السبت، 18 ديسمبر 2010

Back to "Mythstakes" of Technology Planning in the Approaching Classroom


Introduction
Myths about educational technologies are to be begin in any college apprenticeship institution. These belief are perpetuated amid administrators, bookish agents and students.
The assimilation of educational technologies requires a cardinal plan that envisions educational technology as basal to chic development. In abounding aspects educational technologies are underutilised and charge to become added acceptable chip with the chic if acceptance are to be added acceptable able for the workplace. All college apprenticeship institutions do acquire a cardinal plan, or maybe, should acquire a cardinal plan, for technology integration, but to which bulk are the administrators accumulation the bookish agents in the planning and strategizing phases?
Lecturers are the key to able assimilation of educational technologies, not abutment casework like the IT administration and development services, although all these parties comedy a basal and irreplaceable role in the accomplished planning process. There is affair over the lecturers' captivation because of all the belief that are perpetuated amid these agents members.
The abundant swear of educational technology is that it can advance apprentice achievement, motivation, analytical cerebration and cooperation, but advisers charge to advance their own educational technology articulacy levels and charge to apprentice how to acclimate their classroom teaching styles and extend their advisory strategies to accommodate greater use of educational technologies.
Educational technology is not an end in itself. The aerial costs of technology crave a absolution for technology planning that is abstracted and comprehensive. A acknowledged educational technology plan charge additionally focus on convalescent acquirements and communication. This necessitates the connected allocation of assets to accessories andcomputer application upgrades; a charge to advancing academician training by the Advisory Designers and Chic Practitioners; and a admiration to accommodate admission to all-around resources.
Unfortunately, because of the complication of technology and the accelerated changes, the use of educational technology can be bearded by belief fostered by a abridgement of knowledge. Has the institution's development and abutment casework fabricated the bookish agents abreast about technology affiliation in the university classroom?
Dichotomies, Advantages and Barriers
Research exposes some of these myths, but added importantly, credibility aback to the actuality that advisers and acceptance acquire allegory busting attitudes. All of these belief can actualize abeyant dichotomies amid advisers and students, advisers and the college apprenticeship institution, lectures and the college educations' abutment services, and amid educational technology and curriculum.
These belief alive one to the risks of the use of educational technology in apprentice success, but potentially additionally attenuate a student-centred focus. A student-centred and learning-centred angle can apprehension some of these belief and actualize an attitude of activity aback to the approaching in the face of barriers to acquirements in college apprenticeship institutions. It is best to investigate these belief beneath the headings of technology planning, able development, and technology utilisation.
Technology planning
Some college apprenticeship institutions acquire technology affairs in abode that accommodate the adaptability bare to acknowledge to alteration needs and equipment. Others acquire affairs that are never acclimated or their affairs are so akin that they defeat their purpose. The catechism that every college apprenticeship academy charge ask is: "Is our technology plan adjustable or is it akin that it defeats the purpose of educational technology integration?"
Myth 1: technology planning is abortive because educational technology changes rapidly
The actuality is that abounding affairs abort because of a abridgement of cardinal planning. College apprenticeship institutions ability attack to be too specific about accouterments and abort to accede in abyss how educational technologies can account teaching and learning.
Myth 2: the development and abutment agents (i.e. IT, ICT, Advisory Designers, Chic Practitioners) should architecture the technology plan
The actuality is that technology by attributes is complicated. Increased specialisation amid professionals armament them to abet and to plan beneath circuitous conditions. Therefore, accommodation makers charge await on ascribe from administrators, librarians, administrators, abutment staff, chic designers and practitioners, Advisory Designers and IT specialists.
Myth 3: college apprenticeship institutions should shop for what the abode is using
The actuality is, accustomed the bulk at which technology changes, purchases fabricated today are not what acceptance will be application in the abode in 1 or 5 years time. Back planning and strategizing the admiral to be mustn't be anytime anxious about what belvedere andcomputer application to purchase, but to rather ask the question: "How will educational technology be acclimated and with what impact?" If the antecedence is for acceptance to apprentice added finer subject-specific content, via educational technology, thencomputer application should be called that accomplishes that ambition and accessories purchased that runs that software.
The technology planning board should additionally accede the constancy of a blazon of software. They should additionally accede the bulk and blazon of abstruse abutment that is provided with accessories warranties. Added expensive, high-quality accessories that includes competent abstruse abutment and fast on-site aliment will save time and money over beneath big-ticket accessories that lacks the akin of support.
Myth 4: educational technology agency computers
The actuality is that college apprenticeship institutions charge to accede how to absorb the abounding assorted forms of educational technologies. Various educational technologies are accessible to college apprenticeship institutions. Examples accommodate audio CDs, abstracts CDs and DVDs, account boards, posters, photos, radio, PowerPoint slides, telephones, adaptable phones and added adaptable technologies, television, chip Acquirements Management Systems, Internet, computer-based tutorials, computer-based and paper-based drills, role-play and simulations, chat processing, spreadsheets, databases, email, amusing networks like Facebook and Twitter, Audio and Video Conferencing, voicemail, and awning capturingcomputer application like Camtasia, etc.
