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The use of technology in the classroom has changed so much over the years. We have gone from a desk and a chalkboard and no technology in the classroom setting to a multitude of technology tools and resources. These are links to some amazing resources for the history of classroom technology integration.

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Classter - All-in-one School & Learning Management System

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Education technology is already part of our lives when it comes to learning. Ιt's difficult to find a part of our lives that technology hasn't influenced fundamentally. Educational technology is here for facilitating learning and improving academic performance.

Education as a field has been massively and positively influenced by technology. And this influence will be even greater by 2030 according to researchers.

The influence of technology in education

Research by the World Economic Forum estimates that 65% of children entering primary school will find themselves in occupations that today do not exist. Technology has influenced how businesses are operating. Anyone nowadays can learn to code and therefore create a website or even his/her own business.

There are, also, many online libraries that assist teachers and students with comprehensive reading material. Teachers and lecturers are also given the opportunity to post their teaching material online for their students to study.

With the current rate of growth in the technology sector, future educational technology is likely to advance the quality of education or even the ways we teach and learn.

The digital transformation

Digital transformation of many educational functions will happen incredibly fast. This transformation can be managed in-house or by outsourcing it to third-party service providers with expertise in specific industries. It's already a fact that many educational organizations are adopting cloud-based technologies for marketing and recruiting, as the competition for attracting the best students is increasing.

Multi-channel admissions experiences, where prospective students can interact not only by phone and email but also via social networks, video chat, and other similar technologies, will soon be the norm.

Also, alumni relations will quickly be adopting modern communication tools to improve alumni engagement. Finally, as the number of on-campus students possibly decreases, other critical functions such as college counselling, career services, and tech support will all be moving to a primarily digital delivery system.

The future of technology in education is about adapting to the fast-changing world, giving students an opportunity to choose their own way of learning, combining theory and practice, always considering the current demand on the job market.

Education technology in 2030

Educators, EdTech entrepreneurs, as well as people actively involved in education, are trying to make realistic scenarios on what is the future of education technology. All this by taking into consideration the investments that are being made into education and the fact that the global expenditure on education is projected to reach 10 trillion dollars by 2030.

We can claim that education will be the most important asset for people and their governments in the future. As global population grows, the education market and its complexity are massively growing too. New skills are entering the picture and as automation is prominent in our every-day lives, kids may be trained for jobs that do not exist right now.

In addition, the number of students will be greatly increased with the major driving forces being Africa and Asia, continents that today have a great number of kids who still do not have access to education.

The five scenarios for education technology in 2030

Based on the report published by HolonIQ, there are five major scenarios of how the education technology landscape could evolve:

Education-as-Usual: This is the scenario that represents education as it is today. Institutions are the main source of education and education technology contribution is present but not a major issue.

Regional Rising: Regional cooperation is the act of enhancing relationships through regional rules and institutions in the same state or region. Regional integration has the objective of better cooperation for political and economic purposes.

Global Giants: With the internet playing such a prominent role in our lives nowadays, globalization barriers have been removed when it comes to education technology. And this outcome will be even more prominent in the future. Personalized experiences in education will be created and global giants and multinational companies will most likely invest in education and educational technology.

Peer-to-Peer: Online learning will be the new norm. The peer-to-peer economy will dominate the way we live, work and learn. Smartphone ownership shapes learning delivery and students will be able to, literally, carry their learning experience in their pockets. Distributed ledger technology underpins the peer to peer economy and supports skills verification.

Robo revolution: The advancement of artificial intelligence technology will impact global economic growth by 2030. AI applications and algorithms will replace humans in repetitive tasks and teaching will be assisted by technology. At the same time, new jobs will be hopefully created in order to create and upgrade AI algorithms.

EdTech in 2030

Technology in 2030 will play a critical role in education as well as in technology-assisted learning processes. It will be focused on information processing, decision making as well as learning. It will help students have a more comprehensive learning experience.
AI and Robotics: The future of employment
The percentage of jobs requiring AI skills has grown four times since 2013, by 2030 all industries will use AI and robotics especially in the field of marketing and sales. Customer service is a big user of AI technology such as chatbots, product selection and customer classification/routing. That means that traditional jobs in these fields, such as customer service, may disappear.
Mobile-only users will shape learning models
Mobile devices are already a big part of our lives and this connectivity will certainly shape how learning happens in the classroom. By 2030 half the world's youth will live in countries with a mobile-first internet connection. Face to face learning will probably be the old way of learning and thus new ways of transferring knowledge through mobile devices will be adopted by teachers and institutions.
Learning management systems in the future
Learning management systems dominate online environments in every field of education. However, newer technologies with a focus on interaction rather than file management will take over in the future. But, the most important thing is that the learning management system objective is and will stay the same: making sure everyone in the education field is working towards a better future and all this with the help of technology.

Educational technology is not only a simple upgrade into the educational world but a key to better collaboration in education and thus a better future for us and our children.

In conclusion

The world of education is likely to constantly change and develop in a rapid way over the next few years, not just in the application of new technologies but also when it comes to learning. Educational institutions must not only focus on their day to day operations but also figuring out how they will better use technology for enhancing the learning process.

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The Evolution of Education Technology by 2030: What we Should Expect | Classter Blog

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Education technology is already part of our lives when it comes to learning. Ιt's difficult to find a part of our lives that technology hasn't influenced fundamentally. Educational technology is here for facilitating learning and improving academic performance. Education as a field has been massively and positively influenced by technology.

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As part of our 25th anniversary of designing for the ELT industry, Sarah Hemfrey takes an in-depth look at some of the major technology changes which have not only impacted our work but also that of the ELT classroom.
The classroom in 1990: A cold wasteland full of aged books with out-of-date pictures? No, the landscape of the 1990s classroom isn't as different from the classroom of 2016 as you might think. There is no broadband internet, there are no iPads or virtual learning environments. Those are all to come over the next 25 years. This classroom is full of their predecessors. The cassette is in the tape player on the shelf and still enjoying its heyday. An overhead projector is in the middle of the classroom, casting a slightly shaky image on the whiteboard; clear plastic with coloured diagrams sits on top. Somewhere in a locked room rests the school's only TV, a video player, loaded with three hours of educational programming, sits on the lower shelf of the trolley.

The change in technology used by ELT teachers has been rapid. The outlook is very different now with almost all of the technology in this classroom outdated by today's capabilities. In this post we have charted the major changes in classroom technology that we have seen and been part of creating materials for over the last 25 years.

2018 update: Since writing this article technology in the classroom has developed even further. We are now seeing the growth of cloud based learning and the benefits of virtual reality becoming more accessible. The challenge of today is how to integrate this technology into the classroom. Despite this, the possibilities for technology based learning is an exciting new opportunity for schools, teachers and those who develop educational resources.

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25 Years of Educational (or ELT) Technology - A Timeline

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As part of our 25th anniversary of designing for the ELT industry, Sarah Hemfrey takes an in-depth look at some of the major technology changes which have not only impacted our work but also that of the ELT classroom. The classroom in 1990: A cold wasteland full of aged books with out-of-date pictures?

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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March , 2014
The history of educational technology is an eventful timeline full of amazing breakthroughs that have radically transformed the educational landscape and reshaped the basic notions of literacy and learning. However, if you sit back and reflect upon these developments in their relation to education, you will notice that the first decade of the 21st century alone witnessed a digital revolution that is unprecedented both in breadth and grandeur and with it comes the emergence of new learning concepts such as MOOCs, flipped learning, mobile learning, to mention but a few.

Also the number of technological inventions in the last couple of decades alone outnumber all inventions for the past three centuries. The train of technological breakthrough is still moving but now it is moving at spectacular speed to the extent that we can not even expect what edtech world will look like in just the few upcoming years.

Here is a nice graphic that captures some of the major technological events in the history of educational technology. You can also check this visual for a more detailed history of educational technology.

Source: TouchMath

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A Wonderful Visual Timeline of The History of Classroom Technology

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March , 2014 The history of educational technology is an eventful timeline full of amazing breakthroughs that have radically transformed the educational landscape and reshaped the basic notions of literacy and learning.

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Where the Vision Begins

Seymour Papert, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was among the first to recognize the potential of technology to fundamentally change the learning enterprise. During the 1960s, after collaborating with renowned Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, Papert developed the Logo programming language and began introducing it to children. Designed to be simple enough for those who do not yet have sophisticated mathematical understanding, Logo enabled students to use the computer to take control of their learning environment. With minimal instruction, they were able to write -- and debug -- programs that controlled the movements of a turtle robot. They not only gained deeper understanding of geometry concepts along with programming expertise but also showed an engagement in learning that's rare in more traditional, drill-and-practice classroom activities.

