EPortfolio- Sherry Jarvis



Best Practices in Educational Technology Sherry JarvisLiberty UniversityEDUC 638Leadership in Educational TechnologyDr. Vonda BeaversOctober 7, 2012AbstractTechnology has opened many doors for students, teachers and administrators. The possibilities are endless with the use of technology in an educational setting. Mobile technology has become one of the main ways technology can be used in a classroom setting or distance learning setting. Mobile technology has made it possible for educators to prepare students to be successful in modern society. Integrating mobile devices into the curriculum and other technologies is inevitable. This integration will have a positive effect on students for many reasons. This paper explores the reason why mobile devices and other types of technology have taken education to the next level. Technology has given students an opportunity to pursue degrees that would not be possible if it were not for technology. Keywords: Educational technology, mobile device, online education, collaboration, engagement, interactionTechnology for CollaborationGiving students the opportunity to interact with one another is one of the largest benefits of using technology for educational purposes. There are various types of collaborating tools available. Teachers can set up email, white board, newsletters, or discussion groups. These tools allow the teacher to set up the resources and the discussion while the students login in and participate. This collaboration tool gives the learners an extra advantage because they can personalize their learning with these collaboration tools (Lytras, 2008). This gives the students some investment into their own learning and making learning different than the same old thing. The teacher also can easily track each learner’s progress and interaction. The teacher can provide feedback when necessary to steer the learners in the right direction. Blackboard is another tool used for collaboration and many other functions. Blackboard is an example of a Learning Management System (LMS). A Learning Management System serves many purposes besides collaboration. The teacher can put an entire course on blackboard, which includes resources and announcements for the students. Then most importantly the students can collaborate using a discussion board within blackboard (Lytras, 2008). This allows students from all over the world to communicate with each other and take the same class. Therefore, much more can be gained when students from different backgrounds and experiences can share their knowledge. Mobile Devices Affect on Student InteractionAlmost everywhere you go you see people using mobile devices. This has become part of their daily lives, so why not use mobile devices for learning purposes. Mobile devices are small and easy to carry around. Laptops can be transportable, but they are bigger and bulkier than a tablet. Mobile devices allow a student to be involved in many other activities and not be sedimentary. One good example of this is that a student could be on their way to an activity while in a second life meeting with their teacher (Druin, 2009). Allowing the student to be involved in other activities while still in class is not the only advantage of mobile devices. Since mobile devices have GPS on them, this gives students the ability to tag their location if necessary. Students studying biology could tag their location and take a picture of anything in nature. This is a remarkable technology tool and there are many more. This gives student an opportunity to be more engaged and invested in the learning process. Students could engage in discussion with other class members while they are out experiencing learning as well. Mobile devices give students the opportunity to share their thoughts at any place and anytime (Druin, 2009). There have been so many times that students have questions once they have left the classroom, but they are unable to get the answers they need right away so they do not do the assignment. Mobile devices could help that because students would have a way to communicate with each other about the assignment. Plus if the students have an easy way to communicate with each other or the teacher they will more likely use that method. This discussion with each other could be formal or informal, however the teacher dictates the assignment to be discussed. Practicing both ways of communication is healthy for students (Druin, 2009). Students will need to know how to communicate effectively with one another formally and informally through electronic means to be successful in life. There are certain ways to communicate through text, because a person has to be very careful how they word discussions because the reader could take what the writer is saying all wrong. Students will learn how to be appropriate and tasteful, which some students do not know how to do. The collaboration that mobile devices promote will increase student awareness in different areas (Druin, 2009). Giving students the opportunity to collaborate gives them the chance to reach higher potential. Students love to share what they know; therefore the students who are tech savvy will help the others. Using mobile devices will also help students who are shyer and have trouble opening up to their classmates (Rossing, 2012). There are some students that no matter where you sit them they do not feel comfortable. Mobile devices can help break down some of these students’ communication barriers by giving them a way to communicate electronically. A student’s development socially is just as important as their development academically. This may not be the perfect answer because these students will have to learn how to communicate in real life to be successful, but it is a start. When the learning environment is personalized and students are given a place to share about themselves it opens more doors for collaboration. In the traditional classroom, there is not that much time to get into the students personal interests, but collaboration could be created on a discussion board that gives the students a chance to share about themselves. Technology for Mathematics EngagementMathematics is a subject that most students do not enjoy because they think it is boring and they will never use it in real life. Also mathematics is a subject that students usually do not pursue for higher education for some of the same reasons. Technology