I was debating between the title I ended up using and a lyric from the Dusty Springfield song, “Windmills in your Mind.” Education Technology does feel like a spinning wheel (another one I could have used) that is consistently expanding with more spokes and gaining momentum. I think it’s partially the general state of how technology is evolving, but I that a huge part of it has to do with educators themselves. I think as educators we generally want to create a learning experience that is engaging and connects with our learners. As educators themselves become more engaged with technology I think it’s only natural for us to start to think about how these technologies can impact the learning experience. I know that was my first thought when I viewed a video about the Microsoft Hololense (n.d.)
That enthusiasm without measure is part of the problem. It’s really, really easy to be distracted by the new shiny technology on the block. That’s why I think the most valuable thing that we’ve done this entire semester was the become familiar with the SECTIONS model (Bates, 2014). Ultimately as educators we need to consistently remind ourselves to refocus on the purpose of the experience. I’ve even had to struggle with that during the creation of our final assignment for this course. I’ve run across an app called Anchor.FM which allows you to have recorded conversations that can be shared. I really like the format and I think it has some real merit for collecting experiences to use in class materials. When I think about the audience for online learning, which is really world wide, the possibilities of providing authentic real life examples that I could never get on my own. The problem is, I’m not sure that I should use it in the unit that I’m creating. To be honest, if I were creating the full course the technology fits other parts of the course better. That being said, I may do it anyway just so I can play with the shiny new technology.
When I was reviewing the assigned readings this week, I zeroed in on the NMC Horizon Report as I think it has a lot do to about answering the questions regarding the role of technology is playing and will play moving forward (2015). The truth is as I was reading the report, especially when I was reading the final section on anticipated time to adoption I found myself not getting excited about new technologies, but wondering how long ago this report was written. Far from being cutting edge I found that a lot of the technologies were already becoming mainstream. I was actually a bit disappointed as I reviewed the material, at least initially. As I’ve already mentioned the pace at which technology in general is sometimes astounding, so reflecting on it I can understand why some of the future technologies seem like they’re already here.
As for my vision I think there are a few levels where technology is going to impact education, but one area that really worries me is access from a couple of different angles. One in terms of those can afford to access the technology will benefit from it. It is especially evident with the rise in the BYOD scenario. I fear that those that are not able to access the devices will not be able to access the variety of free courses available online and even some parts of paid courses. It’s not just access to devices that is the issue. It’s also still, in some places, just a basic question of accessing the internet in general. In Canada we have prime examples with remote communities and rural areas where internet access is either expensive or second rate. My own parents live 20 minutes outside of Charlottetown, PEI and had dial-up access up until three or four years ago.
In terms of instructional design, I think many educators are excited by the variety of possibilities that technologies affords us in terms of types of activities and information delivery. As I’ve already expressed the pace of the development of technology is happening at a rate that I find hard to keep track of, and I really doubt that I’m alone in that. I think that hard part is that as educators we not only need to keep track of changes in technology that are intended to be used to education, but we also need to keep track of changes in technology that could be used for education. The difficulty is not only in keeping up with technologies but in assimilating it into a classroom environment.
I think that the final major trend that will be a change driver moving forward has to do with assessment. I’ve had a few conversations with people that I used to work with around assessment, specifically competency based assessment for workplace environments. It’s definitely one of the visions that exists for digital badging. I know that in this course we’re all familiar with using badges within a course environment, but there is definitely also a movement to use digital badging as a form of credentialing. Don Presant writes a blog called, “Littoraly Learning Across the Margins” that outlines the impact that digital credentials could potentially have (2016). Reading Don’s blog it is easy to see that the are many more complex uses for digital badging. I think it’s going to be interesting to see how this will tie into assessment for workplace certifications. Ultimately there could be huge impacts that create change across the current education and training industry.
As for where I see myself helping shape the landscape. I honestly don’t know what kind of impact I’ll personally be making. I find it hard to focus on just one aspect of technology that could be used for education, and perhaps that’s part of my problem, I can’t focus on just on part, but I seem to need to know a little bit about everything.
References:
Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in digital age http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/ (Chapter 8 on SECTIONS framework)
Microsoft HoloLens. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2016, from https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us
New Media Consortium. (2015). NMC Horizon Report 2015: Higher ed edition. Retrieved from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2015-nmc-horizon-report-HE-EN.pdf
Presant, D. (2016). Littoraly. Retrieved March 27, 2016, from https://littoraly.wordpress.com/