In a 1970 interview with Computer Decisions, Papert said, "With computers, there is a substantially bigger chance that you can lead the child with less effort into something he really likes doing. . . . The intersection with the set of fun things with the set of educational things is sufficiently big so that you should be able to keep every student internally motivated."

Since Papert's groundbreaking work, the tools available for learning have become increasingly powerful and widespread. At the same time, barriers to using technology have steadily diminished. Today's learning landscape includes an almost dizzying array of tools, from inexpensive personal computers and handheld devices to interactive whiteboards, digital video cameras, and a constantly expanding suite of Web 2.0 tools. Disparities persist between technology-rich schools and those that have limited access to outdated equipment. But after a decade-long effort to expand access and close the digital divide, nearly every public school in the United States has been connected to the Internet, making it possible to connect students to the world.

Benefits Galore -- Potentially

A substantial body of research has documented a range of benefits for learners when all this technology is integrated effectively into instruction. Research scientist Harold Wenglinsky, looking at math achievement scores in a 1998 Educational Testing Service study, found positive benefits for educational technology, as long it was used for challenging activities such as simulations. Using computers to drill students on fundamental skills, in comparison, had a negative impact on achievement. Researchers have determined that, when used for more ambitious learning goals rather than basic skills, technology can help students develop higher-order thinking skills, creativity, and research abilities.

In a 2000 report, a team from SRI International identified four ways that technology enhances how children learn: It offers active engagement, the opportunity to participate in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connections to real-world contexts. Technology also expands what students can learn by providing them with access to an ever-expanding store of information. Yet the same researchers (Roschelle, Pea, Hoadley, Gordin, & Means) emphasized that merely making computers available does not automatically lead to learning gains. They described technology integration as only one element in "what must be a coordinated approach to improving curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, teacher development, and other aspects of school structure."

According to learning-science experts, the increasingly interactive nature of technology, exemplified by Web 2.0 tools, creates new opportunities for students to learn by allowing them to do a task, receive feedback on it, and then build new knowledge. In How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, authors John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking explain that technology can be used to advance learning by

bringing exciting curricula based on real-world problems into the classroom

providing scaffolds and tools to enhance learning, such as modeling programs and visualization tools

giving students and teachers more opportunities for feedback, reflection, and revision

building local and global communities that include teachers, administrators, students, parents, practicing scientists, and other interested people

expanding opportunities for teacher learning

Social Media and Collaboration

Today's technology tools also support what experts understand about the social nature of learning. "Technology resources for education . . . function in a social environment mediated by learning conversations with peers and teachers," explain Bransford and his colleagues.

Social media opens new possibilities for connecting learners and taking education in new directions. Digital gaming, simulations, and social networking, for example, offer opportunities "to convey concepts in new ways that would otherwise not be possible, efficient, or effective with other instructional methods. In other words, these technologies don't just help us teach the old stuff in new ways -- they can also help us teach new stuff in new ways," report MIT researchers Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterweil, Jennifer Groff, and Jason Haas in their paper "Using the Technology of Today, in the Classroom Today."

Although schools have been slow to bring social media into the classroom, many students are using digital tools on their own to create and publish content, connect with acquaintances, and pursue their own interests. The book Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out summarizes three years of study about kids' informal learning with digital media. The authors found that kids use these tools to extend friendships, navigate the challenges of adolescence, and pursue self-directed learning, sometimes in great depth.

New Demands on Learners, Teachers

Becoming literate in the 21st century puts new demands on learners to be able to use technology to access, analyze, and organize information. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) updated its National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS) in 2007 to better describe the skills needed to learn and live in an increasingly digital world. "The ISTE Standards for Students" now includes creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, research and information fluency, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, and digital citizenship along with technology operations and concepts.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills lays out a similar vision in its framework. "To be effective in the 21st century, citizens and workers must be able to exhibit a range of functional and critical-thinking skills such as information literacy, media literacy, and technology literacy," states the organization.

Teachers also need to develop new understanding to capitalize on the learning potential of technology. In a report for the foundation Cable in the Classroom, James Marshall found that educational technology "complements what a great teacher does naturally. . . . With ever-expanding content and technology choices, from video to multimedia to the Internet, there's an unprecedented need to understand the recipe for success, which involves the learner, the teacher, the content, and the environment in which technology is used."

Teachers who don't make regular use of classroom technology, Wenglinsky and other researchers have consistently found, lack experience using it. With in-depth, sustained professional development in technology integration, teachers are more likely to bring technology into teaching and learning.

The latest National Education Technology Plan, "Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology," was released in November 2010 by the Department of Education. It outlines a vision "to leverage the learning sciences and modern technology to create engaging, relevant, and personalized learning experiences for all learners that mirror students' daily lives and the reality of their futures. In contrast to traditional classroom instruction, this requires that we put students at the center and empower them to take control of their own learning by providing flexibility on several dimensions."

The plan also calls for "connected teaching" in which educators connect to "resources and expertise that improve their own instructional practices and guide them in becoming facilitators and collaborators in their students' increasingly self-directed learning."

Although the tools have changed dramatically since the early days of educational technology, this vision of using technology for empowered, self-directed learning has remained constant -- and consistently hopeful.

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Seymour Papert, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was among the first to recognize the potential of technology to fundamentally change the learning enterprise. During the 1960s, after collaborating with renowned Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, Papert developed the Logo programming language and began introducing it to children.

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The students in your classroom can't imagine a world without technology.

Computers have always been a part of their lives. Young learners have been immersed in technology since they could crawl, and they show little to no interest in giving it up. But is that such a bad thing? Perhaps not!

Many educators appreciate using technology, too. It's an integral part of curriculum mapping, classroom instruction, and assessment. We've certainly come a long way since the early days of educational technology - but maybe it's worth a history lesson to really put things into perspective.

A brief history of technology in the classroom

Over the span of fifty years, we've gone from treating technology as an isolated novelty to seamlessly integrating a variety of edtech tools into our lessons. How did this change occur?

Technology originally made its way into the U.S. education system as a necessity to prepare for an increasingly digital future and as part of its Cold War era competition. After witnessing the launch of Sputnik, the Soviet Union's first satellite, America shifted much of its attention in education to math and science while embracing technology in particular. The Vocational Education Act in 1963 funded technology use in schools. As a result, students learned programming languages like BASIC, and PCs gradually made their way into some classrooms.

Educators took two approaches when incorporating computers in classroom instruction.

The first was less common. Mathematician and professor Seymour Papert first introduced microcomputers in the classroom by teaching basic programming in the early 1980s. His Logo program taught students basic programming skills. The idea was to create student-centered learning activities that required hands-on exploration. Children learned the language commands that would create graphic shapes. Papert based his instructional program on a theory of constructivism that he termed "bricolage," which is a strategy in which students assemble the building blocks of learning themselves.

By the mid-1980s, Apple computers had also gained a foothold in classrooms, and a more common approach to technology integration gained popularity. Teachers used edtech software solutions: Drilling students with electronic programs. Teachers routinely assigned students to computer tasks, where learners answered an endless series of questions based on knowledge and recall.

A mere decade later, the Internet connected computers worldwide. The dramatic growth of the World Wide Web introduced email, video, and a variety of digital media. More importantly, it enabled two-way communication between anyone, anywhere, and anytime.

That connectedness revolutionized not only business and interpersonal relationships but also education. Beginning in the early 2000s, there was a greater emphasis on a new form of education: STEM, short for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Computers and technology are the future - we may as well embrace them for all the benefits they bring to the classroom.

Technology in education today

Because learners need digital skills, educational technology today has taken on a vibrant role in many classrooms. The focus is less on drilling concepts into students' minds and more on teaching them important computer literacy skills.

Educators and policymakers have arrived at a nexus of thought about what technology integration looks like in the classroom. "The ISTE Standards for Students" now includes creative innovation, the development of communication skills and collaborative work projects, engaging in the kind of critical thinking that results in solving problems and decision-making, and acquiring 21 st-century digital citizenship skills. This is in addition to learning how to operate computer hardware and software.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills lays out a similar vision for integrating technology in the classroom. Information, media, and technology skills are a vital component of empowering students in all communities. The organization partners with schools and communities to ensure that students everywhere develop the mindset and skills necessary for living and learning in a rapidly changing environment.

Most teachers support these technology standards. They want to see their students taking technology initiatives and utilizing digital tools for their own learning purposes.

Students should be using handheld devices to engage with content in meaningful ways like:

Creating digital video and graphic media design to support concepts

Engaging in live vlogging about a topic of study

Using classroom polling to hear different perspectives on issues

Developing collaborative projects among diverse teams

Gathering and interpreting data from a variety of online sources

Experiencing virtual simulations that assist in exploring otherwise inaccessible material

Technology in education is now more about integration rather than isolation.

No longer a subject addressed by routine "seat time," educational technology integration today is interactive and ongoing. Using personal computers, students learn concepts, assess their progress, and continue to add to their knowledge and skill base. In a sense, learners are assembling and building knowledge, like in a modern-day version of bricolage.

