Increasing Use of Technology



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|Increasing Use of Technology |

|Classrooms |

|Proposal For Research |

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|Prepared by: |

|Stephen Glossner |

|Bradley Bryan |

|Joseph Chasteen |

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|IET 698 |

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1………………………………………..………………………..Page 3

Introduction………………………………………………………..…….Page 3

Problem Statement – Assumptions – Limitations ………………..…..Page 4

Definition of Terms ………………..……………………………….….Page 5

Chapter 2………………………………………………………………...Page 6

Background………………..…………………………………………….Page 6

Advantages…………………………………………….…………….…..Page 8

Disadvantages………………………………………………………….…Page 9

Chapter 3…………………………………………………………………...Page 10

Research Design……………………………………………………………Page 10

Data Analysis……………………………………………………………....Page 11

Implications……………………………………………………………….Page 12

Questionnaire………………………………………………………………Page 13

Introduction

Beginning in the early 1980’, classrooms began to incorporate technology into an educational setting. By adding computer literacy classes to curriculum, the additional use of technology for educational purposes was brought to schools, or at least attempted. Introductory courses offered learning consisting of parts of the computer, basic programming, and drill practices for using software. In order for technology to remain useful in the classroom setting, the users of the technology must be able to make a connection between the technology and knowledge studied, as well as having teachers that are willing to change their teaching methods to incorporate technology (MOERSCH, 1995).

The addition of technology to the classroom setting has become an integrated part of learning. As early as 1996, the use of technology in a classroom setting was focused on a large scale. The president at the time, Bill Clinton, claimed that the use of technology was going to increase in classrooms, making computers just as useful to teachers and students as the blackboard was at that time. His plan for the increased use of technology included wiring every school to the internet by the year 2000. Technologies had been used previous in classroom settings, such as the television, radio, and film, but had never been fully utilized for what they could accomplish. Different studies have been completed to see where the use of technology in the class room stood, at the time. The most focus was placed on increased productivity due to the use of computers (Kent & McNergney, 1999).

Technology has increasingly been used in a classroom setting since the push for its use in 1996. Today, classrooms on every level of education, from beginning to higher level, use technology as part learning. Students have become accustomed to technology, making the use in the classroom more effective. The use of technology has had a changing effect on the way curriculum is taught, as well as the effectiveness of learning. By incorporating more technology into the learning environment, more changes could possibly occur.

Problem Statement

The use of technology is changing the way education is conducted. Teaching and learning have no distance barriers thanks to communication technology and the use of computers. Technology has been increasingly used in today’s classrooms, causing a significant change to how classrooms operate. Many advantages and disadvantages come with this change. Has the advantages of the increased use of technology outweighed the disadvantages? Is there a cost for using technology for educational purposes? Does the use of technology remove the interaction of a person- to-person relationship? The integrated use of technology in an educational setting has developed into a definite addition to classrooms. With the cooperation of such devices with educational curriculum, the significant impact being produced may not be entirely desired. While technology does help with the conveying, display, and locating of information for classes, it does take away a certain value for the education. With this in mind, the focus for this research will provide a view into the positive and negative reactions in order to support or fight the claim that increasing the use of technology for educational purposes produces desired effects for student.

Assumptions

For this research, the assumption can be made that all classrooms have access to some basic form of technology. Without access to technology, classrooms do not need to be studied for this research. It can also be assumed that each classroom has access to at least one computer that a teacher can use for instruction. The assumption can also be made that more than technology than just a computer is being used in each classroom, such as projectors.

Limitations

The limitations of this research will be considered, based off of the availability of classes to study. Any research conducted on the use of technology will not be able to disturb classes in session, or to take away from the student’s ability to learn in those classes. There will be no need to distract, teacher or student, from the coursework they are conducting. The technology studied will also be limited to the use of computers and any devices that work through them. The identifying factors that distinguish between successful technology use and unsuccessful use will be limited to student’s grades and attitudes towards the class.

Definition of Terms

Technology – For research purposes technology will refer to the use of tools and devices to teach content to students.

Classroom Setting – An area where instructors teach students curriculum content. Can be a grade school, high school, college or university setting.

Teachers – any person willing to convey information to another so that they may understand and learn it.

Learning – The ability to absorb and relay information, build upon that information, and use it for purposes.

Advantage – Any positive feedback that occurs from the use of technology for educational purposes.

Disadvantage – Any negative feedback that comes from the use of technology in an educational setting.

