TechnologyforAll:AnIntegratedApproachtoEducation
LouisJ.Bustamante
DepartmentofEducationLeadership,Management,andPolicy
ELMP7768:TechnologyforAdministrators
Dr.AlbertH.Galloway
April19th,2023
Educationaltechnologyor“EdTech”istheadaptationandintegrationofonline applicationsandtechnologydevicesforthepurposeofteachingandlearning,accordingto TheTechEdvocate(Lynch,2020).ThebiggestfactorthatpushesEdTechbeyondtheparameters ofnormalclassroomlearningisthatEdTechcantakeplaceinsideandoutsidetheclassroom, regardlessoftheeventshappeninginsociety.Aswehavesincethebreakoutofthepandemic, EdTechhasbecomemainstreamandhasrapidlyevolvedintoanintegralpartoflearninginall levelsofeducation.ThispaperwillservetoobservethecurrentuseofEdTech,thebenefits,and direction,whilecitingreflectionsandrecommendationsuponitscurrentandfutureuse.
Currently,EdTechhasbeenadoptedbyallschoolssincethepandemic,andhasbecome intertwinedinthecurriculumstheyprofess.MostschoolshaveadoptedGoogleClassroomsand itsapplications,suchasGoogledocs,sheets,slides,forms,andmeet.Manyschoolseveninclude add-onappstoglossoverforstudentappeal,suchasNearpod,Kahoot!,andClassDojo,toname afew(TeachThoughtStaff,2020).Forthemostpart,studentsandteachershavebenefitedin theirabilitytolearnandpracticetheirprofessiononawholeotherlevel.Allstakeholders: administrators,educators,students,andparents,havedeepenedtheirrelationshipsin communicationinEdTech.Thishasultimatelyledtomultiplemeansofengagementinstudent learning,instantfeedbackfromstudentsandparents,andeffectivelearning.Ontheotherhand, administratorshaveplayedaroleinassistinginschoolcapabilitiesandassuringthebestquality techsupport,accordingtotheirbudget.
However,therearestillmanyareaswhereEdTechhasprovedtobeineffective.Forone, therearestillmanychildrenwhoareinthedarkandlackEdTech,whilethosewhodoreceive EdTech,suchas1:1laptopstopromotelearningathomehavenosignificantimprovementin learning.AccordingtoBrookings(Ganimian,2023):
“Toourknowledge,theonlysuccessfuldeploymentofafreelaptopinitiativewas oneinwhichateamofresearchersequippedthecomputerswithremedialsoftware.Moetal.
(2013)evaluatedaversionoftheOneLaptopperChild(OLPC)programforgrade3studentsin migrantschoolsinBeijing,Chinainwhichthelaptopswereloadedwitharemedialsoftware mappedontothenationalcurriculumformath(similartothesoftwareproductsthatwediscuss under“practiceexercises”below).Afterninemonths,theprogramimprovedmathachievement by0.17SDsandcomputerskillsby0.33SDs.Ifaschoolsystemdecidestoinvestinfree laptops,thisstudysuggeststhatthequalityofthesoftwareonthelaptopsiscrucial.”
InadditioninthenextparagraphBrookingargue(Ganimian,2023):
“Todate,however,theevidencesuggeststhatchildrendonotlearnmorefrom interactingwithlaptopsthantheydofromtextbooks.Forexample,Bando,Gallego,Gertler,and Romero(2016)comparedtheeffectoffreelaptopandtextbookprovisionin271elementary schoolsindisadvantagedareasofHonduras.Aftersevenmonths,studentsingrades3and6who hadreceivedthelaptopsperformedonparwiththosewhohadreceivedthetextbooksinmath andlanguage.Further,eveniftextbooksessentiallybecomeobsoleteattheendofeachschool year,whereaslaptopscanbereloadedwithnewmaterialsforeachyear,thecostsoflaptop provision(notjustthehardware,butalsothetechnicalassistance,Internet,andtraining associatedwithit)arenotyetlowenoughtomakethemamorecost-effectivewayofdelivering contenttolearners.”
TheHondurasstudiesshownosignificantimprovementinlearningbetween1:1laptops andtextbooks.However,ifthepowergoesout,EdTechwillultimatelyprevailwithlivevideo interactionwithteachersandstudents.Inadditionitisimportanttonotethatthetechnology, software,andinternetassuranceismorecostlythantraditionaltextbooks,anduntilweseethese costsbecomewidelyavailablewhereanyonecanaffordit,thepoorerareasoftheworldwill probablybeleftinthedark,andwillsufferintheeventofanotherpandemic-likeevent.Students intheUnitedStatesfollowinasimilarfashion,wherelowerincomeareaswherefamilieslack technologyandinternetaccessibilitysuffer Graph1below(nextpage)indicatestheavailability ofinternetaccessaccordingtoparentseducationlevelduringthepandemic(NCESBlogEditor,
2021): Almost1in5householdshaveonlysmartphoneaccesstotheinternet,whichmakescompleting onlineassignmentsnearlyimpossible.
