Future Teacher Camp 2024 Session: Educational Technology Instructor: Dr. Steve Broskoske

Why use technology in teaching?

Educational technology seems like a "natural" to use in education. But are there any real advantages to using educational technology in instruction? Why should teachers use educational technology in their classes?

Brief History of Educational Technology Educational technology really began in the middle 1400's with the invention of the movable type printing press. According to Hackbarth (1996), the history of the use of educational technology can be divided into four major eras. They are described below:

1. print media
   Read about the history of the printing press.

2. audiovisual media
   
   • 1930's: phonograph records, radio broadcasts, and films
     
   • 1950's: instructional television
   • language laboratory: students learned grammar and pronunciation from audio tape

3. teaching machines and programmed instruction (1950's)
   Read (and download) a Morse Code teaching machine for the PC.

4. computers (late 1970's)
   Timeline of Computer History from the Computer History Museum

Things to Think About: Every time a new technology is introduced, people tend to want to do the same old thing with the new technology, even though the new technology provides new opportunities. How did this happen with the following technologies? television (influenced by radio): In early television broadcasts of the 1950's, people sat in front of the camera and read as if they were on radio. People had not yet explored the expanded capabilities of visual part of the medium. PowerPoint (influenced by overhead projectors): In the first PowerPoint presentations, speakers projected static text as if the slides were printed on plastic and placed on an overhead projector. People had not yet explored the expanded capabilities of animation, graphics, and sounds. Web pages (influenced by books): In the early days of the Web (early 1990's), and still existing today, Web pages were developed as if they were books (linear, intended to be read from front to back). People had not yet explored the expanded capabilities of hypertext and modular design.

Briefly compare the following three Web pages about archeology. Which site(s) make better use of technology and why? Archeology Link 1 Archeology Link 2 Archeology Link 3 Archeology Link 4 (View dinosaurs in a VR museum visit.)

 

As a group, we will now see 2 brief demonstrations by Dr. Steve: 1) the teacher of the past, and 2) the teacher of the future. As you watch the demos, use Padlet (below) and make posts ti create a shared list of advantages of using technology in teaching/learning. Don't be afraid to write down your "gut" feelings. As you work, answering some of the following questions may be helpful: What is different about learning with multimedia than learning in the traditional classroom? How does multimedia differ from reading a book or listening to a lecture? What can multimedia offer that the traditional classroom cannot? What advantages does multimedia offer to the student/learner over traditional classroom learning? When you are done, click the following button to see some advantages to using multimedia in education: Resources to use during the lesson: Drive a Mars rover View a 360 Mars panorama Experience a Mars flyover video Watch a 360 video of a rover on Mars

 

Exploring newer technologies and their application in the classroom.

Teachers are always seeking to better use technological tools to improve the classroom. Following is a list of some technologies we may use during our session:

• Augmented reality apps.
• Plickers.
• Padlet.
• Popsicle Sticks.

 

Producing technological products to support teaching/learning.

Now let's try it! Working in a small group, let's create a brief project that uses educational technology in teaching

• Topic: Choose one of the following topics:
  1. Teach an academic topic (such as how to solve a particular math problem).
  2. Present examples of bad student behavior in the classroom and how you might address these classroom management issues.
  3. Present some classroom rules you might use in your classroom.
  4. Provide several tips on teaching with technology for teachers.
  5. Provide the top reasons teachers should teach using technology.
  6. Present the reasons why you want to be a teacher. (How do teachers make a difference?)
  7. Select another topic of your choice.
• Medium:
  • PowerPoint.
  • Adobe Spark Video (slideshow type video): Spark Video
    Watch the following video for a brief tutorial: Spark video tutorial
  • Prezi presentation: Prezi.com
  • Another tool of your choice.

The Results

I hope you had a good time exploring the use of educational technology in teaching/learning. Now let's view the results of the group projects everyone created during the session.

Dr. Steve's home page.

E-mail Dr. Steve.