The future of technology in your classroom

Unfortunately, not all classrooms are at the same level of educational technology integration. Adopting state-of-the-art technology can be expensive, and ever-tightening budgets determine what type of tech integration is possible.

It would be wonderful to gleefully issue each student a tablet and tell them to work with the device. But that's not feasible, nor would it even be effective - students need guidance when it comes to unfamiliar technology. And the need for guidance means teachers themselves must be taught how to navigate edtech.

If you're in a classroom or school with limited options for technology integration, consider starting with small steps like these:

Take a trip - virtually. Attend a theater preview, explore a cave, or visit a university. By doing so, you'll broaden your student's horizons.

Integrate digital media into your lessons. Play podcasts, show short explanatory videos from educational YouTube channels, incorporate interactive charts and graphs, and so on. Showing is often more effective than telling, especially when explaining abstract concepts like graphing algebraic equations with multiple variables or understanding biology.

Bring your own device. Ask your school to consider implementing a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy as an alternative to funding the purchase of new devices. This can make technology more accessible and could allow you to allocate a technology budget for students who cannot afford to purchase those devices themselves.

Make the most of the internet. Launch a website, a class media page, or other interactive platforms where your students can curate content and practice their communication skills.

Use freely available edtech tools. There are plenty of apps that encourage collaborative learning in the classroom by allowing students to edit documents or other media with each other in real time. You can use those alongside activities like mind mapping, commenting, and providing feedback. You can also manage a digital calendar of events for your classroom, such as for assignment due dates or upcoming school events.

This certainly isn't an exhaustive list, but if you look closely at it, one thing should stand out: The activities are less about the kind of technology you're using in the classroom and more about what students can do with the technology that's available.

Use technology effectively

Technology integration teaches students the skills they will need, including creativity and innovation, collaboration, and communication. Most of all, these integrated and interactive educational technology activities encourage students to take the initiative and engage with the content in every class they take.

Embedding technology in the 21 st-century classroom is about creating an opportunity for students to be self-directed learners, now and beyond their formal education.

The world influences the classroom through technology. You can influence how that technology will be used in your classroom by making interaction a priority.

Photo credit: João Silas/unsplash.com

Debi Christensen has taught in private and public schools, served as a PK-5 and 6-12 school principal, and worked as a Curriculum/Executive Director at the district level. She loves edtech that engages students and streamlines teacher workflow, saying yes to adventure, and dark chocolate.

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The history of the emergence of technology in education - Classcraft Blog

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The students in your classroom can't imagine a world without technology. Computers have always been a part of their lives. Young learners have been immersed in technology since they could crawl, and they show little to no interest in giving it up. But is that such a bad thing? Perhaps not!

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Arguments about the role of technology in education go back at least 2,500 years. To understand better the role and influence of technology on teaching, we need a little history, because as always there are lessons to be learned from history. Paul Saettler's 'The E volution of American E ducational T echnology' (1990) is one of the most extensive historical accounts, but only goes up to 1989. A lot has happened since then. Teemu Leinonen also has a good blog post on the more recent history (for a more detailed account see Leitonen, 2010). See also: The Evolution of Learning Technologies.

What I'm giving you here is the postage stamp version of ed tech history, and a personal one at that.

6.2.1 Oral communication

One of the earliest means of formal teaching was oral - though human speech - although over time, technology has been increasingly used to facilitate or 'back-up' oral communication. In ancient times, stories, folklore, histories and news were transmitted and maintained through oral communication, making accurate memorization a critical skill, and the oral tradition is still the case in many aboriginal cultures. For the ancient Greeks, oratory and speech were the means by which people learned and passed on learning. Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey were recitative poems, intended for public performance. To be learned, they had to be memorized by listening, not by reading, and transmitted by recitation, not by writing.

Nevertheless, by the fifth century B.C, written documents existed in considerable numbers in ancient Greece. If we believe Socrates, education has been on a downward spiral ever since. According to Plato, Socrates caught one of his students (Phaedrus) pretending to recite a speech from memory that in fact he had learned from a written version. Socrates then told Phaedrus the story of how the god Theuth offered the King of Egypt the gift of writing, which would be a 'recipe for both memory and wisdom'. The king was not impressed. According to the king,

it [writing] will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they will rely on what is written, creating memory not from within themselves, but by means of external symbols. What you have discovered is a recipe not for memory, but for reminding. And it is no true wisdom that you offer your disciples, but only its semblance, for by telling them many things without teaching them anything, you will make them seem to know much, while for the most part they will know nothing. And as men filled not with wisdom but the conceit of wisdom, they will be a burden to their fellow men.

Phaedrus, 274c-275, translation adapted from Manguel, 1996

I can just hear some of my former colleagues saying the same thing about social media.

Slate boards were in use in India in the 12th century AD, and blackboards/chalkboards became used in schools around the turn of the 18th century. At the end of World War Two the U.S. Army started using overhead projectors for training, and their use became common for lecturing, until being largely replaced by electronic projectors and presentational software such as Powerpoint around 1990. This may be the place to point out that most technologies used in education were not developed specifically for education but for other purposes (mainly for the military or business.)

Although the telephone dates from the late 1870s, the standard telephone system never became a major educational tool, not even in distance education, because of the high cost of analogue telephone calls for multiple users, although audio-conferencing has been used to supplement other media since the 1970s. Video-conferencing using dedicated cable systems and dedicated conferencing rooms have been in use since the 1980s. The development of video compression technology and relatively low cost video servers in the early 2000s led to the introduction of lecture capture systems for recording and streaming classroom lectures in 2008. Webinars now are used largely for delivering lectures over the Internet.

None of these technologies though changes the oral basis of communication for teaching.

6.2.2 Written communication

The role of text or writing in education also has a long history. According to the Bible, Moses used chiseled stone to convey the ten commandments in a form of writing, probably around the 7th century BC. Even though Socrates is reported to have railed against the use of writing, written forms of communication make analytic, lengthy chains of reasoning and argument much more accessible, reproducible without distortion, and thus more open to analysis and critique than the transient nature of speech. The invention of the printing press in Europe in the 15th century was a truly disruptive technology, making written knowledge much more freely available, very much in the same way as the Internet has done today. As a result of the explosion of written documents resulting from the mechanization of printing, many more people in government and business were required to become literate and analytical, which led to a rapid expansion of formal education in Europe. There were many reasons for the development of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, and the triumph of reason and science over superstition and beliefs in Europe, but the technology of printing was a key agent of change.

Improvements in transport infrastructure in the 19th century, and in particular the creation of a cheap and reliable postal system in the 1840s, led to the development of the first formal correspondence education, with the University of London offering an external degree program by correspondence from 1858. This first formal distance degree program still exists today in the form of the University of London International Program. In the 1970s, the Open University transformed the use of print for teaching through specially designed, highly illustrated printed course units that integrated learning activities with the print medium, based on advanced instructional design.

With the development of web-based learning management systems in the mid-1990s, textual communication, although digitized, became, at least for a brief time, the main communication medium for Internet-based learning, although lecture capture is now changing that.

6.2.3 Broadcasting and video

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began broadcasting educational radio programs for schools in the 1920s. The first adult education radio broadcast from the BBC in 1924 was a talk on Insects in Relation to Man, and in the same year, J.C. Stobart, the new Director of Education at the BBC, mused about 'a broadcasting university' in the journal Radio Times (Robinson, 1982).Television was first used in education in the 1960s, for schools and for general adult education (one of the six purposes in the current BBC's Royal Charter is still 'promoting education and learning').

In 1969, the British government established the Open University (OU), which worked in partnership with the BBC to develop university programs open to all, using a combination originally of printed materials specially designed by OU staff, and television and radio programs made by the BBC but integrated with the courses. Although the radio programs involved mainly oral communication, the television programs did not use lectures as such, but focused more on the common formats of general television, such as documentaries, demonstration of processes, and cases/case studies (see Bates, 1985). In other words, the BBC focused on the unique 'affordances' of television, a topic that will be discussed in much more detail later. Over time, as new technologies such as audio- and video-cassettes were introduced, live broadcasting, especially radio, was cut back for OU programs, although there are still some general educational channels broadcasting around the world (e.g. TVOntario in Canada; PBS, the History Channel, and the Discovery Channel in the USA).

The use of television for education quickly spread around the world, being seen in the 1970s by some, particularly in international agencies such as the World Bank and UNESCO, as a panacea for education in developing countries, the hopes for which quickly faded when the realities of lack of electricity, cost, security of publicly available equipment, climate, resistance from local teachers, and local language and cultural issues became apparent (see, for instance, Jamison and Klees, 1973). Satellite broadcasting started to become available in the 1980s, and similar hopes were expressed of delivering 'university lectures from the world's leading universities to the world's starving masses', but these hopes too quickly faded for similar reasons. However, India, which had launched its own satellite, INSAT, in 1983, used it initially for delivering locally produced educational television programs throughout the country, in several indigenous languages, using Indian-designed receivers and television sets in local community centres as well as schools (Bates, 1985). India is still using satellites for tele-education into the poorest parts of the country at the time of writing (2015).

