EDMT and Beyond

By Guest Blogger, Jason Davis

Ed Tech magazine, which focuses on K-12 issues, in November 2012 published a report on six hot trends in educational technology with a move toward digital-only textbooks as the No. 1 item. According to the report, 37 percent of teachers surveyed — no information was given as to the total number of respondents — say they plan to transition to only digital textbooks within the next one to five years. Just 26.3 percent of them believe they could do so easily given their current network infrastructure.

This is an interesting development, as a move to digital-only textbooks would align with a push by legislators and district officials to implement more technology in the classroom. The push coincides with the need for students to be more techno-savvy as they look for 21st-century jobs.

My question is: who foots the bill for the technology? Would it be the school? Most districts are strapped for cash and looking for ways to slash budgets.

Would the money come via a vote of the public? At a time when so many people are hurting financially, I think it would be tough to sell taxpayers on the idea.

What about funds for upkeep and repair? Would the school or the students be held responsible for that? In principle, the idea sounds like a great one. But, as with many other things, finances are the major hurdle.

If you get a chance, swing over to fastcoexist‘s site to look at a fascinating map of the future of technology and teaching. The map begins with old favorites of 2012 such as the interactive whiteboard which, when you think about it, was just a glimmer in a few eyes a decade ago (at least IWBs as a ubiquitous classroom tool). So perhaps this might be a fair vision of the future.

If you look closely at their map, you will see that as the years roll by teaching and learning take place less and less in the physical classroom.

I came across a fast-paced video broken into three short sections: Cyberbullying, Trolls and Trolling, and Free Speech Online. To generate some excellent discussions with your own students, there is plenty to share with students in this from issues raised by anonymity to psychological effects such as online disinhibition effect  Bad Behavior Online features commentaries by Alice Marwick, Professor at Fordham University, Whitney Phillips, Lecturer at New York University, and Andy Sellars, Berkman Center For Internet & Society, Harvard University.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVSAFhTjAdc

The Center for the Digital Future just released their fourth World Internet Project report. You may find it interesting to view how other nations regard online privacy, purchasing, work on the web, and other aspects of life on the Internet.

One interesting tidbit from the report:

Students in Spain spent an average of eight hours per week online at school, followed by those in Australia, who averaged 6.4 hours per week. On the other end of the spectrum, students in Italy spent just above one hour a week online at school.

I would have thought there would be little difference between European nations in school internet use. Data from the United States is not available as we did not participate. Interested students may be able to figure out the reason for these national differences.