National+Technology+Trends+from+2011

 **__State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) 2011:__** **__[|2011 SETDA Trends]__**

Above is a link to the 2011 SETDA Trends. After reading through all of the trends, I found five of them to be particularly interesting. I have personally seen a few of these trends in action while completing my student teaching at Massabesic High School in Waterboro, Maine.

**__#1 - Personalized Learning:__**

There is a push for student-centered learning, which I think is fantastic!! There was a statement in this trend that says, "...each student should be taught and assessed in ways that are appropriate and comfortable for that child (Gardner, 2010)." Years ago this idea of creating an individualized lesson for each student, especially a large class of 20+ students, would have been a ridiculous idea. However, with the advances we have seen in technology and education, this idea is becoming a reality. During my time as a student teacher at MHS I was fortunate to have been placed with a team that had been working in a strict PBE setting. I truly enjoyed being in a student-centered classroom. While working towards their standards students were given a minimum of three options of activities to complete to meet their standard. The students enjoyed these options, I had many of them tell me that they enjoyed the options they were given and the ability to be in charge of their education. On the other hand, I did also see the negatives to this setting. There were a handful, maybe a dozen students out of 80, that did not perform well in this setting. These students showed that they would benefit from a more structured, more "traditional" classroom setting.

**__#2 - STEM Education:__**

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) are very important to our future workforce. STEM was passed by President Obama in 2011 under the America COMPETES Act. The hope of this program is to promote interest of students in these fields. There are many apps and programs that can be downloaded to devices, such as laptops or iPads, that will allow students to be involved in activities related to the STEM fields. I have not had a tremendous amount of time to explore all of the different app opportunities for the iPad surrounding STEM, but I am aware that as far as educational apps are concerned science has the greatest amount.

**__#3 - Deeper Learning/Project Based Collaborative Learning:__**

I LOVE the idea of deeper/project based collaborative learning. Personally, I know that I tend to learn much more in this method. I would compare this trend to taking courses through SJC online. We are given a problem to research and discuss. Through all of the research we develop a much greater understanding of the topic at hand than we would in a traditional classroom setting where we read a chapter, discuss or complete questions, and move on. The SETDA site had a great quote regarding this trend:

"...students go through and extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem or challenge. Rigorous projects help students learn key academic content and practice 21st century skills (such as collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.)"

This trend works well with the idea of performance based education, or student-centered education, which is what I worked with at MHS. Many teachers that I have spoken with are uncomfortable with the idea of student-centered education. I agree with this idea of students taking charge of their education, I believe they will learn more about the topic and about themselves in the process. This will also help the students in the real world once they graduate from high school. Many jobs require projects and presentations, so working like this in high school will prepare them for college, the workforce, or both.

__**#4 - Dropout Prevention/Credit Recovery:**__

I have witnessed this trend first hand. MHS is in the process of creating a full-time teaching position to help coordinate a credit recovery program. With standards/performance based education, where students are able to fail, they need to have the ability to make up work and meet their standard in order to graduate. This year was MHS's third year implementing PBE and in the three years they have seen an decline in their dropout rate by about 10% per year. They have shown significant numbers, not only in reducing their dropout rates, but also increasing the number of students who go on to college after graduation.


 * __#5 - Career and College Readiness: __**

Preparing students for college and the workforce is the main goal of education today. We as educators are responsible for giving students the know how to become well rounded individuals with the skills to become successful in their chosen career or at college. The SETDA site states that, "...importance of developing specific initiatives to ensure that students are well prepared for college and the workforce."