In the 1990s the cost of creating and distributing video dropped dramatically due to digital compression and high-speed Internet access. This reduction in the costs of recording and distributing video also led to the development of lecture capture systems. The technology allows students to view or review lectures at any time and place with an Internet connection. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) started making its recorded lectures available to the public, free of charge, via its OpenCourseWare project, in 2002. YouTube started in 2005 and was bought by Google in 2006. YouTube is increasingly being used for short educational clips that can be downloaded and integrated into online courses. The Khan Academy started using YouTube in 2006 for recorded voice-over lectures using a digital blackboard for equations and illustrations. Apple Inc. in 2007 created iTunesU to became a portal or a site where videos and other digital materials on university teaching could be collected and downloaded free of charge by end users.

Until lecture capture arrived, learning management systems had integrated basic educational design features, but this required instructors to redesign their classroom-based teaching to fit the LMS environment. Lecture capture on the other hand required no changes to the standard lecture model, and in a sense reverted back to primarily oral communication supported by Powerpoint or even writing on a chalkboard. Thus oral communication remains as strong today in education as ever, but has been incorporated into or accommodated by new technologies.

6.2.4 Computer technologies

6.2.4.1 Computer-based learning

In essence the development of programmed learning aims to computerize teaching, by structuring information, testing learners' knowledge, and providing immediate feedback to learners, without human intervention other than in the design of the hardware and software and the selection and loading of content and assessment questions. B.F. Skinner started experimenting with teaching machines that made use of programmed learning in 1954, based on the theory of behaviourism (see Chapter 2, Section 3). Skinner's teaching machines were one of the first forms of computer-based learning. There has been a recent revival of programmed learning approaches as a result of MOOCs, since machine based testing scales much more easily than human-based assessment.

PLATO was a generalized computer assisted instruction system originally developed at the University of Illinois, and, by the late 1970s, comprised several thousand terminals worldwide on nearly a dozen different networked mainframe computers. PLATO was a highly successful system, lasting almost 40 years, and incorporated key on-line concepts: forums, message boards, online testing, e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging, remote screen sharing, and multi-player games.

Attempts to replicate the teaching process through artificial intelligence (AI) began in the mid-1980s, with a focus initially on teaching arithmetic. Despite large investments of research in AI for teaching over the last 30 years, the results generally have been disappointing. It has proved difficult for machines to cope with the extraordinary variety of ways in which students learn (or fail to learn.) Recent developments in cognitive science and neuroscience are being watched closely but at the time of writing the gap is still great between the basic science, and analysing or predicting specific learning behaviours from the science.

More recently we have seen the development of adaptive learning, which analyses learners' responses then re-directs them to the most appropriate content area, based on their performance. Learning analytics, which also collects data about learner activities and relates them to other data, such as student performance, is a related development. These developments will be discussed in further detail in Section 6.7.

6.2.4.2 Computer networking

Arpanet in the U.S.A was the first network to use the Internet protocol in 1982. In the late 1970s, Murray Turoff and Roxanne Hiltz at the New Jersey Institute of Technology were experimenting with blended learning, using NJIT's internal computer network. They combined classroom teaching with online discussion forums, and termed this 'computer-mediated communication' or CMC (Hiltz and Turoff, 1978). At the University of Guelph in Canada, an off-the-shelf software system called CoSy was developed in the 1980s that allowed for online threaded group discussion forums, a predecessor to today's forums contained in learning management systems. In 1988, the Open University in the United Kingdom offered a course, DT200, that as well as the OU's traditional media of printed texts, television programs and audio-cassettes, also included an online discussion component using CoSy. Since this course had 1,200 registered students, it was one of the earliest 'mass' open online courses. We see then the emerging division between the use of computers for automated or programmed learning, and the use of computer networks to enable students and instructors to communicate with each other.

The Word Wide Web was formally launched in 1991. The World Wide Web is basically an application running on the Internet that enables 'end-users' to create and link documents, videos or other digital media, without the need for the end-user to transcribe everything into some form of computer code. The first web browser, Mosaic, was made available in 1993. Before the Web, it required lengthy and time-consuming methods to load text, and to find material on the Internet. Several Internet search engines have been developed since 1993, with Google, created in 1999, emerging as one of the primary search engines.

6.2.4.3 Online learning environments

In 1995, the Web enabled the development of the first learning management systems (LMSs), such as WebCT (which later became Blackboard). LMSs provide an online teaching environment, where content can be loaded and organized, as well as providing 'spaces' for learning objectives, student activities, assignment questions, and discussion forums. The first fully online courses (for credit) started to appear in 1995, some using LMSs, others just loading text as PDFs or slides. The materials were mainly text and graphics. LMSs became the main means by which online learning was offered until lecture capture systems arrived around 2008.

By 2008, George Siemens, Stephen Downes and Dave Cormier in Canada were using web technology to create the first 'connectivist' Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), a community of practice that linked webinar presentations and/or blog posts by experts to participants' blogs and tweets, with just over 2,000 enrollments. The courses were open to anyone and had no formal assessment. In 2012, two Stanford University professors launched a lecture-capture based MOOC on artificial intelligence, attracting more than 100,000 students, and since then MOOCs have expanded rapidly around the world.

6.2.5 Social media

Social media are really a sub-category of computer technology, but their development deserves a section of its own in the history of educational technology. Social media cover a wide range of different technologies, including blogs, wikis, You Tube videos, mobile devices such as phones and tablets, Twitter, Skype and Facebook. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein (2010) define social media as

a group of Internet-based applications that ...allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content, based on interactions among people in which they create, share or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

Social media are strongly associated with young people and 'millenials' - in other words, many of the students in post-secondary education. At the time of writing social media are only just being integrated into formal education, and to date their main educational value has been in non-formal education, such as fostering online communities of practice, or around the edges of classroom teaching, such as 'tweets' during lectures or rating of instructors. It will be argued though in Chapters 8, 9 and 10 that they have much greater potential for learning.

6.2.6 A paradigm shift

It can be seen that education has adopted and adapted technology over a long period of time. There are some useful lessons to be learned from past developments in the use of technology for education, in particular that many claims made for a newly emerging technology are likely to be neither true nor new. Also new technology rarely completely replaces an older technology. Usually the old technology remains, operating within a more specialised 'niche', such as radio, or integrated as part of a richer technology environment, such as video in the Internet.

However, what distinguishes the digital age from all previous ages is the rapid pace of technology development and our immersion in technology-based activities in our daily lives. Thus it is fair to describe the impact of the Internet on education as a paradigm shift, at least in terms of educational technology. We are still in the process of absorbing and applying the implications. The next section attempts to pin down more closely the educational significance of different media and technologies.

Activity 6.2 What does history tell us?

1. What constitutes an educational technology? How would you classify a recorded lecture from MIT that is accessed as an open educational resource? When is a technology educational and not just a technology?

2. An early version of the Internet (Arpanet) existed long before 1990, but the combination of Internet protocols and the development of html and the World Wide Web were clearly a turning point in both telecommunications and education (at least for me). What then makes the Internet/the Web a paradigm shift? Or are they just an evolution, an orderly next step in the development of technology?

3. Is writing a technology? Is a lecture a technology? Does it matter to decide this?

4. The more sharp eyed or analytical of you may be asking questions about the categorization or definition of some of the technologies listed above (quite apart from the issue of how to deal with people as a means of communication). For instance computer-mediated communication (CMC) existed before the Internet (from 1978 in fact), but isn't it an Internet technology? (It is now, but wasn't then.) How do social media differ from CMC? Does it make sense to distinguish television technologies such as broadcast, cable, satellite, DVDs or video-conferencing, and is this relevant any more? If so, what distinguishes them and what do they have in common from an educational perspective?

These are some of the issues that will become clearer in the following sections.

Bates, A. (1985) Broadcasting in Education: An Evaluation London: Constables

Hiltz, R. and Turoff, M. (1978) The Network Nation: Human Communication via Computer Reading MA: Addison-Wesley

Jamison, D. and Klees, S. (1973) The Cost of Instructional Radio and Television for Developing Countries Stanford CA: Stanford University Institute for Communication Research

Kaplan, A. and Haenlein, M. (2010), Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media, Business Horizons, Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 59-68

Leitonen, T. (2010) Designing Learning Tools: Methodological Insights Aalto, Finland: Aalto University School of Art and Design

Manguel, A. (1996) A History of Reading London: Harper Collins

Robinson, J. (1982) Broadcasting Over the Air London: BBC

Saettler, P. (1990) The Evolution of American Educational Technology Englewood CO: Libraries Unlimited

Selwood, D. (2014) What does the Rosetta Stone tell us about the Bible? Did Moses read hieroglyphs? The Telegraph, July 15

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Arguments about the role of technology in education go back at least 2,500 years. To understand better the role and influence of technology on teaching, we need a little history, because as always there are lessons to be learned from history.

