Conclusion
From Emerging Technologies for Learning
The use of technology for learning is influenced by developments in numerous fields: technology itself, global trends (market economy growth, changing immigration patterns, intellectual shifts to emerging economies),[1] societal trends, and trends within educational research.
Much of the change in education over the last several decades has been defined by discussion of content. Should we teach more math? Science? What about ethics? How should we teach? Lecture? Problem-based learning? It seems that much of educational reform has been concerned with determining the content of education, rather than the model and process of learning design and delivery in a technology infused world.
The "arranging of deck chairs" approach requires reconsideration. The change pressures faced in education today (and society as a whole) are much deeper than a shift in content or in pedagogy alone will meet. Leaders and administrators are faced with the task of redefining the role of the academy in a world of constant change and hyper-connectivity.
For individual faculty members and departments, greater use of emerging technology can serve as an important bridging process between the traditional role of education and the not yet clearly defined future. Active participation in the ecology of perpetual change provides organizations with the capacity to sense, recognize, and respond to emerging patterns.
Through a process of active experimentation, the academy’s role in society will emerge as a prominent sensemaking and knowledge expansion institution, reflecting of the needs of learners and society while maintaining its role as a transformative agent in pursuit of humanity’s highest ideals.
References
- ↑ National Science Foundation. (2007). Changing US Output of Scientific Articles: 1998-2003. Retrieved on February 20, 2009 from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf07320/