Unfortunately,thetypeoftechnologybeingusedinEdTechisacceleratingatan increasingrate.TheprospectforthefuturenowinvolvestheintegrationofVirtualReality(VR) andArtificialIntelligence(AI)(ExpertPanel,ForbesTechnologyCouncil,2020).VRiscurrently intheinfantile(somemayevenargueprenatal)stagesofintegrationintotheclassroom,however itspotentialisthenextstepofEdTechinschools.Imaginebeingabletoputongoggleswiththe restoftheclass(athomeorinschool),andtheteacherisguidingatourofdailylifeinAncient Rome,orcoloniallifeintheAmericas.Studentswillgainaccesstotheclosestthingthatcanbe consideredfirsthandexperience.BecauseVRrequiresheadset/goggles,itgetsridofoutside distractionsinitsattempttoeducatestudents.Italsoenablesstudentstomakelearningasa game.
Inaddition,AIisdesigned(whenusedproperly)tolearnabouttheindividuallearningin EdTech,andprovideaclearandefficientpathtoenabledeeperlearningforeachstudentusingit.
Weshouldbeinvestedinthistypeoftechnology(VRandAI)thatwillenablestudentsto overcomeoneofthebiggestproblemswithEdTech,distractions,andpromoteinstantfeedback andcustomizedlearningforeachindividual.
EventhoughAIandVRareevenmoreexpensivethanthecurrentEdTechinstruments currentlybeingused,MichaelBodekaer,thefounderofLabster,suggeststheoppositeinthenext tenyears(Google:EmergingTechnologies,2023):
“Virtualrealityhardwarewillkeepimprovingdrasticallyoverthenext10years. Increasesinvisualresolutionandperformancewillmakethevirtualandrealworld indistinguishableandlagcompletelydisappear,allwhileall-in-oneheadsetsbecome cheaperthan$100andmuchlessobtrusive.Wewillalsoseeadditionssuchashaptic glovesbecomemainstream,makingtheexperienceevenmoreimmersive.Liveand collaborativeVRlearningexperiencescombinedwithinstanttranslationstohundredsof languageswillcompletelyshifttheconceptofaneducational“classroom”tothatofa “virtualglobalclass.
Ifusedwell,thiswillgiveeducatorstheopportunitytoprovidetheirstudents experiencesthathaven’tbeenpossiblebefore.Justimaginebeingabletolearnscienceon theInternationalSpaceStationwithstudentsallovertheworld,orshrinkingtothesizeof aDNAstrandtocollaborativelymanipulatemoleculeshands-on,andtravelingbackin timetoexploreancientRomeandrole-playoutimportanthistoricevents–allfromthe safetyofthephysicalclassroom.”
ThefutureisleaningtowardVRandAI,andwearestillintheearlyphasesof implementation.Onethingthatshouldberecommendedistheactiveroleparentsneedtohave withtheimplementationofEdTechinschools.Manyparentswholiveinlow-incomeareasdo notputmucheffortinguidingtheirkidswithtechnologyandeducation.Frommyexperienceat ManchesterRegionalHighSchool,manyparentsareimmigrantsand/orworktwoormorejobs, leadingtoalackofknowledgewithtechnologyineducation.Onethingthatworksforallpeople areincentives.Potentiallyinthefutureschoolscanincentivizelow-incomefamiliestoguide theirkidstobeonlineinvirtuallearninginapandemic,orgainaccesstowi-fisotheirchildcan accesstheinternetfromacomputer, ormakesuretheyaredoingeverythingtheyneedtobe
doing.Theseincentivescouldalsothreatentobetakenawayifthestudentisnotproducing results,whichwouldultimatelyimpactthefamiliesfinancialwellbeing.
References
ExpertPanel,ForbesTechnologyPanel.(2020,January13).14PredictionsForTheFutureOf ClassroomTechnology ForbesMagazine.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/01/13/14-predictions-for-the-future -of-classroom-technology/?sh=6a58859851c5
Ganimian,A.J.,Vegas,E.&Hess,F.M.(2023).REALIZINGTHEPROMISE:
Howcaneducationtechnologyimprovelearningforall?Brookings.
https://www.brookings.edu/essay/realizing-the-promise-how-can-education-technology-i mprove-learning-for-all/ Google:EmergingTechnologies(2023).GoogleforTechnologies.
https://edu.google.com/future-of-the-classroom/emerging-technologies/?modal_active=n one
Lynch,M.(2020,July31).A2022DefinitionofEdTech.TheTechEdvocate.
https://www.thetechedvocate.org/a-2021-definition-of-edtech/
NCESBlogEditor.(2021,September20).Students’InternetAccessBeforeandDuringthe
CoronavirusPandemicbyHouseholdSocioeconomicStatus.NCES-NationalCenterfor EducationalStatistics.
https://nces.ed.gov/blogs/nces/post/students-internet-access-before-and-during-the-corona virus-pandemic-by-household-socioeconomic-status
TeachThoughtStaff.(2020,April29).15TechnologyToolsToEngageStudentsInThe
Classroom.TeachThought.https://www.teachthought.com/technology/technology-tools/