Technology: Blessing or Curse?

Dr. Danny BaerAcademic Dean

Southeastern Free Will Baptist College

Why Technology?

• Competition/Expectations• To Engage Students• To Prepare Students for a Technical World• To Aid in Learning

Governor McCrory Delivers 2013 State of State Address

– February 18, 2013• three key focus points: – our economy, – our education, – the efficiency of our services.

McCrory On Education

• “We must be here not only to represent the next generation, but also the hardworking men and women, who everyday have to get up in the morning and take responsibility for their families…”

• “The hardworking teacher who cannot get funds for needed technology to help students learn.”

McCrory On Education

• “Education is no longer about spending money on bricks and mortar. The power to improve education and deliver real results is at our fingertips.”

• “Right now, you watch any four-year-old child learning, they’re learning on technology, and they’re learning quicker than any of us in this room ever learned.”

McCrory on Funding

• “To increase our children’s access to technology, I’m advocating that we ensure that the education lottery money actually be used for education”

McCrory on Funding

• “We … will reallocate a portion of money away from the bloated and frankly annoying advertising and the large administration cost of the Lottery Commission, “

• “And we will use that money to directly help our students with technology.”

McCrory on Funding

• “I also think we need to work together to give schools more flexibility to spend lottery funds on digital and virtual learning,”

• “which school districts, according to our laws, are not allowed to do right now.”

McCrory on Funding

• “There’s a pot of money right now that can only be used on certain things.”

• “Why not let all of our hundred districts use that money on technology and virtual learning?”

• “This is the future.”• “Why don’t we be ahead of the curve as opposed

to being behind the curve?” • “This begins right now.”– http://governor.nc.gov/newsroom/governor-mccrory-

delivers-2013-state-state-address

One-to-One

• Early 80’s – 125:1• Last few years – 4:1• Initiatives across the country – 1:1

From McCrory’s Speech

• “In our Morrisville city schools, the superintendent recently issued laptops for students in grades 4-12.”

• “Three years ago, the graduation rate was below 80%.”

• “In the last three years, the rate shot up to 90%.”

“No Child Left Untableted”

– New York Times: September 12, 2013• Guilford County, North Carolina• Every student in 18 of 24 middle schools

received tablets• 15,450• paid for in part by a $30 million grant from the

federal Department of Education’s Race to the Top program

You Use! I Use! We Use! Questioning the Orthodoxy of One-to-One Computing in Primary Schools

– Journal of Research on Technology in Education, • 1:2 computing is an appropriate means of

achieving such aims in primary school.• achieve a balance between productivity,

student engagement, social activity, and individualized learning.

Comparison of 1:1 and 1:m CSCL Environment for Collaborative Concept Mapping

– Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Apr 2012.• While 1:1 groups had demonstrated more

consistency in group participation, improved communication and interaction,

• The 1:m groups had instead generated superior artifacts as all the notes were well discussed among the group members. The findings suggest that a higher quality of collaborative processes does not necessarily lead to improved student artifacts.

Educational Outcomes and Research from 1:1 Computing Settings

– Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, Jan 2010.

• Participation in the 1:1 programs was associated with – increased student and teacher technology use, – increased student engagement and interest level, – and modest increases in student achievement.

The End of Techno-Critique: The Naked Truth about 1:1 Laptop Initiatives and Educational Change

– Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, Jan 2010.

• Larry Cuban admonishes 1:1 advocates for making “outlandish claims” about “improved learning, better teaching, and students getting higher salaried jobs” resulting from students and teachers having laptop computers.

• He charges 1:1 computing advocates with hyping the expectations of technology by confusing the medium (computers) and the message (effect).

The End of Techno-Critique: The Naked Truth about 1:1 Laptop Initiatives and Educational Change

• Cuban’s criticism is twofold– Evidence compiled over the last decade, shows a

diminutive effect of 1:1 computing on teaching, learning, and student achievement across schools, districts, and states the advocates’ views too often ignore

– Cuban’s belief that achievement gains are more likely to emerge from innovative teaching, including individualized and problem-based instruction

• The article advocates the for 1:1 initiatives to be effective, a complete overhaul of the educational paradigm is required.

One to One Computing: A Summary of the Quantitative Results from the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative

– Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, Jan 2010

• Examines the educational impacts of the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative (BWLI), that provided 1:1 technology access to all students and teachers across five public and private middle schools in western Massachusetts.

• Findings– Teachers use technology more often– Students use technology more often

Results & Lessons Learned from 1:1 Laptop Initiatives: A Collective Review

– TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning, Nov 2009

• Few modern educational initiatives have been as widespread and costly as the integration of laptop initiatives into education.

• Simply providing each student with a laptop will not elicit gains or improvements in learning.

• Schools must realize that successful 1:1 initiatives go beyond the technology itself; they must also address and include professional development, training, and support.– For teachers and students

An Examination of One-to-One Computing in the Middle School: Does Increased Access Bring about

Increased Student Engagement?

– Journal of Educational Computing Research, 2010• Increased access to laptop computers does

not always equate to increased student engagement.

Why Technology?

• Competition/Expectations– We cannot compete with the funding of the public

school system• To Engage Students– Students like technology– It is not apparent if this is effective in the long run

Why Technology?

• To Prepare Students for a Technical World– We live in a technology laden world.– We must use technology

• To Aid in Learning– Use technology as a tool, just as you would use

any tool.– Integrate technology with your curriculum and

educational objectives.– Do not use it as a gimmick or a toy.