Ely, D. P. (2002). Trends in educational technology: Fifth edition. Department of Education: Washington, DC. ERIC document ED 477 511
Please select the chapter you want to summarize and add your name below the trend after the word "by." This will be the chapter you are assigned to summarize.
Chapter Assignments below:
Introduction:
by
Trend 1: Computer Access and Use
by Lisa Hadlock
TREND 1: There is near saturation of computers in K-12 schools, while higher education institutions report moderate saturation. Students and teachers have almost universal access to computers, many of which are connected to the internet.
Trend 1 illustrates the increased use of computers in the past twenty years or so by presenting percentage ration changes.
The number of computers in K-12 schools has been steadily increasing over the years.
· 1983-84 one computer per 125 students
· 1985-86 one computer per 50 students
· 2000 one computer per 6.6 students
· 2001-2002 survey revealed one computer per 25.3 students to one per 3.1 students.
The author adds a caution about these numbers – they are not actual assignment of students to computers, but typically characterize student access to a computer. The computers are usually located and shared in a classroom or laboratory. None the less, the numbers indicate that “computer access is nearing a point of saturation” in K-12 schools (pg 18).
Studies of the National Center for Educational Statistics revealed:
1999 Study:
- · 95% - 99% of teachers have computers available in schools
- · 84% had computers available in classrooms
2000 Study:
- Half of teachers with computers used them for classroom instruction
- Teachers used them for creating instructional materials
- Gathering information for lesson plans
- Communicating with colleges
- Teachers had students use computers half the time, or more, for completing assignments in word processing and creating spreadsheets (61%), internet research (51%), practicing drills, solving problems and analyzing data (50%).
The annual Campus Computing Project study of technology in higher education, which started in 1990, revealed in 2001the following information about the growth of computer applications in colleges and universities:
- 64% of all schools use instructional software
- 67% of all schools offer online courses
- Online course registration is up from 21% in 1998
- Registration is up 43% in 2000
- Budget cuts in higher education indicate lower spending on technology in 2001
- In 2000, 11.4% of institutions in the study saw a decline in budgeting
- In 2001, 18% of institutions in the study saw a decline in budgeting
- Percentage of college students who own computers has been rising
- In 2000, 58.6% owned computers
- In 2001, 71.5% owned computers
- In 2001, 55.7% students’ computers were desktop and 15.8% were laptops
- Increasing availability of wireless services at 11% of institutions is increasing laptop ownership.
Summary: The computer has become is a symbol of educational, or instructional, technology. In fact, so many studies appear to be about the use of educational technology, but are actually about the numbers of computers being used, that computers are often considered as equivalent to educational technology. Although this focus does validate that the computer and its applications play a dominant role in schools, the author of this book thinks it’s important to include other aspects of educational technology such as information on trends in teachers’ technology literacy and the growth of distance education.
Trend 2: Internet Access and Use
by Sharon Moore
Trend 3: Television and Video
by Martina Villarreal
Leveling off of television most likely occurred because it is so readily available in educational settings. One must understand the vast variety of video delivery systems available and the applications being used. Video streaming has also gained popularity because of its constant use on the Web. It will probably increase in usage as technology improves. Video conferencing is also widely used to deliver courses synchronously to different learners in different locations.
Broadcast television and cable television are also widely used in schools. These sources are mostly synchronous but there are also pre-recorded videotapes that can be used to deliver instruction. Television producers for schools and colleges offer useful programming. Cable in the Classroom, for example, provides private and public schools with access to educational television programming through free cable connections. Many schools have access to commercial-free, copyright-cleared programming from various providers including the Discovery Channel, the Weather Channel, CNN, and the History Channel. Programs are broadcast in the morning, can be recorded and utilized later by teachers as needed. In 1997, the CPB (Corporation for Pubic Broadcasting) conducted a study of video and television usage in public school in the United States. The study showed that nearly all teachers had access to television and video in their school. The teachers surveyed also indicated that they had used television and video in the classroom within the past five years.
