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Reflective Essay #2
Throughout this class, Inquiry into Educational Technology, I have had the opportunity to review several studies in the field. Two of the areas I had been particularly interested in reading research on were the SmartBoard and Wikis. It was nice to be able to read the research that has been done in these areas because these are tools I am increasingly familiar with. Throughout this course, I was also excited to read research on virtual field trips and WebQuests. This is because these are also tools I use in my instruction at the elementary level. Additionally, I had the opportunity to be exposed to areas I had not even considered to be in the realms of Educational Technology; these were: virtual worlds and Twitter. Another area I had been particularly interested in reviewing was that of podcasting. Although we were not exposed to any research on this topic, I have decided to do my research summary on it. Consequently, I will have the opportunity to explore this area in depth.
Overall, the findings revealed both pros and cons to technology integration. Each study revealed that using these technological tools does have positive effects on learning; however, there are also negative sides. One underlying theme that kept reoccurring throughout the studies was that of meaningful integration. In order for the technology to have a positive impact on learning, it needs to be well designed and integrated seamlessly into instruction as a way of supplementing and enhancing the curriculum. Background knowledge needs to be built, and there needs to be a reflective piece in the end. The learning objectives need to be clear, and the technology needs to be used in a way that is not contrived. Furthermore, when the learner is given increasing opportunities to interact actively in their learning, the more learning will occur. Teachers should be properly trained in order for this effective integration to happen. Not only do they need to be trained on how to properly use the technology itself, but they also need to learn how to design instruction in such a way that higher-level learning can take place. Once the teachers are trained then they can properly teach the learners how to use the technology so they can use it. Additionally, another common thread throughout the studies was that technology integration was definitely motivating for both the teachers and the students. Overall, students in all of the studies shared that they enjoyed learning using the technology (whether it was the Interactive White Board, Twitter, Webquests, or Virtual Worlds). A few of the cons revealed in the studies included the following: lack of training (for both teachers and students), lack of technology with the capabilities to run the programs (particularly Virtual Field Trips and Virtual Worlds/Gaming/Simulations), a sense of feeling overwhelmed, lack of time, and poorly designed instruction using these tools.
Ultimately, I am a bit disappointed in the research that is available to us at this point. Much of the research in the area of Educational Technology has been either inconclusive or poorly designed. This was surprising to me. Prior to this class, I was under the assumption that there would be much more conclusive data out there. I guess I assumed this because technology integration has been a hot topic in education for some time now. Once again, I was reminded to never assume anything. Additionally, I was disappointed that the majority of the studies that were conducted were done at the secondary and post-secondary levels. I would really be interested to read about studies done at the elementary level, especially in grades three through five, because that is my area of concentration. It will be interesting to revisit the research in a few years to see what kind of progress has been made. Hopefully, as technology continues to develop and its integration into education increases, more and better research will be conducted at all academic levels.
In conclusion, I found this class to be a nice
blend of things I was already familiar with, as well as new inspiration for
technology integration into my teaching. It was reaffirming to read about
studies involving tools I already implement, and it was interesting to consider
the possibilities of integrating new tools, such as virtual words and twitter.
The key, of course, to using all of this terrific technology is its
availability. Sadly, however, due to budgeting technology is frequently one of
the last things to get funded, leaving schools stuck with dated and
deteriorating tools. I still aspire to the day when I have a technology
classroom with enough computers for my students and things readily available
for seamless and ongoing use throughout the day.
Reflective Essay #1
Essentially, when it comes to research, I've always taken the role of the student reviewing research that has been done by others in a particular field. Ever since elementary school, I've been asked to research various topics and write a research paper synthesizing the information.
Naturally, the sophistication of this research has increased in complexity since sixth grade, but the fundamentals behind have been the same. The goal has been to think of a topic of interest, research it using credible sources of information, and then synthesize the material into some sort of document. Along with this, came lessons on what constitutes a credible source. Ultimately, by the college level, such sources came from scholarly journals, which had been peer reviewed. If the source is not credible, then clearly validity of the information becomes questionable.
In addition to this, I know that generally, research is conducted in order to determine the impacts of changing variables on a given outcome. Usually, there are sample groups that are tested, and one variable is changed amongst them to see what kind of an impact (if any) changing the variable has on the target groups. Oftentimes, studies are replicated in order to check the validity and reliability of the results. Then, in some cases, certain actions may be taken in response to the studies. For instance, new educational tools may be marketed/adopted, medicines may be approved for public use, or others may be removed. Ultimately, life changing decisions may arise as a result of research.
I have never designed my own research experiment or taken part in any research studies; however, during my previous graduate studies, I did get a chance to look at various educational research studies in an Educational Research class. We had to review several research studies, and we also got a chance to analyze the various components of a solid study.
Ultimately, what I want to learn from the results of formal studies in Educational Technology is whether or not technology integration really works. Logically, due to the motivating factors behind it, it would make sense for technology integration to really have some positive impacts on learning; however, I'd like to see concrete proof of its impacts from actual studies (not just what I see in my own classroom). I'd be particularly interested on studies involving the SmartBoard, PowerPoint, Wikis, Blogs, and Podcasting.