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We've Come a Long Way, Baby!

We cannot argue that technology in the classroom has increased by leaps and bounds over the last several centuries. Some of you may even be old enough to remember teachers using chalkboards and mimeograph machines. Who knew that by the 21st century, students and teachers would be using iPads, personal computers and Smart Boards instead of textbooks?

Even in its earliest form, classroom technology allowed teachers to be more flexible and pursue several approaches to instruction. More recent devices help to promote student and teacher engagement while providing opportunities for collaborative learning and creativity. Let's take a look at some of the more primitive and advanced forms of classroom technology.

1800s: Chalkboards and Slide Rules

James Pillans, a high school and college teacher in Edinburgh, Scotland, invented the chalkboard in the 1800s. The earliest chalkboards were level pieces of natural slate; later forms were painted green, which proved to be easier on the eyes. As forms of primitive broadcast technology, they allowed teachers to share information with many, as opposed to just one student. Smaller versions of the chalkboard, called slates, were made of porcelain or painted wood and allowed students to write and solve math problems.

Credit for the invention of the slide rule goes to two English ministers: Edmund Gunther and William Oughtred. As a basic analog computer, the slide rule consists of three parts: a base, movable center and two transparent faces that make up the cursor. Both the far left and right sides of the rule are marked with bar and logarithmic scales. From the late 1800s to approximately 1970, high school and college students, as well as engineers, scientists and other professionals, used the slide rule to perform basic and complex math problems, such as those related to exponents and trigonometry.

1900s: Pencils, Paper and Film Projectors

Around 1900, mass-produced pencils and paper replaced slates. In comparison to slates, they gave students the opportunity to write, correct and save their work. As advocates for the technology, the National Association of Teachers declared in 1907 that 'Pen and ink will never replace the pencil.' While we don't know who actually invented the pencil, a 16th century Swiss named Conrad Gesner was the first to describe it as a writing instrument.

In the late 1800s, lecturers were using ' magic lanterns' fueled by candles and oil lamps to make presentations. They were replaced by filmstrip projectors, invented in 1925, that could display as many as 50 still images on a screen or wall while students listened to an accompanying cassette or record. Audio cues let teachers know when to advance to the next image; later models performed this function automatically Filmstrip projectors remained in use until the 1980s and the introduction of the videocassette.

1940s: Mimeograph Machines and Ballpoint Pens

The mimeograph machine, the forerunner of the modern copier, provided students with access to worksheets, pre-written tests and take-home papers. Originally invented by Thomas Edison, mimeograph machines consisted of rotating cylinders that forced ink through typed stencils onto sheets of paper, which came out damp, purple and a little bit smelly.

Unlike dip and fountain pens, ballpoint pens, invented and patented by Laszlo Biro in 1938, did not need to be refilled. However, not all educators warmed to their use: According to Federal Teachers in 1950, 'Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away.'

1950s: Television

Schools began instructional television (ITV) in the 1950s, utilizing an electronic technology developed by Philo Farnsworth during the 1920s. When first introduced, some people thought televisions might eventually replace classroom teachers. The three basic types of ITV include broadcast programming, classroom-specific programming and distance learning. Although not interactive, classroom television programs can be used to introduce and help generate student interest in a topic, as well as present age-appropriate events in real time.

1960s: Overhead Projectors

Roger Appeldorn, an employee of the 3M Company, invented the overhead projector in the early 1960s. Marketed specifically to businesspeople and teachers, the overhead projector allowed users to write on a clear piece of film and project their work on a screen, such as math problems. Although still in use, 3D projectors and high-definition document cameras with zoom features have mostly replaced overhead projectors.

1970s: Handheld Calculators and Scantron Sheets

Jack Kilby, Jerry Merryman and James Van Tassel, three engineers at Texas Instruments, invented the handheld calculator in 1967. As a replacement for the slide rule, the handheld calculator was a battery-powered instrument based upon an integrated circuit. Initially, teachers were reluctant to use them for fear students would forget how to perform simple mathematical operations. Beginning in 1972, students could also purchase a pocket scientific calculator, which cost about $135.

Although scantron sheets as a testing tool can be found as early as the 1930s, they became increasingly popular in the 1970s as they allowed teachers to grade standardized exams in a very short amount of time. During tests, students recorded their answers to multiple-choice questions by darkening small ovals with #2 pencils, which were later scanned and evaluated using optical mark recognition (OMR) technology.

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history of technology in the classroom | study.com

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History of Technology in the Classroom | Study.com

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We cannot argue that technology in the classroom has increased by leaps and bounds over the last several centuries. Some of you may even be old enough to remember teachers using chalkboards and mimeograph machines. Who knew that by the 21st century, students and teachers would be using iPads, personal computers and Smart Boards instead of textbooks?

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Evolution of Technology in the Classroom

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2015 - 80% of students who use tablets for school are using their own and not the school's. 2015 - College students nowadays are rarely without some form of computer technology: 83% own a laptop, and over 50% have a Smartphone. 2015 - 84% of the U. S.

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Technology Solutions That Drive Education

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Learning technologies have come a long way over the past century and a half. But a stroll down memory lane shows that as things change, so many things in the classroom remain the same.

A new infographic from Webanywhere, a UK-based provider of web-based learning platforms, explores 22 of the most influential technologies that have shaped how classrooms function - from 1860 all the way to 2015 and into the future, where virtual reality could soon play a role in education

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A Brief History of the Evolution of Classroom Technology [#Infographic]

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Learning technologies have come a long way over the past century and a half. But a stroll down memory lane shows that as things change, so many things in the classroom remain the same.

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Technology has always been at the forefront of human education. From the days of carving figures on rock walls to today, when most students are equipped with several portable technological devices at any given time, technology continues to push educational capabilities to new levels. In looking at where educational methods and tools have come from to where they are going in the future, technology's importance in the classroom is evident now more than ever. A History of Classroom Technology: The Primitive Classroom
In the Colonial years, wooden paddles with printed lessons, called Horn-Books, were used to assist students in learning verses. Over 200 years later, in 1870, technology advanced to include the Magic Lantern, a primitive version of a slide projector that projected images printed on glass plates. By the time World War I ended, around 8,000 lantern slides were circulating through the Chicago public school system. By the time the Chalkboard came around in 1890, followed by the pencil in 1900, it was clear that students were hungry for more advanced educational tools.

Radio in the 1920s sparked an entirely new wave of learning; on-air classes began popping up for any student within listening range.

Next came the overhead projector in 1930, followed by the ballpoint pen in 1940 and headphones in 1950.

Videotapes arrived on the scene in 1951, creating a new and exciting method of instruction.

The Skinner Teaching Machine produced a combined system of teaching and testing, providing reinforcement for correct answers so that the student can move on to the next lesson.

The photocopier (1959) and handheld calculator (1972) entered the classrooms next, allowing for mass production of material on the fly and quick mathematical calculations.

The Scantron system of testing, introduced by Michael Sokolski n 1972, allowed educators to grade tests more quickly and efficiently.

The pre-computer years were formative in the choices made for computers in the years following. Immediate response-type systems (video, calculator, Scantron) had become necessary, and quick production of teaching materials, using the photocopier, had become a standard. The U.S. Department of Education reports that high school enrollment was only 10% in 1900, but by 1992 had expanded to 95%. The number of students in college in 1930 was around 1 million, but by 2012 had grown to a record 21.6 million. Teachers needed new methods of instruction and testing, and students were looking for new ways to communicate, study, and learn.
The Entrance and Significance of Personal Computers
Although the first computers were developed in the '30s, everyday-use computers were introduced in the '80s. The first portable computer, in 1981, weighed 24 pounds and cost $1,795. When IBM introduced its first personal computer in 1981, the educational world knew that it was on the verge of greatness. Time magazine named The Computer its "Man of the Year" in 1982, and aptly so: the foundation of immediate learning capabilities had been laid. Time declared, "it is the end result of a technological revolution that has been in the making for four decades and is now, quite literally, hitting home."

Toshiba released its first mass-market consumer laptop in 1985 (the T1100), and Apple's infamous Mac (which later evolved into the Powerbook) was available starting in 1984.

In 1990, The World Wide Web was given life when a British researcher developed Hyper Text Markup Language, or HTML, and when the National Science Foundation (NSF) removed restrictions on the commercial use of the Internet in 1993, the world exploded into a frenzy of newfound research and communication methods.