The usage of television has not reduced the use of computers. The CPB study indicated that teachers use both television and computers in their classrooms. About 25% of teachers reported that the usage of television has actually increased with the availability of computers.
Television is an active part of distance education and is being utilized in conjunction with computers. There seems to be a trend to use hybrid delivery methods including television, websites, and prerecorded video. By utilizing this approach, class instruction is more effective and also seems to reduce students’ boredom.
Trend 4: Advocacy
by Mary Montgomery
Trend 5: Home Use and Distance Education
by Rosimeire Santos
Trend 5: The home has become a classroom for children and adults. Distance education has become a significant provider of instruction through the use of technological media.
This section discusses the extend to which young learners are using computers and internet at home and the unprecedented growth of distance education for adults, much of it taking place in the home.
The author shows some statistics about the use of computer at home:
- Half of the 10 million US households own at least one computer and most of those household are connected to the internet; (US Census Bureau 2001)
- Four out of five home with computer use them to go online; (US Census Bureau 2001)
- 90% of school age children have access to a computer at school or or home or both;
- Only 15% of the senior citizens use the internet; (US Census Bureau 2001)
- 65% of all children three to 17 years of age lived in households with computers, an increase of 10% since 1998; (US Census Bureau-2001)
- 73% students middle and high school have internet access at home; (Pew Internet and American Life Project-2001)
- 86% of home school families use internet-connected computer for research and general information searching; (Mayfield 2000)
- There are important increase of number of software programs designed specifically for home school learners;
- There some evidence that many CD_ROMs programs have been better received for instructional purposes at home than online services; (Pew Research Center -1995)
- 65% children 3 to 17 years age lived in a households with computer
- 85% of two and four-year college and universities will offer distance education courses in 2002 (predict from International Data Corporation, up from 62% 1998)
- Student enrollments are projected to increase from just over one-half million to well over two million students (International Data Corporation 1999)
Growth of Distance Education
The Percentage of Post-secondary institutions offering distance learning course rose from 64% in 1995 to 79% in 1998 (National Center for Educational Statistics)
Saba (2001) concludes that distance learning has become main stream and that 2002 will be pivotal year for further growth. The nature of distance education varies from institution to institution and from one instructor to another. According Saba, there are 2 choices to adopt a model of DE and eLearning which is close possible to face-to-face instruction or to unleash the real power of DE and eLearning (infers that distance teaching and learning is pedagogically different from conventional classroom approaches)
The author says that the most of attraction to distance learning is a matter of convenience:
- To be free of regular class attendance at specific time and place;
- College, universities, corporation, government agencies and military and health professions are all responsible for the growth of DE among adult learners.
The author concludes that distance education applications of technology are still confronted with serious cautions, as showed by the following issues:
- The American Federations of Teacher and the National Education Association only reluctantly endorsed the technology-based distance education;
- Molenda and Sullivan (2001) in their analysis of instructional technology trends:
· call distance education (especially Web-based instruction) “still an obsession” with distance education offering varying greatly by type of institution;
· says that “the successful business model is elusive” and for most part is “not making profits”;
· report that the greater successes stem from distance educations degree program “granted by brand-name schools”;
· and says that consortia are sometimes formed to create a critical mass of distance education courses;
Trend 6: New Delivery Systems
by Melissa Palestro
Trend 6: New delivery systems have stimulated the development and use of technological applications for teaching and learning. Foremost among them are wireless devices, such as laptop and handheld computers.
The author states that the growth of wireless devices has been ongoing. He takes us through the history of wireless communication as an example of how technology is going to continue to grow and progress in the future. In 1991 there was nothing compared to what we have now available to educators. There were no sound cards and modems ran at speeds of 2,400 bits per second. The internet wasn’t accessible to most people and the World Wide Web did not exist. Cell phones were large and had limited coverage. Laptops were just starting to be used in the educational setting. In 1991, laptops were just starting to be used by a small number of university faculty.
