Learning in a Digital World

Technology has made a huge impact on the way I learn.  When I first received my Master’s Degree, I never thought I would be going back to college.  The drive alone was horrible.  I drove about an hour each day to the University of West Florida.  I left work around 3 o’clock and did not return home until about 10 o’clock at night.  After grading papers and homework I probably had about three to four hours of sleep.  Walden changed my whole perspective on going back to school.  A face-to-face class for me was dreadful.  I absolutely despised doing group projects or presenting in front of a classroom full of insensible adults.  I was nervous, my voice was trembling, and some of the group members were very rude.  Walden has improved the way I think and communicate with others.  The online collaboration alone has helped me to be a better speaker and successfully prepare for assignments with all the positive feedback I have received from colleagues.  My anxiety level has decreased and I love presenting group projects without the hassle of someone taking over the assignments.   I have total access to all the resources that I need in the comfort of my home. 

I believe that educators should have access to all the educational technology they need to teach 21^st century learners how to successfully prepare for the future.  Teachers should be allowed to have the proper training and tools to engage learners. Educational technology should be considered a requirement for K-12 and higher education.  Here is a portion of Saettler’s (2004) excellent definition of educational technology by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology: 
 

Educational technology is a complex, integrated process involving people, procedures, ideas, devices, and organizations, for analyzing problems, and devising, implementing, evaluating and managing solutions to those problems, involved in all aspects of human learning.  In educational technology, the solutions to problems take the form of all the Learning Resources that are designed and/or selected as Messages, People, Materials, Devices, Techniques, and Settings. 

                            

Saettler, P. (2004). The evolution of American educational technology.  Informaton Age Publishing Inc. Greenwich, Connecticut.

I responded to:

Petti Arthur     http://www.pettiarthur.blogspot.com

Charee Hampton         http://chareehampton.blogspot.com/

Module 5.2 New Technologies

A situation where I have tried to encourage people to use new technology that met with resistance results would be the introduction of our new Focus grade book.  “Focus School Software was incorporated in 2006.  The founder of Focus/SIS, Andrew Schmadeke felt that there was an opportunity in the marketplace to create a student management software that was more user-friendly and provided a better-rounded suite of solutions” (http://www.focus-sis.org/student-information-software).  I was given the job as Grade Book Administrator.  The challenge was for me to train all teachers how to use the software program.  I created a calendar for training grade level chairs to assist in training all other educators.   The problem was that all teachers were not affective participants in the trainings.  Most were doubtful and reluctant to use the program due to all the glitches at the beginning and some were due to lack of insufficient computer skills. 

I would change the motivation of these educators by using Keller’s ARCS model (as noted in Driscoll, 2005).  The ARCS focuses on the learner’s attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction.  With these conditions in mind, I would motivate the staff at my workplace by using incentives such as “goose passes” where teachers can earn extra leave time for attending the meetings.  Grade level teachers will also create small groups to demonstrate knowledge on the interactive SmartBoard after initial training to build confidence and satisfy the need for a more hands on experience.   

References:

http://www.focus-sis.org/student-information-software

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.).Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

I responded to:

Amanda Langston      www.langstoneducationaltechnology.blogspot.com

Petti Arthur      http://www.pettiarthur.blogspot.com