Background:

The world has changed a lot in the past 10 years. The rapid development of new technology and the changing landscape of the online world has changed the way we work and, for many, where we do our work from. Advances in technology have always transformed the way people are educated. Though technological change has shaped education from the beginning, the digital revolution has certainly increased the speed at which education is transformed. In the past twenty years or so, there have been changes that few people ever dreamed of. Just consider the following ways that information technology, the Internet and other developments have reshaped the way education is attained, measured and delivered. ( Dunn, 2012)

Internet for All – Ten years ago many offices in need of dedicated Internet resources or wide area networks were dependent on expensive leased lines or slightly cheaper ISDN (integrated services digital network) lines. Broadband Internet was not widely available and was often quite restricted by Internet service providers (or ISPs). After a couple of years, however, broadband technology rapidly began to replace dial-up connections and leased lines in the home, office and classroom. ( Michael H, 2009)

Sharing Media – There are generally two ways of transferring information between users: either over a network of some kind or on some sort of physical, portable media such as a disk. Ten years ago, CDs and floppy disks were the most readily available types of removable media, and the fastest corporate LANs (or local area networks) operated at between 10 and 100 megabits per second. Transferring very large files over the Internet was something only done by those with expensive, high-speed Internet connections. Things have changed a lot. Writeable DVDs became just as cheap as CDs, floppy disks have become almost extinct and everybody has a large-capacity USB thumb drive kicking around. ( Michael H, 2009)

Convenience and Availability – Many colleges and universities offered distance learning programs before the advent of the Internet. These programs were difficult to find, however, so many people who lived in a town that did not have a college or university lacked access to higher education.

Online education has changed this. Colleges and universities across the country now offer degrees in nearly every subject that can be completed entirely online. Other schools have programs that combine online learning with some on-campus residency requirements. Either way, adults who live thousands of miles from the nearest college or university can now complete their degrees. ( Dunn, 2012)

Pedagogy - Technology has also shaped pedagogy, or the art of teaching. Today, instructors can create and supplement their lessons in exciting ways. For example, online video conferencing enables teachers to talk directly with experts who are unable to visit a classroom in person. Interviews with such figures can be incorporated into lessons with the assistance of presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint.

Communication continues to improve as the result of technological advances. Teachers can use email, texting, instant messaging, video chats and more to make themselves more available to students who need help with their schoolwork. Tutors can provide extra assistance in a similar manner. As a result, students can get the help they need outside of the classroom easier than ever before.

The number of pedagogical possibilities that technology opens up increases every year. Teachers can create review exercises online to help their students learn their lessons and prepare for exams. Instructors can create online forums and blogs where students, outside of the classroom setting, can discuss what they are learning. Examples could be multiplied, and the way teachers teach will no doubt continue to change as new software is created and other advancements are made. ( Dunn, 2012)

Research - The school library will always have a special role in research. Nevertheless, the explosion of information available online has changed the way that research is conducted in many disciplines. Journals that were once accessible only in select libraries are now online.

Entire encyclopedias, books and other tools can also be found online, often for free. One downside to the availability of information is the trouble it can be to separate the good data from the bad when students do research online. This situation should improve, however, as Internet-based research becomes more common.

Plagiarism is also a greater danger today because research papers that others have written can be found online. Fortunately, plagiarism-checking software that alerts teachers to copied work is also available. Students can no longer cut and paste someone else’s work and easily pass it off as their own. ( Dunn, 2012)

Advantage: Great Discoveries In All Industries

Technology advances show people a more efficient way to do things, and these processes get results. For example, education has been greatly advanced by the technological advances of computers. Students are able to learn on a global scale without ever leaving their classrooms.

Disadvantage: Dependency

The more advanced society becomes technologically, the more people begin to depend on computers and other forms of technology for everyday existence. This means that when a machine breaks or a computer crashes, humans become almost disabled until the problem is resolved. This kind of dependency on technology puts people at a distinct disadvantage, because they become less self-reliant. ( Belcher, 2004)

Research design

This study will be a content analysis study looking at how technology has greatly affected the education field in the past decade. The study will be examining the types of technology that were available a decade ago and the limitations that said technology had compared to today’s technology. This study will compare role technology played in the classroom a decade ago and the role technology plays in the classroom today.

The procedure for this study will be to research and gather information on the types of technology that were available to classrooms a decade ago compared to the types of technology available to classroom today and roles they played in the classroom and the positive and negative effects. A decade ago, the kind of technology available for classroom use would be for simply the basic functions to facilitate regular classroom activities; whereas today the types of technology available are vital to daily classroom and activities and also further the learning experience from inside the classroom to outside.

Instruments Used

The instrument that will be used in this study will be a survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire will be attached at the end of this document.

