Critical Issues in Educational Technology - ED 6381

  Synthesis

     When simply put, educational technology is used to facilitate learning. But it is when one dives deeper into the root of what it truly is, what it should be, and how it came about, this is where we find many critical issues for educators and students alike. Although this type of technology has become a great asset to educational institutions, it has also become such a massive powerhouse to analyze, mediate, and regulate. It is evident that educational technology has created a more engaging and interactive learning experience. There is a wide range of programs and applications that can be implemented by educators to facilitate learning. But what happens when critical issues such as effective educator training, correct implementation of the program, or lack of student predictive data arise? Emerging technologies take time to implement properly. When they are not adequately used as a meaningful resource, then they become ineffective and obsolete to educators and students. Technology should be integrated into education to increase the efficiency of learning. There are various issues concerning the integration of technology into education. As outlined by the SREB, some issues are bandwidth, student digital literacy, new learning models, and predictive analytics among others. 

“According to the Southern Regional Education Board, leaders need to ensure that the technologies they decide to implement will likely add value and improve the instructional process over the long term (SREB, 2018).”

 

    During the pandemic, bandwidth became more than ever a critical issue for educational institutions. As educators and learners were forced to switch from traditional in-person instruction to full-on distance learning. As a classroom teacher myself, I saw how critical of an issue this became as many students did not have access to reliable internet access needed for online instruction. This greatly affected educators and learners as online classes were not able to run efficiently and effectively to meet the needs of our students when issues arose. In turn, learning was at times hindered as instruction delivery was inadequate for some. As the importance is outlined in the SREB, expand reliable, affordable bandwidth to ensure that educators and their students gain maximum benefit from current and emerging technologies (SREB, 2018).

Furthermore, it is crucial for educators to use new learning models as part of their daily instruction. When new learning models are not being implemented, then it becomes a critical issue. According to the SREB, there is a need to, provide more use of technology to create personalized, competency-based learning environments and delivery methods that allow students to demonstrate mastery of content at their own pace (SREB, 2018). Educators must integrate various forms of technology into their instruction. This will have a higher effectiveness rate by creating engaging lessons for students to collaborate with. When students are actively collaborating with technology-rich lessons, meaningful learning is taking place and they are grasping fundamental digital literacy skills as well.\

In addition, data is an important part of all educational institutions. It is a vital part of instruction, this is why predictive analytics is a critical issue. As reported in SREB, incorporate the use of data for decision-making and predictive modeling of student-centric outcomes to improve education systems, processes, and policy (SREB, 2018). As an educator myself, I use student data to drive my instruction. Collecting data becomes meaningful when it is used to cause a better overall outcome in the student's education. Analyzing my students’ data allows me to target areas of need they may have and it also allows me to view their mastery of certain objectives.

It is because of all the reasons previously mentioned, that institutions along with their educators must develop critical theories about educational technology. When educators begin to analyze and evaluate their theories about how technology directly affects their instruction, they can become more self-aware of the integral role they play in the education of their students. Awareness and self-reflection will lead you to become a more efficient educator. It also leads you to research critical issues in educational technology in order to develop problem-solving theories.  As reported in the Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology (Allen- Brown, 2014), critical theory speaks to many conceptions of educational technology outside the mainstream, critical theory is worth examining in some detail to establish its value in making educational technology more fully understood, meaningful, and even emancipatory. 

    “Critical theories seek to reveal the contradictions, social inequalities, and dominances; to this extent, they can be called negative. However, it might be more accurate to say that because critical theories run contrary to that which oppresses people, the theories usually are positive and hopeful.” (Allen- Brown, 2014)

    The Importance of the Information to Me, My Profession, and My Learning Experience 

           I find this information of great importance to me as an educator. These readings and research have led me to have critical insights and self-reflection. Throughout my experience as a classroom teacher, I have seen educational technology flourish. There have been many advancements in integrating technology into our instruction. I have grown immensely as an educator while focusing on integrating these technologies into my classroom. It is an ongoing learning experience for me, as I work through using new technologies and programs provided by my district. I found that in this day and age, students are more thirsty than ever for technology-driven instruction. I passionately meet their needs by assuring they are instilled with fundamental digital literacy skills. My classroom is buzzing daily with interactive digital lessons and my students enjoy collaborating with each other and learning together.

What Do You Need to Learn More About?

        As I read and researched, I found myself connecting deeply with the text as an educator. I connected with most of the critical issues with educational technology because those are ongoing real-world problems affecting educators and students alike. It is one thing to read it in a text, but another to actually experience some of these issues in your real-life profession. I did find that I still have an array of concepts to learn about when it comes to educational technology. For instance, one essential area I would like to learn more about is how to best integrate and implement technology into education. In addition, I am interested in learning about ethical and societal relations within educational technology. I am eager to gain the knowledge necessary to be as efficient and effective an educator as I can be because I know that technology will only continue to grow as a vital role in education and instruction. According to the Journal of Interactive Media in Education, online technologies, the internet, the web and computers have penetrated every layer of our lives, to such an extent that the internet and the web can be seen as a global brain with distributed cognition across networks. In fact, these technologies are the catalyst of the digital knowledge age (Bozkurt, 2020).

Why Do You Need to Learn More About It?

        
        According to the Review of Research in Education, Learning is a skill. To catch a ball, the hands must be directed toward and come together at a precise point in space and time. Likewise, to manage learning is to make a student sensitive to environmental cues and to elicit from his actions that have an appropriate order and form (Frase, 1975). This is the reason I need to learn more about educational technology along with its critical issues, so I can guide my students to the precise point that is most effective for their education. I want to acquire a broad understanding and perspective on the concepts necessary to facilitate the most adequate instruction and ultimately be the most competent educator I can be.

One essential resource that I would utilize for future reference is from Lefrere, P. (1981). evaluation, psychology, and educational technology. European Journal of Education, Vol.16     No ¾ (1981), pp. 419- 426.  I find this insight interesting information on how learners evaluate information. It examines the learning process and the psychology behind it. 

References

Allen- Brown, V. & Nichols, R. G. (2004). 9 critical theory and educational technology. Handbook of research on educational communications and technology, 2004, 1- 29. 

Bozkurt, A. (2020). educational technology research patterns in the realm of the digital knowledge age. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2020 (1).

Frase, L. T. (1975). advances in research and theory in instructional theory. Review of Research in Education, Vol. 3, 1975, pp. 43- 73.

Southern Regional Education Board. (February 2018). 10 issues in educational technology. SREB.org,