Technology in Education

Technological Developments in Education

Technology has been responsible for many improvements to the education system over the years. Researchers have determined that, when used for more ambitious learning goals rather than basic skills, technology can help students develop higher-order thinking skills, creativity, and research abilities (Boss, 2011). Technology has drastically increased access to information. Research that would take days to find, is now at a student’s fingertips. Some of the greatest advancements have happened in the past fifteen years or so. Kids today are living in the Interactive Age.  The biggest developments in educational technology are the internet, laptops, IPads, EBooks, interactive whiteboard, and online classes.

The internet allows students access to unlimited amounts of information. Students can learn about different cultures from people of that culture, from their own classrooms. Laptops are used to access the internet from anywhere. IPads can hold a large number of apps that gives students a new and exciting learning experience. IPads are extremely useful for children with disabilities, providing them with access to educational material that will help them advance. Students have been forced to carry several heavy books to and from school. EBooks put all of those books into a small device that students can easily carry in their pocket.  The interactive whiteboards make the classroom an interactive learning center for the students. But the best development I have found is the online classrooms. Students can complete their education from the comfort of their own room.

Reflections of the Past

Things have changed drastically since I was a student. I graduated in 1992, so we were still very low-tech. Back in the 1980’s, we had some technology, and we thought we were so advanced. Looking back, our technology was practically the Dark Ages compared to the things kids have today.

I remember our teachers giving lessons on the overhead projectors. Setting up the screen was always a pain. I recall laughing when the teacher would accidentally let the screen go before it was hooked in place. The screen would roll back up and fall off the stand, so she had to start all over again.

         Our teachers often used slide shows to give lessons. These were really fun. They had a corded remote that you used to advance the slides. So often, the slide would jam up, and the teacher would need to readjust them in the middle of the lesson. There was no sound, just the teacher explaining each slide.

 We used to watch school films on the old two-reel film projectors. These were cool at the time. The teacher would put the film reel on the front, and an empty reel on the back. Then she would thread the film through the player, and onto the empty reel. If the tape snapped, you could tape it back together, and have a skip in the film.

  We had a few computers in the school’s computer room that we could use for school assignments. These eight to ten computers were used by the entire school, so getting access was not easy. I remember skipping lunch in middle school so that I could work in the computer room. It was the only time there were openings.

 In high school, we got cutting edge technology, a television with a VCR player. We also had a hand held video recorder. I remember using the video recorder for an English project, and playing it in the VCR. We did a production of Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. I remember the sound quality was terrible, but for the time, it was the best we could do.

          I imagine all of these things seem primitive to kids of today, but these were what we had then. I wonder what the next generation will think of technology today. Will they find it as ancient as today’s kids find ours?

  References:

(N.D.). Components of a 21^st Century Classroom Retrieve at: http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/infographic/21st_century_classroom.html

Boss, S. (2011). Technology integration: A short history. Eudotopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-history

 SMARTEduEMEA. (2011, October 3). History of educational technology [video file]. Retrieved from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFwWWsz_X9s