Addressing the Digital Divide

Although, we all discuss the importance and the positive effects of educational technology on learners, it is easy to overlook the schools and the learners who are still struggling with some technology that many of us may consider obsolete. We don’t have to look at impoverished countries to see the level of the digital divide; we can even find it here, at home in major cities in the U.S. The technological divide is not only present among American schools, but also as to how our students are rated when compared to other countries. The goal of education is to have our students compete not only in the local job market, but also globally.

A group of leading educational organizations around the world are collaborating as part of the Global Learning Consortium to construct an outline of Digital Learning Services Standards to conform to new standards of educational technological tools. Currently, Florida Virtual School and the New York City Department of Education are supporting this framework (http://www.imsglobal.org/). This can help in generating some technological standards, which can affect how technological tools are distributed in schools and incorporated successfully as part of a learning environment.

For my multimedia presentation, I looked at cloud computing, where some of the tools are almost free or free. However, as Dr. Soloway noticed, the problem of open source technology is that many schools don’t have the infrastructure to support these technologies. Surprisingly, many times it will be a teacher considered to be “knowledgeable in computers,” or some other volunteer. The blame will be on the technology rather than on the insufficient time and knowledge to maintain it.

The BBC (17 January 2011) published an article regarding a UK government scheme to promote million of users in the UK to use the Internet, by offering free support through centers, selling cheap computers, offering IT training, and even promoting a computer recycling scheme. The article states that, according to a research, “going online can save people around £560 a year and that thousands of jobs are offered exclusively online” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12205412). However, what will happen when the finances for this initiative run out? Many new users will have technology they cannot use, and will return to the main problem of how to continuously support the infrastructure. This reminds me of another government program, the cash for clunkers car-buying stimulus bill, where there was a divide between who can afford a new car and who cannot!
According to Pew research, there are more users of cell phones than desktops. Therefore, Dr. Soloway suggests incorporating smart-phones as an educational tool, which can be the most feasible solution to incorporating technology.

(http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Generations-and-gadgets.aspx)

According to the graph and chart, smart phones and hand-held devices will send desktop PCs to the obsolete area on the McLuhan's Tetrad and they will be the better option for providing a connection through the Internet. Furthermore, by incorporating into the classrooms, it can be seen as a breaker of the “have and have-not” technological tools.

A good example of how mobile technology is opening social networks for education is observed in an article published by Erin Conway-Smith (July 22, 2010). “Teaching with Cell Phones” in South Africa shows an impoverished neighborhood where students can connect through the Internet to any math volunteer tutor locally or globally. The article “Cell phone learning”, states that it uses the students’ own technology, which is always at hand. According to Vosloo’s research, among urban youth, 90 percent have access to cell phones and around 70 percent of those are GPRS-enabled phones, which are preferred for mobile learning”
(http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/education/100720/south-africa-teaching-cell-phones).


Reference:

Soloway, E. (n.d.) The digital divide: leveling the playing field [Podcast]. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/14936/CRS-WUEDUC8812-3730077/EDUC_8848_PK_Transcript.pdf

Thornburg, D. (2009). Diversity and Globalism. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199715&Survey=1&47=5828341&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Emerging and Future Technologies

SITTING ON A CLOUD

In the last few years, the idea of cloud computing has taken over individuals and organizations.

The way we save and backup our files is changing which is opening new doors to collaboration among professionals, students, and organizations. Our storage media has evolved from floppy disks, CDs, flash drives, external hard drives and other storage devices. With the cloud, there is no need to carry all of the files with the threat of the loss of a storage media which translates into lost work. Now, it all “sits” on a cloud in a centralized location which can easily be retrieved with an Internet connection. Cloud computing not only changes how we store and retrieve applications and files, but also how we communicate and share them with other members of our group, and how organizations restructure and modernize their IT infrastructure. An example is Dropbox.com, a free option to save files on the cloud and which also allows users to share particular files with others.
Furthermore, according to a report by Gartner: “By 2016, all Global 2000 companies will use public cloud services” (http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1465614). In cloud computing, there is also a cost advantage for organizations and for individual use. It is more cost effective to use cloud services than purchasing and maintaining additional computer processors and constructing large data centers on college campuses. Using the cloud helps with regards to short and long term projects that demand additional computer requirements and software applications. Also, learners do not have to rely on computer labs and to purchase expensive applications for particular classes, but instead, users have access on-demand to data.
Furthermore, cloud computing creates a real opportunity for collaboration among learners and administration within a classroom, campus, or even globally without any delay where they can share ideas, work on projects, and research in addition to minimizing additional operation costs.
However, one of the main concerns of using cloud computing is the security of the data and the continuation of the services. There are always cyber attacks occurring and it is important for the users to be aware of all the pitfalls of cloud computing. However, there is an increased danger of misplacing and losing USB drives which is more common, rather than incurring a cyber attack! Another issue is if there is no Internet connection, you cannot retrieve your document, although cell phones are creating another way to go around that problem.

The use of cloud computing in education should eliminate students’ need to carry homework assignment and projects on USB drives or in the form of papers. Educators will have the option to view students’ assignments online and post their assignments there as well. This will also help parents to have a better handle of what is covered in class and the students’ progress.