The first Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) were released by Apple Computer Inc. in 1993, and with that, computers were a part of every day, if not every moment. By 2009, 97% of classrooms had one or more computers, and 93% of classroom computers had Internet access. For every 5 students, there was one computer. Instructors stated that 40% of students used computers often in their educational methods, in addition to interactive whiteboards and digital cameras. College students nowadays are rarely without some form of computer technology: 83% own a laptop, and over 50% have a Smartphone.

The Future of Technology in the Classroom
It seems like years since MySpace, first introduced in 2003, Facebook (2004) and Twitter (2007) have changed both the communication and business worlds. Instant connectivity has branched out from merely a tool of personal communication, to a platform for educational instruction and outreach. Social media is now being recognized as an accepted form of instruction in some instances, and groups such as Scholastic Teachers provide excellent support and tips for instructors. Many instructors use social media to communicate directly with their students, or to form forum-style groups for students to communicate with each other, and the method seems to be proving valuable in providing one-on-one attention to student's questions and concerns.

With the classroom having already evolved into a hotbed of technological advances, what can the future possibly hold that could further educational proficiencies even more?

Biometrics, a technology that recognizes people based on certain physical or behavioral traits, is on the technological horizon. The science will be used to recognize the physical and emotional disposition of students in the classroom, altering course material to tailor to each individual's needs based on biometric signals.

A second up-and-coming technology is Augmented Reality (AR) glasses, rumored to be on Google's release list, and this technology could be a whole new world for education. AR Glasses (or even contact lenses) will layer data on top of what we naturally see, to allow for a real-world learning experience. For example, a student wearing AR Glasses could potentially sit at his desk and have a conversation with Thomas Edison about invention. It was Edison, after all, who said that "Books will soon be obsolete in schools. Scholars will soon be instructed through the eye."

Multi-touch surfaces are commonly used through equipment such as the iPhone, but the technology could become more relevant to education through entirely multi-touch surfaces, such as desks or workstations. This could allow students to collaborate with other students, even those around the world, and videos and other virtual tools could be streamed directly to the surface.

Educators and the Evolution of Technology in the Classroom
With the evolution of technology, educational capabilities are growing and changing every day. The Internet is a vast electronic library of information, and both research and instruction can be achieved through a click of the mouse. With these advances come new responsibilities to the instructor and therefore increase the value of a Master of Science in Education in Learning Design and Technology. As technology advances, an educator's abilities will grow by leaps and bounds, and without the knowledge of these changes and capabilities, an instructor has a good chance of being left behind.
A career in education requires hard work and dedication, but, for the diligent educator, can prove very rewarding. For those who are serious about success in the education field, staying well-informed of current and changing technologies is imperative. As the world of technology evolves, the learning environment, both on-campus and online, will equally progress, and the need for teachers who are educated in technology and design will continue to grow.
Learn more about the online MSEd in Learning Design and Technology at Purdue University today and help redefine the way in which individuals learn. Call (877) 497-5851 to speak with an admissions advisor or click here to request more information.

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The Evolution Of Technology In The Classroom | Purdue Online

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The evolution of technology in the classroom includes where educational methods and tools have come from to where they are going in the future. Learn more.

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Timeline of Educational Technology in Schools Infographic

It's amazing how quickly technology changes, even in the course of six months. But can you imagine how much it has changed over decades? The Timeline of Educational Technology in Schools Infographic shows how educational technology has evolved in schools over the past 114 years.

1900 - 1920 - Age of the One-room Schoolhouse

1923 - Radios were introduced to classrooms; major cities established classroom instruction on radios - penmanship, accounting, history and arithmetic were included

1930s - overhead projectors initially used for US military training purposes quickly spread to schools

1933 - 52% of schools were using silent films and 3% were using sound films

1939 - the first TV appeared in a classroom in LA; now the most widely used technology in schools

1950 - Headphones became popular in schools and stations used to listen to audio tapes were dubbed 'language labs'

1964 - BASIC developed at Dartmouth College with the intent to give students a simple programming language that was easy-to-learn

1967 - Texas Instruments develops the handheld calculator

1967 - LOGO programming language developed

1972 - Scantron - automatically graded multiple choice examples

1973 - The Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (later Corporation), most commonly known as MECC was founded creators of Lemonade Stand ('73) and Oregon Trail ('74)

1984 - The Apple Macintosh computer is developed. The ration of computers to students in US schools is 1 - 92

1985 - Touch typing software Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is developed and popularized in schools

1988 - laptops are developed and are eventually utilized as teaching tools

1990 - CD-ROM disks became the new kind of storage

1992 - Schools are use Gopher servers to provide students with online information

1994 - According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), about 35% of American public schools had Internet access

1995 - Most CAI is delivered on CD-ROM disks and is growing in popularity

1996 - Faculty create instructional web pages

1999 - SMART boards introduced in schools

2001 - 80% of schools with internet access offered professional development training for teachers for integrating technology into classrooms.

2002 - 99% of schools had internet access

2009 - 1 computer for every 5.3 students in US schools

2010 - 1 wireless device for every 3.4 students in US schools

2011 - 80% of children under 5 use internet daily in the US

2012 - 1.5 million iPads provided by schools

2013 - 90% of students under the age of 18 have access to mobile technology

Via: www.masterofartsinteaching.net

Embed This Education Infographic on your Site or Blog! Copy and Paste the following code!

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Timeline of Educational Technology in Schools Infographic - e-Learning Infographics

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It's amazing how quickly technology changes, even in the course of six months. But can you imagine how much it has changed over decades? The Timeline of Educational Technology in Schools Infographic shows how educational technology has evolved in schools over the past 114 years.

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Here are a few links to interesting views of the future of technology in the classroom.

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Predicting the future of classroom technology trends empowers teachers and school districts to stay at the forefront of "the next big thing" in education. When you have an idea of which trends are sure to increase in popularity and functionality in the upcoming years, you can make informed decisions about the tools you should invest in and the trends that are likely to lose momentum.

In terms of classroom technology tools, there is a rich history of technology in classrooms that predates the Internet era. As the bulky computers of the past 30 years have been replaced with sleek laptops, tablets, and smartphones, affordable options and increased accessibility for the general population has allowed more and more schools to place technology in classrooms and integrate it into daily learning activities.

In fact, as technology develops and becomes more accessible in the public space, technology in classrooms tends to follow suit. For example, as the Internet developed and became widely used in the 1990s, students began accessing it for schoolwork. Thus, as technology continues to progress, develop, and decrease in price, classroom technology tools will continue to support learning as options become more advanced and accessible in every school district.

Now, let's look at predictions for the future of classroom technology tools. What roles will these tools play in the education of future students? How will they improve the learning process for teachers and students alike? A closer look at some future trends will help us answer these questions.

Technology Will Increase Student Accountability

When students have increased ownership over their own academic performance and progress, educators will see better outcomes, increased engagement, and enhanced learning experiences. Classroom technology tools can be used to support students by increasing the accountability and responsibility they have over their own education, enabling them to reflect on outcomes, set goals for future progress, and take ownership over their learning experience.

Setting and Tracking Goals

Classroom technology tools provide insight beyond a final letter grade. For students, the ability to have a more transparent view of their progress increases the ownership they will have over their own learning experience and will help them self identify what they need to improve upon, and it will increase their confidence as they can track their own improvements.

Here are a few examples of how technology increases student accountability:

Learning management solutions that allow them to log in and see their most up-to-date grades, monitoring their own data.

Students have discretion over their assignments, choosing areas of particular interest.

Students can create their own online portfolios or blogs to track progress throughout the school year.

As with any integration of classroom technology tools, the teacher will still be the main driver and encourager of technology usage. Students will need to be supported as they begin to increase ownership and independence. In fact, this is an area where some of your best students may struggle, as they are likely accustomed to following rules and directions to the letter. However, with encouragement and mentorship, teachers are sure to see an increase in self-reliance in their students.

Technology Will Enhance Collaboration.

Collaboration around a single student can drastically change how teachers engage with him or her. However, in the past, gaining a level of visibility into a student's performance across all disciplines was difficult and tedious. Rarely can teachers all be gathered in the same place to discuss a collaboration strategy for a single student, let alone the dozens of other students who would benefit from that level of time investment, as well.

Now with classroom technology tools, teachers have access to accurate, real-time data that can inform their instructional decisions. Consider this example. A teacher recognizes that a student who is normally strong in math is suddenly struggling to keep up. What is the cause for this new weakness? The teacher looks to data for this student in other subjects and notices that the student has regularly struggled with reading courses. Recently, they have moved to a new section in math class - word problems. The teacher now knows the source of the student's new challenges and can consult with the student's other teachers on how to best support them in every subject and personalize their teaching approach to better meet the student's needs.