Population of Study

The population of this study will be people who graduated high school in the United States between the years of 2007-2009 and teachers/ professors who have been teaching since 2000 to the present. The reason for this group of people is because they would have experienced the advances and changes technology made in the classrooms in the past 10 years.

Sample

The sample of this study will be 10,000 randomly selected names from the list of people that graduated high school in the United States between the years of 2007-2009, and 10,000 randomly selected teacher/professors from the stated time period. 10,000 questionnaires will be sent to each group because we expect not all to be returned. If 5,000 are returned from each group that would be sufficient to draw conclusions from.

Data collection method

For this study the data is the answers provided by the subjects answering the questionnaires. The questionnaires will be sent out by mail to randomly selected people and asked to be returned within 5 days upon receiving. After the questionnaires have been sent there will be a period of 45 days to wait for the return of the questionnaires.

Data analysis

The data will be analyzed by looking at the questionnaires and evaluating the answers given. By analyzing the answers given conclusions can be made on, the amount of technology in classrooms 10 years compared to today, if the technology had/has a positive or negative effect on learning in the classroom 10 years ago compared to present, and how vital technology was to the functionality of the classroom 10 years ago compared to present. The first section of the questionnaire answers the prevalence of technology in classrooms question by having the participants answer the questions, “How prevalent was technology used in your classes 10 years ago? On a scale of 1-5, 1 being the least prevalent and 5 being the most prevalent”and“How prevalent is technology used in your classes now? On a scale of 1-5, 1 being the least prevalent and 5 being the most prevalent.” The answers will be analyzed by grouping all the like answers together and giving a percentage of each number, 1-5, out of the number of participants. For example, say 11,000 of the questionnaires are sent back and 8,000 of them have 3 answered for question 1 then 72.72% of the sample said technology was not very prevalent 10 years ago. This process will be done for each question allowing us to make assumptions about technology and its role in the classroom. The percentages then will be compared and our question of, technology’s role in the classroom has significantly changed since 10 years ago.

Summary, Conclusions, and Implications

This study will show how much the classroom has changed with the advancement of technology and if these advancements are beneficial to the learning process. From the data gathered from this study conclusions can be made about technology and how most classrooms are dependent on technology to function. The most important implications that could arise from this study is the opinions of how effective technology is at aiding in the learning process and depending on what the results show perhaps there is too much technology in the education system today.

Implications can arise from the use of different technologies for each classroom. There could be a problem comparing different classrooms if the same technology is not used between the classrooms. This stands the same for different locations of each classroom, such as different high schools and universities. There may be certain educational facilities that are able to acquire the most state of the art technology easier than others. This could influence the data that is gathered during the study.

The course of this study will yield results verifying whether or not technology has influenced the educational field. The decisions made by this study will determine if future work should be put into implementing different technologies into classrooms. By conducting the proposed study, the allocation of money for technological advancement for educational purposes could be identified.

Technology in the Classroom Questionnaire

1. How prevalent was technology used in your classes 10 years ago? On a scale of 1-5, 1 being the least prevalent and 5 being the most prevalent. Please circle one.

1 2 3 4 5

2. How prevalent is technology used in your classes now? On a scale of 1-5, 1 being the least prevalent and 5 being the most prevalent. Please circle one.

1 2 3 4 5

3. Did the technology used in your classes 10 years ago have a positive or negative effect on learning in the classroom?

4. Did the technology used in your most recent/current classes have a positive or negative effect on learning in the classroom?

5. How vital was technology to the functio of the classroom 10 year ago? On a scale of 1-5, 1 being not very vital and 5 being very vital. Please circle one.

1 2 3 4 5

6. How vital was technology to the functioning of the classroom most recently/ currently? On a scale of 1-5, 1 being not very vital and 5 very vital. Please circle one.

1 2 3 4 5

References

Belcher, L. M. (2004, June). Advantages and disadvantages of technology advances. Retrieved from

Dunn, Jeff ( 2012) How Technology is Changing Education as we Know it. Retrieved from



Leedy, P. D., and Ormrod, J. E. (2013). Practical research: Planning and design (10thEdition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Kent, T., & Mcnergney, R. (1999). Will technology really change education?. (pp. 1-2). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, Inc. Retrieved from

Michael, H. (2009, 09 12). Changes in technology in the past decade. Retrieved from

Moersch, Christopher. "Levels of Technology Implementation (LoTi): A Framework for Measuring Classroom Technology Use." Www.. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2013. .

United States. Department of Education. Educational Research and Improvement. Will Technology Really Change Education? From Blackboard to Web. By Todd W. Kent and Robert F. McNergney. California: Corwin, 1999. Web. 9 Mar. 2013. .

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