In order for the saving and retrieving of files from the cloud to be successful, educators have to be active participants in it! Rogers (2003) states that how the emerging idea is communicated can affect the rate of adaptation of the new technology (p.222); meaning, if the idea comes from the organization itself, this factor can influence its acceptance by the parties (p.356). According to Gardner 2010 forecast report of strategic planning assumptions (http://www.1105info.com/t.do?id=6589564:17617519): “by 2013, 75% of higher education institutions will incorporate social software in distance learning.” In this case, educators will be less hesitant to implement new technology, especially because there would be no need to purchase additional technology by the schools.
Therefore, I believe that social network integration in the classrooms will increase over time. http://www.dropbox.com/ and other similar options of a cloud computing, where learners can save their information on a cloud and share files with peers and educators, will be incorporated as part of a class curriculum and will help eliminate the carrying of school work in terms of paper and external files for students.
The question is what would make this technology even better. It can improve only if it will be used in education, as new ideas are generated by educators, it will continue to improve the product.

Reference:
Rogers, E. (2003). Diffusion of innovations. New York: Free Press.

Thornburg, D. (2009). Current trends in educational technology. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/Courses/14936/crs-wueduc8812-3526271/when_is_a_technology_emergent.pdf


http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/CollaborationinHigherEducation/199373

http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE%2BQuarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/CloudComputing/213724

Collaboration

Do you believe that humans have a basic instinct to “interact and work as a group,” as Rheingold proposed in his discussion of the evolution of Wikipedia as a collectively developed encyclopedia? How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?

I believe that as humans we have a basic instinct to “interact and work as a group.” There are many examples throughout history, especially in the development of technological tools. A recent example is the development of Google's new “Wave” tool. Developed by group of people at Google, it encompasses the instantaneous of an Instant message chat and an email and can work as a motivating collaborative tool. Most computer games and softwares have all been developed by a combined effort of a group utilizing individual skills. We even create study groups in college to facilitate learning.
In his speech on collaboration, Howard Rheingold emphasizes important points, his first presumed cliché statement is that we “succeed by destroying and dominating competition.” However, he continues saying that we also succeed through collaborative effort and when we all work in concert. For example, large corporations merge for the purpose to extend and produce better products, rather than working against each other because it is in their mutual self interest. Another good example introduced by Rheingold is the Open Source products, such as Linux, Mozilla, Apache, Wikipedia, and the free Open University lectures posted by Berkley University and Yale. These free available resources are popular because they are good products in view of the fact that each programmer contributes his knowledge continuously improving these products.
Technology plays an important factor in education and Web2.0, and especially accolade constructivist principles. With Web1.0, the information was only communicated through technology to the public, with Web 2.0 it has became a discourse through the use of social networks. Web2.0 encourages dialog with teachers and with peers, asks questions and nurture a learner’s curiosity. Through the use of technology, it is important to let students analyze, create, classify and accept a learner’s independence and initiative.

Reference:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

Cognitivism as a Learning Theory

Bill Kerr questions learning theories on his Blog, and especially asks how can we choose from all of the learning theories? We should cherry-pick different useful ideas out of the various theories according to what and who we are educating. Theories do evolve and interlace; the behaviorist aspects can even be observed through games associated with cognitive and constructivist theories. A game’s intent depends on understanding the motivation verses the reaction behavior of the player. An example is a player’s decisions in the game which are proportional to the rewards gained. Games teach behavior by reinforcing positive rewards. George Siemens underlines this on his website: “Constructivism suggests that learners create knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences (Driscoll, 2000, p. 376). Behaviorism and cognitivism view knowledge as external to the learner and the learning process as the act of internalizing knowledge.”
My goal is to enhance knowledge through understanding and interest rather than pure memorization. I would like my students to be able to learn how to construct knowledge independently and be able to place it in context. To achieve this goal, I evaluate the outcomes through assessing the learning progression of the students and by evaluating the students’ interest through their engagement in the class. Some projects are done individually and some are done as part of a collaborative effort to simulate the working environment outside of the classroom. I provide the guidance on how to use and assess the needed tools and take on the role of an adviser and guide for the students to achieve the optimum results. Since each student comes to the class with a varied knowledge base, through individualized and collaborative projects, they construct and enhance individual knowledge skills.
The information technology age and especially the advancement of mobile devices have changed the working environment. Neither the employee nor the students are confined to a particular location or time to work or study. Due to the ubiquitous and mobile nature of technology, work and school have become “anytime and everywhere.” With that, the expectations of the employee have changed. The employee is required to have cognitive skills, be problem solvers and able to work in a collaborative and dynamic communication driven environment. Therefore, Karl Kapp is correct to state on his blog: “We need to take pieces from each school of thought and apply it effectively.”

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

Kapp, K. (2007, January 2). Out and About: Discussion on Educational Schools of Thought. Retrieved December 23, 2009, from : http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational.html

Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). Retrieved December 23, 2009, from : http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Siemens, G. (2004, December 12). A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved December 23, 2009, from : http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm