Monday, September 2, 2013
1.
Background
1.1 Education and Technology
The alliance of technology and education
have come a long way, aside the fact that the former to a great extent was the
offspring of the later, technology, however, has impacted education enormously.
However, for the purpose of aligning strictly
to the context of the course Educational
technologies, technology discussed in this paper is chiefly referred to communication
and information technologies.
1.2 Educational Technologies at Present
Since mid-20th century, Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) has experienced a huge revolution which is referred
by many as the dot-com bubble. Since then ICT has taken center stage in practically
every human endeavor, most importantly, the education sector. Thus, educational
establishments, educators and even students, especially in developed countries,
have experiences dramatic changes in the instruction and administrative practices
and this adoption of technology has improved teachers and students’ experiences
immeasurable ways.
Today, it is no doubt that technology is
the core of all educational processes in and out of educational institutions.
2. Future of Educational
Technologies (by year 2020)
Considering how technology as rapidly evolved since the arrival of
digital computers some decades ago, trying to predict the future of educational
technologies accurately is somewhat dicey, however in this paper I shall try to
propose a few plausible scenarios based on assumptions drawn from the present
trends, as antecedents for the future of educational technologies:
i.
Change of teacher-students
role in organized education
Almost
two decades ago, Kinnaman opined that "modern technology comprises the
richest sets of educational tools in the history of the world, but the art of
teaching is still safely and surely the province of human teachers only." However,
the role of teachers as principle authority in learning and teaching is fast becoming
obsolete as many students and individuals from all work of life have taken
advantage of various online platforms to disseminate information and this trend
gaining an increasing allegiance from young students around the globe, because,
unlike formal education, some of these platforms do not just create and push information
out. They allow users to participate in the creation, dissemination and eventually
consumption of any information they desire or value. Also, with the many websites such as www.skillshare.com, www.w3schools.com and www.coursera.org the role and importance of teachers and formal
education system might be threatened, because these websites afford the
students to learn whatever that interest them from peers and professors at a
cheap or no cost, online, anytime, anywhere, thus, students can work through
and finish the courses at their own pace and timing without strict lectures and
examination schedules and assignment deadlines (Lepi, 2012) . Also these
platforms offer avenue to meet people from all over the world and the
showcasing of one’s skill or idea to a larger range of audience that share same
interest as them.
ii.
M-learning/Remote-learning
In
recent years we have experienced a leap and high rate of advancement in mobile
technologies, from smart phones and tablet computers that are twice as fast as
computers of few years ago to cloud computing and increased access to high
speed connectivity, wifi and satellite communication. It is expected that by
2020, mobile computing will be common practice in educational technology. This
will gradually replace the use of desktop computers and might even reduce the
need for centralized systems where compulsory physical presence is needed.
Also, as opined by Shelly Blake-Plock ( (Blake-Plock, 2009) “students will form peer groups by interest
and these interest groups will petition for specialized learning using such
platforms as www.change.org/”, this might in turn thrust
the present strict curriculum to a more flexible system where students’ can
choose most of his/her course credit from wide range of options.
iii.
Increased sharing and free
learning communities
Within
the last decade, educators and students have welcomed the use of many
open-source and free-sharing platforms. This practice is has no doubt being
welcomed by students and some educators/educational institutions. However, with
the increased awareness and the need for affordable education, these practice
will record high support by 2020, so much that most institutions might be left
with no options that to embrace such educational technologies. Also, makers of Proprietary
software might be forced to offer free or very cheap educational products, as
open source models will outgrow them (Heick, 2013) . Also, in other to
be relevant more educational institutions will offer free pre-recorded lecture
videos to their students and perhaps a fully self-regulated learning in terms
of pace and timing. Also, the cost of research papers might decrease. With
platforms such as Creative Commons, more community friendly scholars would
share more of their papers free and hopefully it shall be embraced my all and
sundry in the educational institutions.
3.
Conclusion
It
is obvious that the future of educational technologies is not something one can
predicted accurately, because of the nature of technology as one that
alternates pace and is either boosted or impeded by the cultures and norms of
the society. However, the predictions above are the possible trend I expect in
the next 7 years of educational technology. However, one questions comes to
mind, which is the present cost of these technologies and how evenly dispersed
would it be in the next 7 years, for instance such universities like Stanford,
State University New York, etc. have a remarkable presence in free-learning
platforms[1] where renowned professors
share lectures at no cost and give students a course completion certificate
should they pass the courses. Conclusively, the future of educational
technologies knows no bounds and Que Sera, Sera!
Works Cited
Blake-Plock, S. (2009, December 15).
21 Things That Will Become Obsolete in Education by 2020. Retrieved 08
07, 2013, from teachpaperless:
http://teachpaperless.blogspot.be/2009/12/21-things-that-will-become-obsolete-in.html
Heick, T. (2013, 03 19). 30 Incredible
Ways Technology Will Change Education By 2028. Retrieved from
http://www.teachthought.com/trends/30-incredible-ways-technology-will-change-education-by-2028/
Lepi, K. (2012, July 19). http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/edtechfuture.png.
Shahadat, H. K. (2012, July). BARRIERS TO
THE INTRODUCTION OF ICT INTO EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: THE EXAMPLE OF
BANGLADESH. International Journal Of Instruction, 5(2), 20.
Future of Educational technologies 202 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://educational-technology-vub.blogspot.com/2013/09/educational-technology-vub.html.
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