can be used to change that, and make our students better in mathematics. The better our students are at mathematics, the better critical thinkers and problem solvers they will become. The fact that students spend so much time involved in online learning and using mobile devices, the way students perceive information and learn it has changed dramatically. Technology such as Geogebra and other programs that run in java can be used to demonstrate three-dimensional topics. These topics are difficult to teach because it is hard to draw the figure or have a student look at the three-dimensional figure on a two dimensional piece of paper. Using different software can help the students see what the teacher is explaining to them (Samuals, 2010). Educational Gaming Helps Improve Student SuccessGaming is not traditionally thought to help students learn, but the way students learn has changed. Gaming has been found to help students understand content in core areas. The way children first learn is through play, because by playing we learn how to cope and become who we are today. There are many benefits to using computer games for education, but it also comes with just as many obstacles that educators must face (DeVary, 2008). The challenges that educational gaming has to overcome are not easy ones. Educational gaming has made tremendous gains in recent years, but non-educational games still offer better interaction. Building games can cost anywhere from $500,000 to over one million dollars, and could take over a year to make. Plus most entertainment games require a gaming console and take the player a lot of time to complete. Educational games are also not geared toward specific school curriculums because they are broader in nature (DeVary, 2008). There are many cognitive benefits of educational gaming. Gaming in general gives a person the skill to process a lot of information at once. This means that gamers can often multitask, which requires a different kind of focus (DeVary, 2008). Multitasking is inevitable for someone in the workforce; just some people are able to do it better than others. Also multitasking helps a person be an efficient part of their team. Gaming also helps with the collaboration piece of learning. Students an instantly be connected to friends, classmates, teachers and parents (DeVary, 2008). The students can find a commonality between each other and begin to communicate and the more students communicate the better they will become at it. Sometimes teachers will ask students questions, and they cannot explain how they arrive at their answer. This is where their lack of communication skills is present. Technology Helps Students Become Self MotivatedA lot of teachers have trouble getting students motivated and excited about learning. Through the use of technology students could be taught to be self paced learners, where they are in charge of their learning. This is where education should be heading, and not putting the entire responsibility back on the teacher. The teacher should provide help and offer the appropriate resources, but they should not be held responsible for that unmotivated student. Technology could be a way to get the students more involved in their own learning and become an active partner in the learning process (Barak, 2010). Online EducationOnline education has become very popular. High school and college students are participating in online programs. Online programs have given professionals a chance to further their education and have given other students the chance to pursue their bachelor’s degree. Online programs allow students the opportunity to get an education, when they may not have been able to go the traditional route otherwise. Some schools are able to offer video streaming because of technology (Harki, 2006). Taking online courses is not easy because a person’s communication skills really have to be developed because they are not meeting with their professors or other classmates in person. Trying to convey a message is more difficult when you are not looking at them and can read their body language and get real time feedback. This aspect makes an online education more difficult in that resect (Harki, 2006). ConclusionTechnology has advanced our lives in every way. Socially and academically, technology has made things possible that would not be possible without technology. Young students and older students have benefited from technology. Primary and secondary schools use computers and mobile devices to help engage students in the content they are learning. The way these students are learning has changed and that is why it is our job as educators to embrace the changes and integrate it into the classroom. If we do not we may loose too many students or we will not be preparing students to work and live in a technologically advanced time. Older professionals have also been able to benefit from technology. Major universities offer online programs, which has given more individuals the opportunity to pursue degrees. The more educated people are the better off our society will be. Technology has made teacher and administrators life easier as well and given them more opportunities to expand their leadership. Administrators can use mobile devices for observations, which is less cumbersome than laptops. It just gives them an extra portability. It also allows teachers and leaders to create lessons and save them so they are easily adaptable for later students and audiences. References:Barak, M. (2010). Motivating self-regulated learning in technology education. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 20(4), 381-401. doi: , S. (2008). Educational gaming: Interactive edutainment. Distance Learning, 5(3), 35-44.Druin, Allison. (2009). Designing for Interaction and Learning. Mobile Technology for Children. Morgan Kauffman. 408. Harki, Gary A. (2006). Technology Helps Boost Online Education Programs. State Journal. Bell and Howell Information and Learning Company.Lytras, M. D. (2008). Technology Enhanced Learning : Best Practices. IGI Publishing.Rossing, Jonathon P. (2012). Mobile Technology and Liberal Education. Liberal Education. 98(1), 68. Samuels, P. (2010). Motivating mathematics learning through an integrated technology enhanced learning environment. The International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education, 17(4), 197-203. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download