Technology's impact on teaching

Technology's Impact on Effective Teaching Strategies
10/01/09

The United States Department of Education published a report over the summer titled, "Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning; A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies" (Center for Technology in Learning, 2009). What's interesting about this report is that it confirms what those of us who teach or have taught either distance or online courses already know and moves us beyond what is often commonly believed: that there is no significant difference between online learning and the face-to-face experience.

The report abstract reads as follow:

A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified more than a thousand empirical studies of online learning. Analysts screened these studies to find those that (a) contrasted an online to a face-to-face condition, (b) measured student learning outcomes, (c) used a rigorous research design, and (d) provided adequate information to calculate an effect size.
As a result of this screening, 51 independent effects were identified that could be subjected to meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes--measured as the difference between treatment and control means, divided by the pooled standard deviation--was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face. Analysts noted that these blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions. This finding suggests that the positive effects associated with blended learning should not be attributed to the media, per se. An unexpected finding was the small number of rigorous published studies contrasting online and face-to-face learning conditions for K–12 students. In light of this small corpus, caution is required in generalizing to the K–12 population because the results are derived for the most part from studies in other settings (e.g., medical training, higher education). (p.ix)

The report clarifies that it does not address all student populations, as the analysis found most of the significant studies within higher education. Consequently, the report data are only relevant in the specific contexts of the studies analyzed. In general, however, the report supports the notion that there seems to be evidence that it is the learning process that matters more than the technology tools used. Additionally, the overall challenge remains that more studies must be done with a variety of student populations and also that we must continue to explore ways to evaluate learning within technology-rich learning environments.
http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/10/01/technologys-impact-on-effective-teaching-strategies.aspx

Where are we from all of this ?

5 K-12 Technology Trends for 2010

A look at the top technology tools and trends to keep an eye on in the coming year
By Bridget McCrea12/10/09

With technology evolving at the speed of light, and everyone looking to benefit from the latest, greatest hardware and software, keeping up can be challenging for educators, administrators, and school districts themselves. To help, THE Journal spoke with a handful of technology experts and came up with a short list of top tech trends you'll want to watch in the new year. Here they are:

1. eBooks Will Continue to Proliferate
eBook readers aren't going to replace traditional math and English textbooks anytime soon, but J. Gerry Purdy, chief analyst, mobile and wireless, for business research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan in Atlanta, said the devices will gain traction in the K-12 arena this year.

"The eBook phenomenon is gaining ground in the consumer space, where people are using them to read both fiction and non-fiction," said Purdy. "The way the stars are aligned, it won't be long before someone adapts eBooks out of the consumer space and makes textbooks available on these portable devices."

While eBooks would literally lessen the load that students have to carry around with them in backpacks all day, Purdy said, the devices aren't "quite there yet" when it comes to color, graphics, and symbols. "The eBook readers are mostly black-and-white right now," he added, "but when the technology advances to the point where color and animation can be integrated, it will become much more viable for the textbook market."

2. Netbook Functionality Will Grow
One-to-one computer initiatives are proliferating throughout United States schools and are expected to become even more popular in 2010 as netbooks become even more affordable. Priced at $200 to $300, these small, inexpensive computers are helping to bridge the technology divide that exists at those schools where individual students don't have access to their own laptops.

Netbooks, Purdy said, are opening the door for students to tap the Web as a learning tool, along with general computing--which will eliminate the need for multiple devices (one for computing, another for Web browsing, and so forth) by students, said Purdy, and will help streamline technology initiatives at the district level. "I know that if were administration, I wouldn't want to issue two to three devices to each student," he said. "I'd want one device that would fulfill multiple needs."

3. More Teachers Will Use Interactive Whiteboards
Large, interactive display systems that allow teachers and students to work together in ways that traditional blackboards could not are gaining ground in the K-12 environment. Expect the trend to continue this year, said Sheryl Abshire, chief technology officer for Calcasieu Parish Public Schools in Lake Charles, LA.

"These tools have been around for a while, but the educational landscape wasn't ready to use them 10 years ago," said Abshire.

Abshire said she credits federal economic stimulus funds for helping to advance the use of whiteboards, many of which are just now being installed and used in the nation's K-12 schools. "We're seeing a big resurgence in their use, and I expect that to continue in 2010," she said. "The buzzword for the 21st century is 'engaged learning,' and the whiteboards will serve as a catalyst for getting students out of their seats and up to the board to learn."

Do learners keep on task while in a digital environment

Smart Classroom
Keeping on Task in a Digital Environment

One of Washington's largest school districts is using technology to get classroom management under control
By Bridget McCrea12/03/09

It doesn't take much to disrupt an entire high school classroom and get a student off task, particularly when that student is using a desktop or laptop computer to finish a lesson. An incoming e-mail, an instant message, or a link to a really cool video on YouTube can all stop the lesson in its tracks until the student refocuses and gets back to work.

One of Washington State's largest school districts thinks it has found a way to minimize classroom disruption and keep everyone focused and working toward the same goal. Through a new classroom management system that's currently being implemented, Lake Washington School District in Redmond is tapping into technology as a way to keep students productive.

Chip Kimball, superintendent for the 24,000-student district, which is ranked sixth-largest statewide, said Lake Washington schools previously used "various products" to manage its classrooms, with most of the responsibility handled by the teachers themselves.

"There's debate about whether classroom management is a technical issue, a teacher supervision issue, or both," said Kimball. "Of course there needs to be teacher supervision and appropriate policies in place for when kids are doing what they shouldn't be doing. However, teachers also need software to help keep kids focused on the task at hand."

After looking more closely at the viability of a tech-based classroom management solution, Kimball and his team garnered feedback from instructors on the idea. Teachers whose students spent most of their classroom time in front of a computer were particularly enthused, he said, knowing that more effective computer monitoring would allow them to better track student activities and progress.

"Our decision to purchase the system was driver primarily by teacher requests and the realization that those instructors would be able to better manage students and make sure they are on task," said Kimball.

Armed with its educators' blessings, the district then shopped around and investigated the various classroom management solutions available on the market. After reviewing products from a few different vendors, Kimball said his team selected LanSchool v7.4, a product whose features include the display of the teacher's screen on student monitors; shutdown, logoff, or restart of student computers; lockouts of the students' keyboards and mice; co-browsing (with teacher and student) of the Internet; thumbnail monitoring; and the "blanking" of student screens by the instructor.

Developed by LanSchool Technologies, the classroom management system is currently being implemented across the entire Lake Washington School District. Kimball said the application was chosen for its features and benefits, as well as its ability to function in a wireless environment.

"We needed an application that had low bandwidth and that worked well in a wireless environment, which is what we're moving towards," Kimball explained. "LanSchool had a bit of an edge on its competition because its developers have already perfected their application's footprint."