With data and student performance tracking tools, teachers can work together to identify patterns, strengths, and weakness for their students. This data can inform their decision-making process about each student, choosing the approaches to instruction that will yield the best outcome for each student.

Teacher collaboration isn't the only positive outcome in terms of collaboration. With classroom technology tools, students can work together to generate better outcomes for themselves. New programs on computers or tablets can connect students both with those in their own classrooms and with other students around the world. Students can complete projects, contribute to the same documents or presentations via the cloud, and have a more robust personal experience as they work toward common goals.

Technology Will Become More Powerful and Intuitive.

As technology constantly develops, so do the potential benefits it brings to classroom settings. Ten years ago, it might have been hard to imagine a tool like tablets being used in classroom settings. Now, as technology develops in the consumer space, it's sure to become more powerful and intuitive in the classroom setting, as well.

While there is no single tool that educators should look to as having specific transformative powers over their classroom, there are some themes that are growing in popularity in the technology space that are likely to be found in more and more classrooms over the next months or years.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

Virtual reality has been the stuff of science fiction until recently. With greater accessibility to smaller devices like smartphones, technology companies have found ways to make virtual reality fun and accessible with specialty headsets. Some top names in technology like Google and PlayStation have invested in developing these virtual reality headsets.

In a classroom setting, the possibilities for using virtual reality are nearly endless. You can take virtual field trips to see the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, or the North Pole. Classrooms could be immersed in crucial moments in history, like learning about a Revolutionary War battle from a virtual George Washington or going to the moon with Neil Armstrong. As virtual reality technology develops, the only limitations for the application of this technology will be educators' imaginations.

Augmented reality, or technology that superimposes digital images onto real-world sights, is another area that holds exciting possibilities for educators and students. (If you're not familiar with augmented reality, think of games like Pokémon GO.) Using augmented reality technology, students can explore subjects like science or engineering. Imagine using augmented reality to do virtual science experiments or engineer 3D virtual buildings. These interactive possibilities provide safe, exciting, and engaging classroom technology options for students.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more common, from the Amazon Alexa device in your house to having a smart assistant like Siri on your phone. This year, and for years to come, artificial intelligence will empower personalized learning in classrooms.

Think of tools like math tutoring applications that can identify students' strengths and skill sets, and provide them with exercises best suited to their needs. Perhaps teachers will soon be using artificial intelligence to gather student data and then apply algorithms to create personalized learning paths. Artificial intelligence will only develop greater opportunities as the technology itself develops.

One of the most exciting prospects for teachers may be the potential for supplemental instruction that artificial intelligence can offer. When artificial intelligence tools can support students in areas like regular course work, teachers can focus their efforts on high-value endeavors like mentoring students or increasing one-on-one interactions with students.

As technology develops and becomes more intuitive, teachers and students alike are sure to benefit from greater functionality and a more personalized learning experience.

Ultimately, it's important to remember that classroom technology tools will always be just that - tools. These tools will never replace teachers but instead will support teachers in their efforts to deliver positive, personalized learning experiences for every student. Classroom technology tools work alongside the teacher to better support students' needs through remediation, practice, extension, and activities that demonstrate knowledge authentically.

Thus, teachers should be adequately prepared and trained in using these technology tools in their own classrooms. Without proper training and a cohesive direction for your educators, you may see technology tools fail. It's important to invest in training efforts upfront if you want to see a positive return on your investment in classroom technology.

As you consider future investments in classroom technology tools, keep these trends in mind. With strategic investment and support for teachers and students through the technology adoption process, you're sure to see an increase in positive outcomes in your classrooms.
Learn more about how using classroom technology tools supports learning. Download this free guide now.

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The Future of Classroom Technology Tools

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Predicting the future of classroom technology trends empowers teachers and school districts to stay at the forefront of "the next big thing" in education. When you have an idea of which trends are sure to increase in popularity and functionality in the upcoming years, you can make informed decisions about the tools you should invest in and the trends that are likely to lose momentum.

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Council Post: 14 Predictions For The Future Of Classroom Technology

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Modern technology like smartboards and student iPads have become the norm in the typical classroom. From ensuring a student's full participation to greater ease in grading exams, many educators' jobs have become easier through these technologies. However, the tools we've seen could be just the tip of the iceberg.

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Blaise Patterson

Blaise Patterson ( blaise_patterson@hotmail.com)
University of Ontario, Institute of Technology

Rapid technological advancement has resulted in an influx of emerging technologies becoming available to today's educators. This grants many opportunities for educators to deliver their lesson plans in a multitude of formats. Newly developed software like SeeSaw and ExplainEverything, aim to make lesson delivery more effective. Whereas, from a hardware perspective, virtual reality is allowing classrooms to experience virtual spaces like never before. Toys-to-life products like Nintendo's Labo and Lego's Boost are a combination of both software and hardware; adding digital components to non-digital models to support the learning of basic coding. While experimenting with these new technologies can prove to be beneficial for the learning environment, critical reflection is more necessary than ever. We must constantly reflect on emerging technologies we hope to integrate, and evaluate their validity as productive tools.

Keywords: Emerging technologies, software, critical reflection.

The modification of the classroom is an ongoing process; we, as educators, are always integrating new means of teaching into the learning environment. Technology has provided even more opportunities for learning; digital tools have the potential to be open-ended, giving users a plethora of materials, which would otherwise be unattainable.

Typically, the tools we use are already familiar to us. The discovery of new tools for learning requires one to actively search. Although we may try our best, we are not always provided the chance to search for new tools to use. This chapter hopes to illuminate some emerging technologies. As well as technological tools, which you may have missed.

Due to the rapid expansion of available tools, it is difficult to discuss all of them. However, the tools included in this chapter have shown promise in the classroom through personal experience. Thus, it seems necessary to explore them a little further, to consider for the future. The three main areas of exploration are: communication software, virtual reality, and toys-to-life products.

Explanation of Emerging Technologies

It is difficult to provide an exact definition for emerging technologies, because it varies depending on the context. The Business Dictionary (2018) defines emerging technologies as, "new technologies that are currently developing or will be developed over the next five to ten years, and which will substantially alter the business and social environment". Alternatively, Rotolo et al. (2015) conducted a meta-analysis of literature, and defines emerging technologies as containing the following qualities: radically novel, rapidly growing, coherent, prominently impactful, and ambiguous. This chapter will discuss and suggest emerging technologies that exemplify these characteristics, in an attempt to benefit how the classroom functions.

It is important to note that students today are utilizing technology and apply understanding of the curriculum through digital devices daily, both online and offline (Ministry of Education, 2017). It is important that we consider what tools are familiar to today's learners. If we are truly going to engage with youth today, we need to access and learn about the influenced spaces they explore. The trajectory of a learner's success can rise when they feel that their educator is interested in who they are (Fullan, 2013).

The idea is that future schools' teaching and learning will be influenced by technologies like virtual/augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and robotics. With the driving force of it all, being computer science (Ministry of Education, 2017). These technologies provide alternative ways of teaching in the classroom; instead of discussing Ancient Greece, students can take a virtual tour as a class. Tools like virtual reality create a sense of immersion, allowing users to experience environments in first-person.

A crucial component to integrating emerging technologies, is the understanding of how these technologies function. The Ontario government, as well as other provincial governments are vowing millions of dollars (pp.1) to support technological changes in provincial schools over a three-year period, in which professional development for teachers is a priority (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2017., British Columbia Education Ministry, 2016). To effectively facilitate new technologies in the classroom, it is critical that we take the necessary steps to do so.

The Province of Ontario is continuing to recognize that a need exists to develop new pedagogical skillets, related to computer science education in the classroom, if they are truly going to prepare youth for the future (Ministry of Education, 2017). Difficulty in understanding how authentic learning experiences can be fostered in diverse classrooms, and also challenges surrounding the teacher role are present amongst educators (Ananiadou & Claro, 2013). With new technologies emerging frequently, we are rapidly expected to develop new ways to teach accordingly. Through experimentation, we can continue to explore new devices and tools to support the learning of today's youth.

The addition of new technologies in the classroom can seem daunting; one may find it difficult to know if an emerging technology is fit for their classroom, if they are unfamiliar with it. Thus, it is important to relate to existing theories when considering what will be a positive addition to the classroom. The following theories were used as a foundation, when considering what emerging technologies to discuss.

Game-Based Learning. As the increase to access in the classroom has evolved, game-based learning is a viable option for educators to grow understanding of math concepts, language, history, and social sciences (Jenson & Hebert, 2017., Dickey, 2013). According to the Entertainment Software Association (2016), sixty-five percent of American households own a gaming console. If more than half of a population partake in gaming as an activity, it seems necessary to explore the impact the activity has. By incorporating devices that are familiar to youth today, we can work towards seamless transitions between school and home.

