Discussion+Summary

=Wiki Discussion Summary - History of Educational Technology=

What did we learn from each other this week studying the history of educational technology. The following are some key points taken from this weeks Wiki postings:


 * there have been many innovations over time and these will continue. Educational Technology is anything but static
 * history is important, it tells a story, listen to the story and learn from past mistakes to make informed technological decisions
 * the value of innovations are sometimes offset by the increase in workload for teachers and a blurring of the boundaries between home and work
 * technology impacts how society is organized. History shows major shifts related to the move from oral to codification of script, to the printing press, and now to electronic media
 * technology introduces new ways to communicate which requires establishing new norms
 * Educational Technology disrupts the traditional roles of teacher and student [|easy approval cash loans]. It empowers students and moves the teacher to a facilitator and guide rather than a 'sage on the stage'
 * We need to ask more questions when integrating technology and to think about the big picture such as how exactly is the value of educational technology being measured and what is the true cost of introducing a new technology into the learning environment.

Benefits

 * ET is never static, opportunities are created to learn new skills all of the time
 * students shift from being consumers of content to producers of content, thereby enabling a much richer involvement in their learning process
 * ePortfolios
 * empowerment and engagement of students using new tools
 * can prevent 'sage on thought question #1 ] the stage / chalk and talk' teaching
 * can promote a community of learners
 * supports knowledge building

** Criticisms **

 * **this constant change can be distracting and requires constant training for educators **
 * **the ET often demands a financial committment or initial investment of some sort **
 * **if the changes are too rapid students with lower socio-economic demographics may miss out due to the funding their schools recieve and/or the tools that are available to them at home **