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Just as there are educators who fight against technology coming into the classroom there are students that push against it as well. I had one student at MHS that is planning on continuing his family farm once he graduates. When he found out that he was going to be given an iPad and would be expected to use it regularly his first response was, "I will never need to use anything like this after high school, I'm going to be a farmer." Very shortly after receiving his iPad he saw the benefits and the potential for using the iPad on the farm. We showed him programs such as Numbers, to keep track of his budget and crops, we showed him weather apps, farmer networking sites, state sites and much more. Not only did he become excited about the idea of helping his farm become more efficient, but his parents and grandparents also became excited and thanked us for helping their son/grandson.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__2011 Horizon Report:__** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|2011 Horizon Report]


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">#1 - Electronic Books: __**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I am very interested about the idea of electronic books. Presently eBooks are mainly just regular, traditional, textbooks converted into digital copies. The goal presented in the Horizon Report states that eventually eBooks will not only contain content, but will also be interactive. With the progress in technology, especially with the tablets such as the iPad, having an interactive textbook (eBook) would make lesson planning a much smoother process. I envision these interactive eBooks having links to possible labs, webquest ideas, AR worlds, social networking, and more!

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">One of the many benefits of eBooks is that they are more affordable. I purchased my last textbook as an eBook. I feel as though it would have been easier to use if I had access to an iPad. Reading on my laptop and trying to highlight/take notes was a bit challenging. I know that while reading an eBook in iBooks on the iPad you are able to highlight, take notes, and link as you are reading. I am very excited to see how this trend progresses in the future. It will also make for much lighter backpacks!


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">#2 - Mobiles: __**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Horizon Report stated a statistic from the mobile manufacturer Ericsson that showed by 2015 80% of people will be accessing the Internet from their mobile devices. What an amazingly large number in just a short amount of time! I have had my iPhone for two years now and could never go back to a "regular" cell phone. I enjoy having access to my email or the Internet at all times. It is convenient to have Internet access in your pocket whenever you may need it. While visiting Boston this winter my family and I wanted to visit the aquarium. While driving into Boston my husband was able to search on my phone for the hours of operation and was able to purchase tickets before arriving in order to avoid the long lines.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The ability to be able to access the Internet with ease from our mobile devices is made possible due to three trends: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is yet another trend in technology that amazes me when I stop and think about how far we have advanced in such a short period of time. Just in the past twelve years since I graduated from high school technology has advanced significantly. I am currently teaching seniors and it is interesting to hear their views on technology. The do not know a world where mobile devices did not exist. It is mind boggling and amazing all at the same time!
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The growing number of Internet capable mobile devices
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Increasingly flexible web content
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Continued development of networks that support connectivity

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__#3 - Augmented Reality (AR):__**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is one trend that I found that I have little to zero experience with or knowledge of. Augmented Reality, or AR, "refers to the addition of a computer-assisted contextual layer of information over the real world, creating a reality that is enhanced or augmented (Horizon Report, 2011)." Having the ability to overlap and augmented reality with the real world is quite beneficial in a science classroom. There was one app that my mentor teacher and I found called Sky-Walker. This app allowed you to hold your iPad up to the sky and see the stars, planets, satellites, constellations, etc. that were actually above you at any given time throughout the day. The app is amazing! It works better on the iPad, but I have it downloaded onto my iPhone. It is fun to be able to look up into the sky and know what you are looking at. It was fantastic for the astronomy unit we taught.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__#4 - Game-Based Learning:__**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When I first began looking into the advances in technology I was skeptical of the idea of game-based learning. However, the more I research about game-based learning the more it makes sense. A fair amount of the average student population play online games including MMO's, or massively multiplayer online games. MMO's include games such as //Second Life//, //World of Warcraft, Minequest,// and many, many more! As stated before, I was skeptical of using games like these in the classroom, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. I would have loved to have been able to learn about the discovery of cell structures by playing a game where I was playing the role of Robert Hooke, or to have played the role of someone during the Salem witch trials, or really any other historically significant event. People learn so much more by doing rather than just sitting listening or reading something. Not only would it be fantastic for individuals, but imagine learning about the Civil War via one of these games where a school from the Northeast represented the North and a school from the South represented the South, or even reversed to see how the other half thought. It would be so interesting to be personally involved in something like this. I feel as though I state this often, but, the possibilities with this are endless! I like the idea that game-based learning gives the students the ability to explore something that they may not otherwise explore, and to be given the chance to fail at something without having to go through the pain of actually failing.

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