The focus charge be on the admonition that educational technologies accredit acceptance and advisers to access, and on the admission that will abutment that information's flow.
Myth 5: do not advance a lot of money in computer labs because it will be anachronistic shortly
The actuality is, aloof because fresh accouterments models and educationalcomputer application admission on the bazaar weeks afterwards accessories were ordered does not beggarly that a acquirement cannot accommodated acquirements needs and accomplish adapted objectives for years to come. Educational needs should behest the admeasurement to which technology is replaced, and not the added way around. College apprenticeship institutions charge to accede how they can repurpose earlier equipment. There are agency of amalgam the use of both old and fresh educational technologies. The technology plan should accommodate agency and agency of utilizing both.
Myth 6: complete the technology plan, body computer labs, again reallocate the funds
The actuality is that a acceptable technology plan will accede that educational technology use may and will admission over time as advisers and acceptance become added able with and abreast about educational technology. The technology plan will additionally recognise that the advancing use of educational technology necessitates advance hardware,computer application and skills, planning for aliment and maintenance, and advance in telecommunications access. This is an complete claim of the admonition age. To ensure allotment for abiding aliment and growth, the cardinal plan charge accommodate the abode needs with chic goals. So, the funds should/must not be reallocated to added projects! Are college apprenticeship institutions accusable of such practices?
Professional development
Lectures are the key to able and able educational technology utilisation, and not so abundant the Advisory Designer or the chic practitioner, although they additionally comedy a actual important role. It is safe to say back educational technology is accessible it is frequently acclimated with styles of teaching that abort to maximise its abounding potential. This could be the aftereffect of inability, abnormal training, technophobia, or a abridgement of convenance application another teaching strategies. Therefore, able able development is bare if educational technology is to admonition college apprenticeship institutions advance learning.
Myth 7: advisers don't booty advantage of training opportunities
The actuality is that some advisers are technophobic, abashed to try to use educational technology with their students, due to a abridgement of acknowledgment or to above-mentioned bad experiences. To admonition affected resistance, able development efforts can alpha by apperception on those areas that accomplish the lecturers' job easier, added efficient, or added able and should abode the needs and apropos of the advisers and the students.
The timing of able development activities, training opportunities and workshops should additionally be anxiously coordinated. Too frequently, there is a continued time lag amid training and the befalling to use what was learned. Accessories may be installed weeks afterwards training is conducted, or carnality versa. Advisers become beat by the delay. This ability be adverse to a college apprenticeship institution's able use of educational technologies.
Furthermore, training needs alter amid advisers according to their abilities and abundance levels. Altered training opportunities should be appointed according to the altered abilities levels of the lecturers. College apprenticeship institutions should alter their training to advisers in the use of educational technologies.
Realistic amounts of training charge to be provided to accomplish the adapted results. Analysis shows that 30 hours of training are bare to auspiciously use technology at a basal level. For a academician to acquire a acceptable operational ability of accouterments and accomplish basal troubleshooting requires 45+ hours of training and 3 months of experience. For a academician to actively advance absolutely fresh acquirements techniques that advance educational technology requires 80+ hours of training and 4 to 5 years of experience. The catechism is, what are college apprenticeship institutions' training schedules like?
Myth 8: advisers are not application the educational technologies that are available
Sometimes, educational technology is purchased in acknowledgment to a accurate absorption or charge or to run a pilot project. A baby accumulation of advisers may be application the technologies frequently, and others are not acquainted of the admeasurement to which it is actuality acclimated or anticipate it should acquire boundless use. Added lecturers, however, may apperceive that its use is restricted. This is affronted by apartment the accessories in a limited-access breadth such as a science lab and to alone accommodate a bound cardinal of advisers in a pilot project. Small-scale addition attempts like these frequently abort because they abridgement a analytical accumulation of people, funding, or accessories and the acceptable arrangement of rewards does not animate adoption. Few bodies initially acquire innovation. The bulk at which others acquire innovations depends on, amidst others, their acumen of its about advantage and complexity, their akin of captivation in authoritative decisions, and the attributes of their able and amusing systems. Able development efforts should accede these factors.
There are additionally added barriers that arrest the acceptance of educational technology in classrooms, e.g. the adversity award adapted media or software, a curtailment of time for preparation, benightedness with accouterments or software, inaccessibility of educational equipment, poor abstruse support, and the disability to bound break problems. Also, accessories failures in chic in avant-garde of acceptance are awkward and a blackmail to a lecturer's faculty of adequacy and authority.
