Plugging+In

=**Plugging In – Choosing and Using Educational Technology **= Beau Fly Jones, Gilbert Valdez, Jeri Nowakowski, Claudette Rasmussen =****Literature Review ****= by Mary Railey

//__Plugging In: Choosing and Using Educational __//// __Technology__, //published in 1995, is based on a the report entitled //__Designing Learning and Technology for Educational Reform__//. This article packages the information in the report in different format, and states a very clear point of view: Technology that does not advance students’ learning has little value in the classroom. The authors’ position is that “traditional models of learning, traditional definitions of technology effectiveness, and traditional models of the cost effectiveness of technology don’t work.” Is it reasonable to use the same methods to evaluate learning and technology effectiveness? I agree they should be evaluated using separate criteria, but if improved learning is the goal, learning improvement has to be included in the criteria for evaluating technology effectiveness.

“New times demand new ways of learning.” Jones, et al believed this in 1995 and the belief is commonly held today. This year the **State Technology Directors Association** identified four key strategies for ensuring all students are successful in the 21st century: Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for Equity, Innovation, and Improvement; Supporting Educator Effectiveness ; Developing and Scaling Innovative Learning Models; Preparing All Students for College and 21st Century Careers. Education reform has been evolving over 20 year but has yet to yield learning which can be effectively assessed. “Ambitious rhetoric has called for systemic reform and profound changes in curriculum and assessments to enable higher levels of learning. In reality, however, implementation of standards has frequently resulted in a much more familiar policy of test-based accountability, whereby test items often become crude proxies for the standards.”

I agree with many of the concepts surrounding presented by Jones, et al, but education reform in the US has been evolving for over 20 years. I am person from a generation which was primarily educated by quality teachers who subscribed to a “traditional model learning” of education. Many from my generation acquired critical thinking and problem solving skills which have helped us evolve as society and technologies change. Students educated in the 20th Century became some of the [|greatest leaders] and [|innovators] in the world. Many were educated in “traditional” school programs. These people were the critical thinkers and problems solvers of the 20th century. The new workplace needs and emerging technologies were inspired and brought about by these people.

As society and it’s issues continue to change today’s students do need to be equipped to be the critical thinkers and problem solvers of the 21st century. This generation of learners is more than familiar with technology. They socialize, entertain themselves online, create, and do a host of other things online that couldn’t be done a generation ago. Many of them collaborate on gaming sites. They already know how to use the tools. It seems that the next logical step is to use educational technology is to engage them and create authentic learning experiences. Educause Center for Applied Research, the analytical arm of the nonprofit group that promotes effective technology use in higher education, surveyed 27,864 undergraduate “digital natives” at 103 two- and four-year colleges and universities. About two-fifths of them said that they were more engaged with courses that had IT components. One-fifth disagreed, and the rest did not say. One student voice a point of view that was held by the majority of those surveyed,: “ IT is not a good substitute for good teaching. Good teachers are good with or without IT and students learn a great deal from them. Poor teachers are poor with or without IT and students learn little from them “. This will be true whether the learning model is traditional or reformed.

Today, 98 percent of all schools in the U.S. have Internet access. The ratio of students to computers is 5.3 to 1. Significant portions of budgets have been allocated to technology. This seems to be major progress, but how does one determine if the investment in technology has translated into better learning. According to Beau R. Jones and his co-authors, “The traditional mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness of technology programs don’t work.”

Traditionally student achievement is measured via standardized testing. It would seem that if educational technology is actually having a positive impact on learning, test scores should increase. Jones, et al. purport that “the only real measure of the effectiveness of technologies and technology-enhanced educational programs is the extent to which they promote and support students’ engaged learning and collaboration.” I’m not sure the two perspectives have to be at odds. Some merging of the two will yield the right formula for success. Some learning goals can be accessed via tests others can only be accessed observation of students. Once a method for accurately assessing learning is identified, technology effectiveness can begin to be assessed. If a learning goal can be accomplished more efficiently or only by using a particular technology, it is easy to determine the value of that technology. If a technology makes a task for teachers or administrators easier is it easy to see the value of it. There are other technologies that are not so clearly evaluated. I agree with the students from the Educause survey. Good teachers are more valuable than technology. In an optimal environment administrators wouldn’t have to choose, but these are not optimal times.


 * References **

Jones, Beau Fly. United States. //Plugging In: Choosing and Using Educational Technology//. Washington, DC: North Central Educational Laboratory, 1995. Print.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Dowling, Sherwood. "Internet Education: Reform or False Panacea?." //The Internet Society//. The Internet Society, 7/3/1996. Web. 12 Sep 2011. <http://www.isoc.org/inet96/proceedings/c1/c1_1.htm>.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">"Students' 'Evolving' Use of Technology." //Inside Higher Ed//. Inside Higher Ed, September 12, 2007. Web. 12 Sep 2011. <http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/09/17/it>.