Educational technology - success or failure

In my opinion, it is sometimes difficult to say that the technological innovations have been a failure in education. The main reasons that technology has tended to not be utilized in education is due to the knowledge utilizing and the cost in acquiring the hardware and software. My first experiences of using a computer in a classroom occurred when I was in the 4th grade using a TRS-80. Only one teacher in the entire school knew how to operate the machines. As a result, you were only able to use the computer once a week for about an 30 minutes. We learned very easy BASIC programming. I remember messing up the programming of the computer program and I classroom teacher who was not acquainted with the computer panicked. As a result of her reaction, I became nervous around computers for many years. The costs also have a real impact on education. In order to provide plenty of technological components for students in higher education, a sizable amount of money needs to be spent. Another factor that has to be considered is not all parents and students are able to afford their own personal computer. I remember a vendor who sold a library database came to a university that I worked for and was surprised that the students did not have access to their own laptop. The vendor had been to several other universities and that was the norm. As a result, they were not sure if their product would be suitable for the university in which I was working.

A proposal that could be put forward to provide technological training on university campuses. I realize that many institutions of higher education provide training in Microsoft Office products. However, this is only minimal training. These institutions could provide training through a continuing education program which would allow faculty and support staff the opportunities in learning how to use software. As far as funding goes, I really do not see any other alternative than raising fees in order to increase the amount of technologies available to the institutions. Since state universities are becoming more and more privatized as a result of lack of funding from the state. The only alternative is to increase fees or seek additional funding through grants from corporations.

After reading chapter 6 of Michael Romano’s Empowering Teachers with Technology, I strongly agreed with the following perceptions:

As the third millennium begins, it is evident that the development of digital technology has had, and will continue to have, a profound, pervasive impact on the course of global civilization.

In my opinion, nothing has transformed education and society the way computers and the Internet have. Higher education used to be dependent on classes taken in a brick and mortar building. Since the expansion of computers and the Internet, many individuals are taking classes online. People who live in remote locations are now able to take courses which were at one time not too long ago impossible. I believe in the future technology will improve enough to where a class of 30 students can meet at the same time interact with each other. This will greatly improve the online educational experience.

The pervasive societal developments fostered by the computer and the Internet evoke a wide disparity of reactions, since they are perceived from disparate vantage points. Regardless, all can agree on one reality: humans will become more and more dependent on the mighty minuscule microchip. We can be optimistic that in the end the human capacity to adapt will prevail – as it always has.

People are already dependent on computers when they do their research. As a librarian, when we give a student the opportunity to use a print index as opposed to an online database, they will use the computer. We have also experienced when the computers go down, the library becomes a ghost town. The library staff has also noticed that the number of reference questions have significantly reduced. Students tell the librarians that they do not need to use the library because everything is on the Internet. However, in my opinion, the process of conducting research is still difficult on students. Students are only using the Internet to conduct what they believe is sound research. They are not validating their source. In my opinion, higher education should strive to work with libraries to instruct students on which resources are the best to use. Students need to be provided guidance in their assignments and not allowed to only rely on the Internet to find answers to their research.

The computer is a multimedia information-management system that can be programmed to function on an alternative basis. They replicate and markedly amplify certain basic cognitive functions of the human mind, specifically storage, computation and retrieval. Thus computers have enormous potential to profoundly impact the teaching-learning process.

There is no way that I can remember everything that I come across. As a result, I rely on my computer to store lots of information that I use from time to time. Whether it is preparing presentations or papers, the computer serves a useful purpose for me. I also use the computer as a mechanism of communication through instant messenger, e-mail, and blogging.

Because computers store multimedia information interactively retrievable utilizing software that is course specific, they allow teachers to provide each member of the class an increased number of individualized learning experiences based on the learner’s needs rather than the teacher’s availability.

Tutorials are an outstanding mechanism that can be created and used for educating students. I have created several online tutorials for finding legal information during my tenure at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Several students have expressed their gratitude that these tutorials are accessible to them whenever they need it. This is one method in which the Internet can serve as a useful tool in educating students.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century it is apparent that society is driven by information managed in three literacy modes: print literacy, video literacy, and computer literacy. To maximally empower teachers all three should be integrated into the implementation of the curriculum. What is not apparent is how this is best accomplished.

I agree strongly with this perception. There is no better way that this can be accomplished than through a partnership of faculty with librarians. The library staff are usually more familiar with the resources than anyone else on a higher education campus. The only way that students and faculty can become knowledgeable in what is available is through a partnership. I have created a rubric which outlines the expectations of what a lower-level undergraduate, upper-level graduate, and graduate level student should know based on information literacy concepts. However, I have not decided which would be the best mechanism to get this adopted university-wide. The only format that I know of is through the faculty senate. However, if other mechanisms should and could be used I would be interested.

Interactive multimedia, stored and retrieved by computer, represents a linkage or convergence of print literacy, video literacy, and computer literacy. Its full potential in the classroom is significant and still to be realized.

As educators we all want students to provide higher quality writing, critical thinking, and research. It is only through partnerships between faculty and librarians can information literacy standards and expectations be realized.