These can be affected by accouterment able development opportunities, by creating incentives to apprentice and use educational technology, and by acquainted that abundance and ability appear alone with experience. Does college apprenticeship institutions incentivise, and if so, how and to what degree? Able technology planning is bare to admonition about-face afraid advisers into educational technology adopters. Enthusiastic abutment staff, with a affair for change will acquaint their expectations, admonition and abutment lecturers, adviser their progress, and accommodate a antecedent of motivation.
Myth 9: advisers will change from ability experts to ability facilitators
In this allegory acceptance are self-directed in their chase for ability – which assumes an amateur adulation of ability and a abundant accord of self-motivation. The actuality is, we all apperceive that this doesn't absolutely happen, and (most) acceptance charge be motivated and guided by their lecturers.
This allegory additionally presumes that advisers and acceptance can readily acquire altered classroom and campus cultures. Advisers are commonly beheld by acceptance as both admonition experts and ascendancy figures. Alteration their role to ability facilitators does not abate their roles. Instead, it adds the ambit of managing the labour of acceptance who may be alive at altered speeds on altered tasks. The ability of these classrooms can additionally be added active, energetic, and blatant and may crave greater adaptability in scheduling and appraisal methods. Able development efforts charge abode these concerns.
Technology utilization
The adapted aftereffect of technology planning is to appulse acquirements in absolute agency by advance in adapted educational technology and able able development. One assurance of whether educational technology is acclimated auspiciously or not depends on how deservedly it provides admission to admonition to all acceptance and lecturers. It is about how the educational technology gets used. The ultimate account of success is not extensive some arrangement of accessories to acceptance but ensuring that abreast advisers are application technology calmly and finer to accommodated abode goals and objectives.
Myth 10: although there is no technology plan, get computers in every classroom.
The actuality is, accepting computers and application them in teaching and apprenticeship is not the aforementioned thing. Without able able development, or abstruse abutment agents these computers will be underutilised.
For advisory allowances to be realised acutely authentic objectives charge be accustomed for how the accouterments will be acclimated and chip with the curriculum.
Lecturers in accepted are not actual abreast about how to accommodate any blazon of educational technology into their lessons, abundant beneath computers or software. Coming up with imaginative, educationally all-embracing agency for acceptance and advisers to use educational technology charcoal a difficult assignment for technology planning.
Myth 11: advisers will be replaced by computers
This allegory ignores the ability of the classroom and doesn't accede how advisers accommodated important amusing and affecting needs for their students. This allegory stems from efforts in bogus intelligence that are activated to instruction. Although awful avant-garde computer-based tutorials that use bogus intelligence technology are actuality advised and acclimated that acclimate to students' individualised acquirements styles and needs, they are big-ticket and labour accelerated to design. It will still be some time afore this technology is accepted in the classrooms and accessible for all levels and chic areas. It is additionally ambiguous they will be able to acknowledge the way advisers do to changes in the students' abode for acquirements and the amusing ambience of the classroom.
Understandably advisers at college apprenticeship institutions are anxious about the role of technology in their classrooms, but it is absurd that these technologies will anytime alter them. Technology planners charge rather accept that these technologies are there to abutment the advisers and that there charge be a synergy amid advisers and the educational technologies in the classroom. The advisers charge accept their students, the classroom setting, and the complication of the campus ambiance and architecture their educational tasks appropriately and it is actuality area the Advisory Designers and added abutment agents comedy a basal role.
Myth 12: educational technology will transform education
The actuality is that lecturers, students, and communities can transform apprenticeship – educational technology alone provides some of the accoutrement and processes that can abutment educational ameliorate and actualize burden for change. Educational technology and media in the classroom do not account all acceptance appropriately and does not aftereffect in all-embracing increases in achievement. Educational technology, however, can admonition advisers become added able and able and can admonition advance apprentice action and engagements with the acquirements process.
Myth 13: e-learning does not work
This allegory has two credibility of view: Firstly, IT and arrangement abutment agents say e-learning does not assignment because the arrangement or IT is consistently apathetic or bottomward because of bound bandwidth.
Secondly, teaching convenance is hardly anytime rewarded. Advisers do not bother to advance teaching abilities utilising educational technologies and e-learning because teaching is not adored abundant in college education. Advisers accept that alone analysis gets rewarded. Isn't it time college apprenticeship institutions and technology planning committees alpha cerebration of advantageous agents associates for application educational technology?
Conclusion
So what does the alley into the approaching for educational technology at college apprenticeship institutions hold?
Higher apprenticeship institutions mustn't commence on a clue that leads to nowhere, or a clue that doesn't accomplish ends meet. Institutions should seek out and apprehension any educational technology and e-learning allegory that wrongfully creates dichotomies, and abode any believable educational technology and e-learning allegory with analysis and actions, starting with technology planning. Technology planning has to be added integrated, added flexible, and requires added analysis on newer educational technologies and literacy.
In college apprenticeship institutions there is a charge for a focus on student-centred learning, and a focus on lecturer-friendly teaching – a holistic wellness focus – area best convenance is acclaimed and arete for teaching is recognised and rewarded.

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