Group 3: Justin, Irene, Tania(Po Tean)

=Group Members= Justin Lo, Irene Leung, Po Tean Lim.

=Topic= Educational Technologies

=Educational Technologies: Technology in the Classroom= Our project focuses on the increase in educational technologies available to students, both in post-secondary education and in the public school system. In the last few years we have seen a major migration from the "pen and paper" era of classrooms to a highly connected and technologically advanced classroom with many resources available to students.

=History of Educational Technologies= There is a significant change for educational technologies.

1940s - films

1950s- television

1960- programmed instruction

1970- systematic instructional design

1980s- Computers

1990s- the internet

2000s- Social networks and web 2.0

Back in 1900s, People introduced the educational films. During and after WWII, the implementations of technologies such as streaming audio and video become essential and therefore, they were developing an amazing speed. As you can see, the inventions of television, programmed instruction, systematic instructional design began in 1950s. The most significant technology changes were introduced in mid 1980s and 1990s-- Those were the inventions of computers and internet.

In 2000s, the emerge of technologies continues to bring changes to our society. Especially are the technologies that are posted below: - Class WEbsites or Blackboard - Interactive Whiteboard: The Smart Board - Clickers

=Technologies in the Classroom= There are numerous different technologies in the present day that can be used as teaching aids. While most act as visual aids, other technologies such as instant classroom attendance reports exist as well. The key thing one must keep in mind when looking at all these technologies is that they have grown substantially since the development of the Personal Computer (PC). Almost all new technologies are electronic in nature and require them to be connected to a PC and even a local area network or the internet to function. While it is extremely convenient to have all the technologies linked into a single computer and reduces the clutter of having multiple machines doing single tasks in the classroom, PCs and by extension, Educational Technologies are not perfect. If a computer running these technologies should fail, so will the technologies. Thus, it is very expensive to install, operate, and maintain these technologies. Some of the technologies that are becoming increasingly common in classes today are class websites, interactive whiteboards, and clickers.

Class Websites
Class websites have become increasingly popular in the last 5 years. Many University students are familiar with one such company who supplies this product under the name Blackboard, but is also supplied by other companies such as Desire2Learn.

Class website programs allow for teachers to instantly post assignments, lectures, grades and other content to the site, allowing for easy access by students to the materials they need to learn. They have become an increasingly popular medium for teachers to use because of this. The use of blackboard sites has also increased the effectiveness and prevalence of correspondence courses for students, allowing students to learn with a lesser need to step into the classroom as long as notes are posted online.

Pros: The greatest benefit from having class websites is the accessibility. The student is able to get marks, feedback, and assignments immediately without having to rely on anything other than the teacher uploading the assignments. This also benefits the teacher as many features are preset and makes organizing easier for them. Furthermore, they can receive assignments form students online making deadlines more flexible and can be considered a "green" technology because it requires less paper to be used for readings, assignments, and papers. This instant transfer of information increases the convenience on both ends greatly.

Cons: There are numerous issues that should be considered when using the class website systems available.

The first issue is cost. To implement a network that can support course websites for all class requires the computers, man power, and technology to be paid for. This results in a very high cost to implement these technologies while maintaining them and paying for the most up to date technology as well. Because it is so costly, Schools often need district or government support to pay for and to implement these technologies early on. Also, because these technologies are innovative and new instructors need to be properly trained. This adds to the cost of the technology itself and may lower the number of teachers in an education system who will be able to use this right away.

The biggest issue however may be that with the implementation of such a convenient technology, students may be less inclined to go to class knowing that they can get everything on the course website. This changes the learning structure from the traditional one, which may not benefit all students. Furthermore, it creates the a virtual teacher issue, eliminating the need for personal interaction between student and teacher while relying solely on electronic information.

Interactive Whiteboards


Interactive Whiteboards are most commonly found under the name SmartBoard. Interactive Whiteboards utilize a mounted projector (either a standard front style projector or a rear integrated projector) and a touch sensitive whiteboard. By doing this, an image is projected on to the whiteboard which is sensitive to human touch or the use of included peripherals for the whiteboard, resulting in an instant transfer of the touch motion to the whiteboard.

Pros: By integrating screen projectors and a white board, a teacher has a world convenience in front of them by not having to switch between different pieces of technology to do one thing. With an interactive whiteboard, the teacher can show a video using the computer and immediately after ask a student to do something on the board without every having to set up or move a TV. A teacher can also access a website and then use the whiteboard without having to move a projector screen or turn on and off the projector. By using a front mounted projector as well, schools can save money by installing the whiteboard only.

Another significant advantage of the whiteboard is that because it is interactive, it invites students to become more involved with class. For younger students, it becomes less of a chore to go up to the board but more of a game, making board work fun.

