Harnessing Transformational Technology in Education: Opportunities and Challenges
This presentation explores the transformative potential of technology in education, highlighting its benefits, such as curriculum customization, increased interaction, and expanded course opportunities. It addresses the limitations faced, including geographic disparities in broadband access and resistance from educators. Two scenarios outline the future of technology in public schools: one where technology is rejected, leading to stagnation, and another where it is embraced, fostering individualization and broader instruction. The discussion includes lessons from technological "S" curves, predicting the next wave of online video instruction.
Harnessing Transformational Technology in Education: Opportunities and Challenges
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Presentation Transcript
Transformational Technology ILEAD Presentation April 26, 2012
Technology’s Potential Benefits • Customization of curricula, teaching methods, schedules • Elimination of Geographic isolation • Expansionof course opportunities for all • Increasedinteraction betweenteachers and students, students and classmates • Increased parent involvement in schooling • More sophisticated performance measures
Technology’s Limitations • Broadband not available to all students • Teachers are slow to adapt to change, especially when imposed from outside • Current organization of schools, the factory model with existing tests, antithetical to individualization • Current governance of schools limits the rate of change due to “demo-schlerosis”
Two Technology Scenarios Public School REJECTS Technology Public School EMBRACES Technology States and local Boards accept mastery test results as basis for measurement Teachers adopt some form of technology driven individualization, expand/restore breadth of instruction Parents, seeing benefits individualization, remain committed to public education • State and local Boards continue to use grade-level test results as sole basis for measurement • Teachers, concerned about personal and school well-being, teach-to-test • Parents, dismayed with narrow curriculum and aware of on-line homeschool options, opt out of school
“S” Curves in Our Lifetimes • Transistor technology displaces vacuum tubes • “Foreign Cars” displace Big Three • ATMs displace bank tellers • FM Radio expands number of stations, leads to “narrowcasting” • Pay Cable TV displaces free network TV • Video rentals displace movies on TV • Home computers displace video-rentals