Does Technology enhance Education?

1. Does Technology enhance Education? Or, is this just another way to spend money foolishly?

2. Progress • “Technology has always been with us. The Stone Age (about 8000 BC) was named for the materials humans used to modify their environment. Historians have named different time periods such as the Renaissance (1300 - 1600 AD) or the Industrial Revolution (1700 - 1850 AD) for those things that strongly influenced the society at the time. It is no insignificant fact then that we live in the Technological Age. Technology, unlike any other force, will continue to have a unique influence on the individual, society and the environment.” • “Technology seeks different kinds of answers because it asks very different kinds of questions: How can we communicate over long distances? How can keep warm during the winter? How can we lift a heavy load? How can we keep accurate records over time? and many more. While science seeks understanding, technology seeks solutions. Technology is important for our understanding of the human-made world in which we live. Increasingly, the human-made world is impacting on our life and well-being.” http://www.trenton.edu/~teched

3. Introduction • Technology is a necessary skill to be successful in a competitive job market for middle- to upper-income earners. • Does the cost of technology outweigh the benefits, present and future? • What is “technology in the classroom?”

4. Overview • The tech version of “the three R’s” varies greatly from district to district. • The success of any method, new or old, depends on the teacher. ‘net read drill tech ‘rite math value test attn

5. The Three R’s • Reading, and ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic (now without threat of a hickory stick) • Teacher led, “local” environment • Exercise to re-enforce learning (drill and practice)

6. High Tech Learning • The Three R’s and a “T” for technology • Teacher led, “global” environment • Exercise to re-enforce learning Drawn by Bob Lynch

7. Charts • “…Native American students tend to learn in a manner different from many other students. Their learning style is more amenable to visual, participatory and hands on kinds of presentations. In keeping with this, learning materials for theEnvironmental Technology curriculum should be developed with emphasis on visual, hands on, participatory processes, rather than just lectures/monologues. This approach could also include student group solving exercises. “

8. Summary • Technology is necessary to give all students an equal opportunity for future success • The success of any methodology depends on the success of the application • Increase training and support for teachers to increase the success of technology in schools

9. Where to Get More Information • Unequal Computer Access and the Computer Gap • The Near-Myth of Our Failing Schools • ITFORUM: Building an Interactive Professional Community (Paper presented at the AECT Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1997) • Talking Technology: Language and Literacy in the Primary School Examined Through Children's Encounters with Mechanismsby Eric Parkinson • Content or Process as Approaches to Technology Curriculum: Does It Matter Come Monday Morning?by Theodore Lewis • http://lamar/colostate.edu/~coamp a site to increase minority participation in technology • . ICTE -- International Conference on Technology and Education Home Page • . CITE, the Centre for Innovative Technology Education; Gander, Newfoundland, Canada • http://www.trenton.edu/~teched