Now rapidly growing use of laptop computers has been documented in K-12 schools and universities. Schools are even developing programs where students are able to take the laptops home. Research has shown that there are learning benefits to laptop computers. These benefits include increasing student motivation and creating more student-centered classrooms.
The author states that laptops may not become as common as hand-held calculators because of a variety of issues. Costs for laptops are high and technological support and security are also expensive. He does state that although these wireless devices may someday become so common as to replace desktop computers, further research is still needed to decide their role in education.
Trend 7: Professional Development for Teachers
by Rogelio "Roy" Campa
As the world of technology changes everyday, the need for proper development and training for teachers is in high demand. Improper training of staffs and teachers can render them as incompetent to teach. With new emerging technologies that arise everyday training is a critical and absolute mean to the answer. There is a question that has to be answered; should the training come before the implementation or after? Another question that administration should look at is; will there be follow trainings for continuing education for all staff? Due to the impact of eductional reform educational institutes, software and hardware companies offer in-service training. State and National agencies created funding so that teachers can be adequately trained on emerging technologies. According to Donald P. Ely, the problem that is hindering the use of all technologies is the belief that if you put technology into a classroom room it will automatically improve student learning. That is not the case; most teachers are not adequately prepared to train their students on how-to-aspects of all or some the available tools for the student to use in the 21st Century. A school in Dallas Texas has implemented a strategy for teachers on pay raises. If a teacher masters computer skills he/she will be rewarded through pay raises. It has been stated by NetDay that 84% of teachers believe that computers along with internet access improve the quality of education. To show the increase of wired computers in the classroom in a five year span; according to NetDay only a handful of computer were connected as opposed to 2002 where nearly every classroom has a computer connected to the internet. The question; is educational technology the basis for educational reform? As of today educational technology is and still plays a major role in education reform. Teachers and staff should must be trained pre-implementation, during, and post.
Trend 8: Education Reform
by Rosa "Ana" Garcia
TREND 8: More than ever, reputable organizations perceive the use of instructional technology in schools, colleges and the public sector as a vehicle for educational reform.
There are often pronouncements and prescriptions for technology to play a role in education reform in the U.S.. Technology, which has been so prevalent in the larger society, especially in solving business and industrial problems, should be seriously considered for addressing some of the problems that plague America’s educational institutions. “Technology Is the Answer! But What Was the Question?” It is unlikely that technology by itself will solve anything until each educational program is critically analyzed. The introduction of each new technological innovation was indicated as a revolutionary tool that would change the American education system, from the introduction of lantern slides and audio recording to the motion picture. The introduction of instructional television in the 1950s, programmed instruction in the 1960s, and microcomputers in the late 1970s and early 1980s launched renewed confidence in technology as a vehicle for education reform in schools. In 2000, a realignment of the Regional Technology Centers (R*TECs) created ten centers. Each of the centers was establish to help states, districts, schools, adult literacy centers and other institutions to use advanced technology to support teaching and learning. When the centers were realigned, every state education department either had or was in the process of preparing a technology plan. Every state had a technology plan for education by 2002. The leadership in the applications of technology to teaching and learning came form the U.S. Department of Education. In the report entitled The Secretary’s Conference on Educational Technology 2000: Measuring the Impacts and Shaping the Future, a concluding statement put forth two basic premises: “No longer asking if technology should be part of the educational processes, the question has now shifted to what constitutes an excellent education in this digital age, and how schools use technology effectively to advance student learning” (Secretary’s Conference 2000, p. 64). In a survey conducted by the United University Professions (2001) of post-secondary educators, 60% of the instructors said they would be willing to try teaching online even though 90% said that they had never done it. The willingness of these higher education instructors to integrate technology to their instruction indicates an acceptance of technology in education.
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