Cons: Interactive Whiteboards are an incredibly pricey technology and much like class websites, requires a significant amount of funding to implement and maintain. While prices vary, it is extremely expensive to acquire a rear integrated projector or an interactive plasma display and the front projector version is still costly. Also much like class websites extensive training on the teacher's part is required especially to keep up with the releases of new technology and because it is so heavily reliant on a computer is subject to standard technical issues that can arise with any technology.

Clickers
Clickers have become increasingly common in the classroom. Clickers are also known as an Active Response System (ARS), providing immediate feedback to teachers from students in the form of multiple choice questions. This is achieved through usage of wireless remotes and a wireless receiver plugged into a computer via a USB port.

Pros: The biggest benefit clickers provide is instant feedback for instructors from students. Because responses are anonymous, students are also more inclined to participate and answer honestly without worrying about ridicule from peers.

Cons: Because it is a fairly simple and straightforward technology, there are few disadvantages to using clickers. The biggest issue is connection issues between remotes and the receiver. Another possible issue is that because all reporting is anonymous, while it does promote participation some students may not answer truthfully or may be even less motivated to approach the teacher with questions.

=Improvements and Concerns=

1. Expensive Cost and Lack of Equipment

Most of the schools do not always provide or receive sponsors for the large budget for technology. Some schools also don’t have the necessary equipment to process the technology. Therefore, technology some times does not benefit every school. Because most of the time, technology equipment are expensive. By turning to corporate sponsors and grants is one possible solution if schools are not supportive or unable to provide technology.

2. Complication of the Functions of Equipment

Many teachers do not know how to incorporate new technology equipment into the instructional process. Especially for those teaches, who just start to learn using the new equipment, will take a bit of longer time to acclimatize. Therefore, teachers should always have some training lessons before using the new technology equipment in the class, or it would be difficult and useless in helping the instructional process.

3. Unreliable

Educational technology equipments are machines, but not human-being. Whenever. There are something went wrong, we cannot fix them, except the “Tech Specialists”. Therefore, technology equipment is not really reliable when there’s anything not working probably.

4. Incorrectly use by the Students

Nowadays, students are not limited on books or newspaper anymore to do research on reports or projects. They can access the website and find tones of information. However, sometimes student do not use website probably. They use it as entertainment during class time and plagiarism for their hand-in reports or reports. To avoid these mistaken purposes, schools should make sure technology equipment; especially computers with internet access are easily observable in order to monitor student’s activity.

5. Not Replacement of Class

Technologies equipments are tools that aids that the instructional process. They help teaches efficiently instill knowledge to students. Therefore, students should not think technologies, such as website or blackboards, as can replace classes. Most of the information are still can only be passed on through books and lectures.

=Conclusion=

As seen above, Educational Technologies are becoming more commonplace in the western world and when used properly are incredibly useful. That being said, educational technologies should not be seen as a classroom or instructor replacement, but instead as a teaching aid. Teachers must be properly trained in order for these technologies to be used efficiently and students must still attend classes and get instructor for the success of educational technologies. Furthermore, educational technologies are still a fairly young industry and prices must either go down or or subsistence for schools are needed for a more general implementation. Educational Technologies are here to stay.

=References=

-“Agapova and Ushakov (1999). How Technology Changes Education. Retrieved from 	http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HKV/is_1_8/ai_65014454/

-Doctorial Forum (2006). National forum. Abstract retrieved from http://www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Cheng-Chieh%20Lai%20The%20Advantages%20and%20Disadvantages%20of%20Computer%20Technology.pdf

-Kelly, M. (2009). Integrating the Internet. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from http://712educators.about.com/cs/technology/a /integratetech_2.htm

-Kook, J. (1997). Computers and communication networks in educational settings in the twenty-first century: Preparation for educator's new roles. Educational Technology, 37, (2), 56-60.

-Schneider K.D. (2009).Educational Technology. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Educational_technology -SMART Board interactive whiteboards (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2009 from http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Products/SMART+Boards/Audience response system, inc. retrieved April 3, 2009 from http://www.audienceresponse.com Technology and Change (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2009, from http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/tnc.html -Thomas J. B. (2000). Concern Surrounding Technology. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from http://gaetc-ejournal.org/admin/concerns.htm University of Saskatchewan (n.d.). Occasional Papers in educational technology. Retrieved April 03, 2009, from http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/index.htm

-Wagner Mark (2005, December 19). Educational Technology and Life. Message posted to  http://mark.blogspot.com/2005/12/what-are-advantages-and-disadvantages.html

-Wellburn, Elizabeth (May, 1996). The Status of Technology in the Education System: A Literature Review. Retrieved on April 03, 2009, from http://www.cln.org/lists/nuggets/EdTech_report.html