Outlook 2009
Jan 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Mike Kennedy (mkennedy@asumag.com)
What's ahead for education facilities and business in the new year and beyond.
Technology
In a short time, technology in schools has gone from an exotic rarity to standard equipment. Virtually every U.S. school has Internet connections. Now schools and universities are using broadband and wireless systems to make Internet access faster and more flexible than ever.
Millions of college students each year enroll in distance-education courses, and online courses have grown in popularity at the elementary and secondary level, says a National Center for Education Statistics report on technology-based distance-education courses.
"Rapid technological developments and widespread availability of the Internet in public schools has made online education increasingly accessible and common among schools and districts," the report's executive summary states. "Also, although postsecondary institutions are the leading providers of technology-based distance education to public school districts and schools, districts themselves increasingly provide technology-based distance education courses to students."
As educators see the opportunities for learning that take place outside the formal confines of a classroom, the ability to gain access to information at any time or place enables students and teachers to seize the moment when inspiration strikes.
Many schools now have mobile carts of wireless-enabled laptops that can be rolled from classroom to classroom, freeing up teachers and students whose technology schedule had been bound to a rigid computer lab schedule. Online digital textbooks enable students to have access to their course materials wherever they have Internet access. Digital textbooks also lighten the load in student backpacks, which can become so heavy they create health risks.
Other high-tech gadgets are enhancing students' opportunities to learn. Interactive whiteboards enable instructors to display material prominently for students to see. Students or teachers can use a pen or even a finger to add data to the display, which can be saved on a computer. Personal responders, also known as clickers, are another way to boost student participation in class activities. The devices are given to each student in a classroom so they can respond to questions. The students' answers to these "instant polls" are compiled immediately and can be displayed graphically or stored for subsequent review.
This generation of students increasingly views technology such as cell phones, iPods and mp3 players, You Tube videos and social networking sites as a routine part of their lives, and schools and universities are learning how to incorporate those technologies into their education strategies.
But educators have to be cautious as they venture into untested areas. As 2009 began, the Madison (Ohio) School Board was debating whether it should prohibit text messaging between teachers and students. The question arose after a coach and teacher was fired and subsequently sentenced to three years in prison for a sexual crime that was discovered when an adult reported the coach had been inappropriately text messaging a girl.
Some board members believe texting from teachers to students is inappropriate and unnecessary, given the other avenues of communication that are available. But others argue that text messages are a legitimate, convenient and increasingly popular way to communicate, especially for students.
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