The State and Futures of Educational Technologies. By: Loertscher, David, Teacher Librarian, 14811782, Apr2011, Vol. 38, Issue 4
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The State and Futures of Educational Technologies
Contents
1. TYPES OF LEARNING BOOSTS FROM TECHNOLOGY
2. REFERENCES
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WHAT WORKS
Since the issuance of the National Education Technology Plan (reported in the February, 2011,What Works Column of Teacher Librarian), some critical reports have been issued that give us a glimpse of the technology phenomenon happening with the current generation of young people in the nation. In this column, we highlight three of thesereports and their findings:
Pew Internet & American Life Project. Generations 2010. Report issued December 16, 2010 at: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Generations-2010.aspx
STAR: School Technology Action Report: Emerging Trends 2011. eSchoolMedia Inc., 2011 at: http://www.eschoolnews.com/ wp-content/uploads/2011/02/esmstarreport.pdf
Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report. Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by[3.0[
KEY TRENDS IN THE HORIZON REPORT:
* The abundance of resources and relationships made easily accessible via the Internet is constantly challenging us to revisit our roles as educators in sense-making, coaching, and credentialing.
* People expect to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever they want.
* The world of work is increasingly collaborative, giving rise to reflection about the way student projects are structured.
* The technologies we use are increasingly cloud-based, and our notions of IT support are decentralized.
* The Horizon Report also recommends that E-books and working on mobile devices are the major trends to watch closely alongside game-based learning.
KEY FINDING OF THE STAR REPORT:
* More and more lectures are being moved to "homework" so class time is spent working with individuals and small groups. It is called inverted learning.
* Mobile devices are becoming mainstream in teaching and learning.
* While E-books are often static text, watch developments such as Blio for a new generation of interactive texts.
* VDO (virtual desktop infrastructure) utilizing cloud computing makes all resources available on any preferred student or teacher device.
* The old concept of a "dumb" terminal that connects to a computer remotely is cutting costs for one tone computing solutions.
KEY FINDINGS OF THE GENERATIONS 2010 REPORT:
* Social networking is still firmly entrenched in the vocabulary of the youngest computer users.
* Email is used by teens only for formal communication with adults.
* Personal blogging by younger users is giving way to Facebook-type networks.
While our attempt to condense for the reader the various trends, we urge the reading of the full reports to gain a better and clearer sense of what is happening in technology. However, it should be apparent that the continuous evolution of technology is forever changing current reality as adults and young people interact. It is certain that "keeping up" in technology is a must for every teacher-librarian. We have and continue to recommend that every teacher-librarian develop a PLN (personal learning network) that keeps you informed of new developments. And, the place to start is to surround ourselves with a Geek squad of young techies who teach us and whom we challenge to build a bridge from the social networking skills over into academic skills.
For example, as we read the above trends, we imagine some of the responses that might be incorporated into building a learning commons environment in the school. Our list of suggestions might stir a few ideas:
* Seeing that an increasing number of students and teachers have mobile devices, I would push toward the adoption of the free and safe cloud computing environment of Google Apps for Education (Nevin, Melton, Pc Loertscher, 2010). And, in that environment you would bypass district servers and often their networks, enabling the mobile devices option so that whether kids had computers, iPads, iTouches, mobile phones, or other computing devices, they would have access to their coursework and the resources of the learning commons at any time and anywhere.
* If I wasn't an "expert" in the Google family of resources or major open source applications such as Moodle, I would dedicate time to learn them so well that I could be a leader in technology in my school.
* It is time that teacher-librarians know and keep up with every development in the E-book department including e-texts, and free educational resources. The new collection development pushes now from print to digital and from a single person doing and finding the best of the best to a giant collaborative of adults and students building collaborative access.
* I would be a leader in going beyond the mere transference of old assignments from paper and pencil to some form of technology to entire re-invention of teaching and learning where technology is actually boosting both deep understanding and learning how to learn. An example of this is the following list that concentrates on what is to be learned and then selecting the tool to accomplish that objective. You are invited to view and contribute to the list.
TYPES OF LEARNING BOOSTS FROM TECHNOLOGY
Learning How to Learn:
Brainstorming
Question building
Gathering and organizing high quality information
Reading engagement
Analysis and synthesis of information and ideas
Collaborative writing and editing
Collaborative visualization; Mindmapping
Presenting, publishing, and communicating
Reflection and metacognition
Collaborative knowledge building; Collaborative intelligence
Other learning How to Learn Tools
Motivation
Novelty
Real world
Relevant
Experimenting and playing, problem posing and problem solving simulations
Global projects: Appreciation of other cultures
Other Motivational Tools
Creativity and Content Creation
Building/composing, creating using many tools and presentation venues
Digital storytelling; growth in oral speaking
Creativity tools and innovation because of those tools
Presenting, publishing and communicating
Collaborative and individual writing
Other Creativity and Content Creation Tools
Efficiency
Tools that save time for individuals and groups
Organizational tools that help everyone get the job done.
Other Efficiency Tool
Deep Understanding of Content Knowledge
Collaborative visualization; Mindmapping
Multimedia experiences not possible in a non-tech world
Growth in Content Knowledge: the major ideas of the various disciplines: what we know and are able to do
Other Deep Understanding of Content Knowledge Tool
Assessing What We Really Value
Deep understanding
Learning How to Learn
Critical thinking
Creative thinking
Habits of mind
College and career ready
Common Core Standards and other standards we value
Formative and summative
Other Assessing What We Really Value Tools
Teaching Strategies, Techniques, and Organization
Differentiation
Presentations
Going paperless
Tracking and managing
Management systems for courses, grading
Environments such as Google Apps for Education; Moodle
Other Teaching Strategies, Techniques, and Organization Tools
Now over to you: Brainstorm about the best Web 2.0 tools, complete the questionnaire on tools at: https://spreadsheets. google.com/view form?formkey=dGdKb1JoRDF0alh1VHFQTTY4Mk9YWGc6 MQ, and then you can view the results at: https ://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key= tgJoRhD1NjXuTqPM682 OXXg#gid=0.
The more proficient we are as teacher-librarians in promoting, demonstrating, and implementing super learning experiences that take advantage of the rich and often free information resources out there and that take advantage of the best learning technologies, the more likely we are to hold on to our positions in schools because we are indispensible. It should be clear to all of us, that merely raising each learner to minimal expectation levels must fade as a push toward excellence arises. And, should we all lose our positions in times of financial exigencies, we will be equipped to be the very best teachers in the school or as members of any learning organization.
Nevin, R., Melton, M., Loertscher, D. V. [2010). Google Apps for Education: Building Knowledge in a Safe and Free Environment. Spring, TX: Hi Willow Research and Publishing.
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By David Loertscher
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Thanks for sharing this! Loertscher is a wonderful advocate for teacher librarians who are retooling and becoming relevant for our techno-savvy young learners. Can't wait to take his class in the spring.
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