share ideas and give advice to one another. It includes helpful resources on such topics as classroom management, subject area instruction, special education and teaching methodologies.
Pathways to School Improvement -- This project has many suggestions for teachers related to improvement of curriculum, instruction and assessment. It has numerous papers that present practical suggestions about instruction and that are based on a constructivist view of active learning and challenging instructional tasks.
Classroom Connect -- This is the Web site of one of the best organizations in the country focused solely on using the Internet in K-12 education. Its monthly newsletter, which helps educators to explore and obtain resources on the Internet and the World Wide Web, also identifies current K-12 projects in which classrooms can participate.
Subject Area Sites Useful to Teachers
Some of the best subject area sites on the Web are identified on the Educational Psychology Home Page. You can go directly to lists of excellent Web sites in the following subjects by going to the "What's New" on the date which featured the particular subject area:
March 22, 1996 - Reading and Writing
February 6, 1996 - Social Studies
October 23, 1996 - Mathematics
October 23, 1996 - Science
November 21, 1996 - Arts
Sites Addressing Needs of Students with Special Needs
The following "What's New" sections on the Educational Psychology Home Page identify many World Wide Web sites focused on students with special needs:
June 24, 1996 - Individuals with Disabilities
July 16, 1996 - Gifted and Talented Students
Sites Addressing Diversity
Two "What's New" sections on the Educational Psychology Home Page identify numerous sites containing materials related to diversity:
April 17, 1996 - Diversity in the Nation's Schools
May 22, 1996 - Urban Schools and Disadvantaged Students
Finally, two of the Educational Psychology Home Page "What's New" sections provide links to comprehensive resources related to educational standards and student assessment. They are:
April 3, 1996 - National Educational Standards
May 1, 1996 - Educational Assessment Approaches
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Summing It All Up
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