Module Two - September, 27, 2012

 

Enhances – Transistors created electronic circuits to open information  pathways electronically.

Obsoletes – The mechanical pathways/sorters in card punched computers, as well as tubes to transfer “electromechanical” signals.

Retrieves/Rekindles- Portable device that could be carried anywhere to listen to music and news.

Reverses – The recorded message in an analog form, like a record. 

References:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/transistor.htm

            When does technology become obsolete? Your answer probably depends upon on your perspective on how the technology is used and if it is still being used.  As an educator, having traveled through the past three decades, I have been exposed to a plethora of technological devices.  When I first began teaching, educators were still using the chalkboard, ditto machines, and filmstrip projectors.  Over the years, technology has not only transformed the way I teach, it has transformed my life.        

            In the 1950’s Roger Appledorn, a 3M research scientist, designed a machine to project writing from transparent film. Educators who saw its potential began to use them in the classroom until the emergence of LCD’s in the 1980’s (Morgan, 2012).  Due to its size, weight, and portability, teachers could easily transport it from one location to another. An attachment of transparency film made it easy for teachers to turn the handle to expose a clear piece of film for instruction. The emergence of Vis-a-Vis markers allowed teachers to clean off the film with just water and a paper towel.  In 1969, an inventor named Gene Dolgoff was searching for a way to design a projector with a brighter display; fifteen years later he achieved his goal by designing a display unit using clear liquid crystal. Four years later, this technology began to emerge (Tsivkin, R 2012).  With the emergence of LCD projectors in many of today’s classroom, this emerging technology has quickly replaced the overhead projector. 

            LCD projectors work in tandem with interactive white board, such as the SMART Board and Promethean Board which allow teachers and students to be able to actively engage in the lesson.  Other devices which also give the LCD projector some versatility is the document camera and student response systems.  With the document camera, you can project an image so that everyone in the classroom can see what you are looking at.  This is extremely useful for science labs, analyzing student work, and projecting images – such as a photograph from a textbook.  The student response systems allow students to get academic feedback quickly as their answers are projected onto the interactive whiteboard; from there, she can quickly monitor and adjust the lesson as needed based on the data that is received. 

            Dr. Thornburg (2009a) reminds us that the awareness of the emergence of technology must also come with the awareness of how it will impact instruction.  Another factor which must be considered is the cost; technology that is just emerging is significantly higher than technology which has already emerged.  In the end, no matter whether the technology is obsolete or emerging, the “landscape of educational technology” will have forever be changed (Thornburg, 2009a).  

References:

Morgan, H. (2012). History of the overhead projector. Retrieved on September 14, 2012 from http://www.ehow.com/about_5345030_history-overhead-projector.html

Thornburg, D. D. (2009a). Current trends in educational technology. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.

Thornburg, D. D. (2009b). When is a technology emergent? Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.

Tsivkin, R (2012). About LCD projectors.  Retrieved on September 14, 2012 from http://www.ehow.com/about_4740803_lcd-projectors.html

 

EDUC - 7108 - 1 - Blog for Emerging and Future Technologies

This is my first blog for my class, Emerging and Future Technologies.  I will be posting a new one soon which will be a response to our first assignment.

Module One's Blog Assignment

          Module One's Assignment

For most of us, technology is a way of life.  We get up and turn on our electronic devices which connect us to the outside world in the blink of an eye.  In the field of education, current technology that has emerged in the last few years that has shaped learning has been student response systems or e-voters.  For the past six years, I have had the opportunity to work with both SMART Boards and Promethean Boards. While the both have their strengths, one thing they have in common is their ability to be compatible with student response systems (e-voters).  With the SMART Board, students had the ability to cast their votes on a variety of assessments.  They also worked in tandem with programs like Study Island. After the assessments were given, I was able to synthesize the data to guide the next day’s instruction.  With the Promethean Board, if I pre-programmed the questions and the correct answer, then a bar graph would appear on the screen which showed the percentage of students who chose which answer.(A,B,C,D) The correct answer would be in green and the wrong answers would be in blue, so they got immediate feedback to their responses.  Then we were able to discuss their responses.   I was also able to import their answers into an excel document which gave me a running record of their assessments. 

E instruction (2012) has now updated their student response systems and now offers a package which includes an interactive slate for the teacher, student response systems, and an a set of interactive slates for student groups.  

http://www.einstruction.com/                   

In the past problems associated with these devices were the life expectancy of the batteries; they now power down automatically if left on for too long.  From time to time, they did freeze up, and I had to shut down the assessment and reboot the test, or the students had to reboot their devices.  Assessments had to be multiple choice only, true-false, or yes/no questions.  However, it does provide immediate feedback for both the instructor and the students.  It offers 26 different reports, including an item analysis and an standards analysis.  With the original set of e-voters, I had the ability to track their answers as they were taking a quiz.   Students could progress at their own pace if they all had a hand held copy of the quiz; that way, they would not have to wait for the problem on the screen to change. They were quite user friendly for the students.  They were all pre-assigned, so when the kids walked in the door, and saw the bag on the desk, they knew to take one to their desk.  With the new device, e instruction has tried to streamline their new devices. You can now sync them with the new Common Core Standards by downloading the standards from the company’s database. They are also compatible with ExamView and in some cases (depending on your grading program), you can download their scores into your grading program.

Dr. Thornburg (2009a) reminds us that the landscape of educational technology is in a constant state of flux.  Whether it’s through the use of flash drives, SMART Boards, net books, or IPads, the fabric of education is changing due to the influx of technology.  No longer are we satisfied to use computers just as a means of gathering information and for entertainment. We want to touch it, to talk with it, and to interact with it.   

References:

Einstruction (2012). Retrieved on September 12, 2012 from http://www.einstruction.com/products/student-response-systems#cps-pulse-tab

Thornburg, D. D. (2009a). Current trends in educational technology. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.