21st Century Learning. By adjusting how we teach, we can aim to develop new practices that support a desire to learn. Fostering positive emotions, internal motivation and favorable perceptions of work itself are the secrets to better change (Fullan, 2013). We should always consider ways to modify our teaching practice to support these qualities. As we progress as a society, expectations may differ. Requiring different skill sets from the developing generations. It is important that we prepare today's youth as best as possible for what will be expected of them in the future.

Constructivism. Real learning occurs when it is learner-centered; through mistakes and self-inquiry, learners make meaning by connecting new content to existing knowledge (Aldoobie, 2015). Advances in technology have provided tools that support students, as they explore and inquire. To support a student-led education, the role of the educator needs to be reimagined; instead of recording information, learners interpret new knowledge by relating it to existing concepts (UNESCO, 2018). As educators, we should always make an effort to examine the individual needs of our students. Learners have an approximate amount of knowledge beyond their own, which can be directed and supported by an educator (Aldoobie, 2015).

Gamification. Meaningful gamification is the use of gameful and playful layers to help a user find personal connections that motivate engagement with a specific context for long-term change (Nicholson, 2014). Gamification can be utilized for other technologies, or for non-technological activities. While reward-based gamification can be useful for short-term goals and situations where the participants have no personal connections or intrinsic motivation to engage in a context, rewards can reduce intrinsic motivation and the long-term desire to engage with the real world context. If the goal is long-term change, then rewards should be avoided and other game-based elements used to create a system based on concepts of meaningful gamification (Nicholson, 2014).

What is both beneficial, yet challenging about emerging technologies, is their variety of uses; although it is encouraging to see the amount of new technologies being developed, it can be difficult to decipher which ones are beneficial. Application-wise, they can be utilized for knowledge-acquisition, communication, organization, and more. It is necessary to consider however, that just because a technology is new, does not make it more effective than an existing. Which, is why we must reflect when experimenting with new tools.

There are new programs being developed to improve the quality of life for educators, parents, and students. However, most of these programs look similar, for example, learning management systems (LMS). There are several different LMS (Google Classroom, D2L, Moodle, etc...), and many of them feature similar qualities. It is important to compare these softwares, to see which will best support you. Realistically, there are a limited amount of tasks, which these softwares can improve. Thus, the majority of their efforts are spent optimizing efficiency, and minimizing errors.

Developing new tools to support knowledge acquisition is where innovation occurs; the near infinite amount of resources that technology provides grants us the opportunity to explore new methods of teaching. Tools like virtual reality look to create an immersive environment; it provides a visual representation of content, which may only have been observable through a computer screen.

Alternatively, toys-to-life products add digital components to a real-life device. Similar to augmented reality, these products use digital components to enhance an existing experience. Which, highlights how technology can be used to innovate and benefit existing aspects of our life. Nintendo's LABO, for example, would only be cardboard models if it were not for the software being able to provide realistic functions. What is otherwise a cardboard piano without the software, becomes an actual piano, capable of performing music.

Below, you will find a list of emerging technologies for your consideration. Please consider that due to their limited use in the classroom, it is difficult to gauge their benefits to the learning environment. We advise that all recommended tools are used mindfully, and with constant critical reflection. Our responsibility first and foremost, is to ensure the well-being and learning of the youth in our classrooms.

The included technologies are only a sample of newly developing technologies to use in the learning environment. This portfolio of tools is constantly expanding, and requires constant effort to monitor new useful technologies.

Communication Software

Teaching can sometimes be a busy occupation, which is why there are constant efforts to alleviate unnecessary stressors. Whether it is communicating with coworkers, students, and parents, or effectively delivering lesson plans, the following softwares seem to be changing the classroom for the better.
Seesaw
Seesaw is a digital portfolio that features a variety of different tools to support communication in the classroom. Some of its features include: digital portfolios for each individual student to document their work, wireless transferring of documents with educators and parents, instant messaging between parents and educators, the ability for educators to track the progress of each student, and the ability for educators to distribute announcements to all parents. If we are truly going to engage with youth today, we need to access and learn about the influenced spaces they explore.
ExplainEverything
ExplainEverything is an open-ended whiteboard tool, which provides educators with interactive tools, cloud capabilities, and the availability of live collaboration. Not only does this allow students to collaborate on projects within the classroom, but with students around the globe. It is important for teachers to promote collaboration and presentations using classroom learning technologies, it empowers students, creates confidence, and develops leadership (Tobias et al., 2013).

Virtual Reality

Computers give us the availability to construct virtual spaces to explore, with an infinite amount of resources to explore these spaces. Virtual reality takes it a step further, by immersing its user in these virtual spaces. What was once exploring through a computer screen, is now being virtually transported to the location. This will hopefully support classroom engagement, by allowing learners to experience first-hand what they discuss in class.
Google Cardboard
There are many VR products, however Google Cardboard is the most affordable, making it ideal for educators on a budget. Using Google Cardboard and apps such as Google Expeditions, students can explore famous buildings, natural phenomena and locations that are across the world. Available apps provide a variety of functionality, including: exploration apps, skill-developing apps, and entertainment apps. If we hope to prepare today's learners for the changing world, we must incorporate meaningful learning opportunities. Digital manipulatives and technological learning tools will help prepare students for digital career opportunities (Kopcha et al., 2016).

Toys-to-Life

Toys-to-life products are the result of combining two popular products that capture engagement: toys and digital gaming. Not all toys-to-life are ideal for the classroom; products like Nintendo's Amiibos, Activision's Skylanders, and Disney's Infinity are items which unlock in-game content. The figures themselves offer no interactive experience themselves. Whereas the products mentioned below were formulated to use technology to enhance the experience of the product.
Nintendo LABO
Nintendo's LABO Variety Kit has users craft various cardboard models, and provides technological functionality. An important requirement is that it requires Nintendo's newest console, the Nintendo Switch. It also features a "Toy-Con Garage" mode, which teaches basic coding/programming by providing a multitude of functions to experiment with. This grants the opportunity to challenge students with do-it-yourself projects, fostering problem-based learning. Problem-based learning is done through collaboration and requires ongoing dialogue to really unfold what is being discussed and how a solution can be formed (Hmelo-Silver et al., 2007).
Lego Boost
Lego's Boost is a blend of the typical Lego building experience, and an incorporation of coding. The app, which is available for tablets, provides step-by-step assembly guides, and follows with a coding program. Allowing the user to provide functionality to their creation, supporting the development of coding skills.

The included technologies are only a sample of newly developing technologies to use in the learning environment. This portfolio of tools is constantly expanding, and requires constant effort to monitor new useful technologies. Teachers need to remain cautious of requiring students to become 'gamified' or develop game products, if the learner does not see the value; it can have detrimental effects (Randbeeck, W., 2016). Today's educators need to be responsible for more than just knowledge delivery, but also safe and effective use of emerging technologies.

Despite the new opportunities that current and emerging technologies provide, they also require new considerations when integrating them. It is important that we are constantly reflecting on what is being taught in the classroom to ensure our lessons are meaningful (Brown, 2014). Critical reflection is important for both educators and students alike; educators should always look to improve their practice. Whereas, learners can use it to develop deeper learning outcomes (2014).

Today is not so much about teaching the technology as it applies to a single lesson or unit, but more about promoting critical thinking and provoking questions by the learners about the spaces they already explore (Becker et al., 2017, pp. 10). The internet provides many opportunities for today's learners to learn on their own. Thus, perhaps the focus of educators should be discovering how to best teach, rather than what they teach.

Aldoobie, N. (2015). Technology Integration and Learning Theory. American International Journal of Contemporary Research , 5, 114-118.

Ananiadou, K and Claro, M. (2013). 21st Century Skills and Competencies for New Millennium Learners in OECD Countries: OECD Educational Working Papers. OECD Publishing, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/218525261154 PG. 6.

Becker, S., Freeman, A., Giesinger Hall, C., Cummins, M., and Yuhnke, B. (2017). NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. https://iktsenteret.no/sites/iktsenteret.no/files/attachments/2017-nmc-technology-outlook-nordic-schools-en.pdf

BusinessDictionary.com (n.d.) Emerging technologies. Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/emerging-technologies.html

Dickey, M. (2013) K-12 teachers encounter digital games: a qualitative investigation of teachers perceptions of the potential of digital games for K-12 education.

Entertainment Software Association. (2016). Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry. Retrieved from http://essentialfacts.theesa.com/Essential-Facts-2016.pdf

Fullan, M. (2013). Pedagogy and chance: Essence as easy. In Stratosphere (pp.17-32). Toronto, Ontario: Pearson.

Hmelo-Silver, C. E., Duncan, R. G., & Chinn, C. A. (2007). Scaffolding and Achievement in Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning: A Response to Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006). Educational Psychologist, 42(2), 99-107. doi:10.1080/00461520701263368

Jenson, J. & Hébert, C. (2017) Developing Serious Pedagogy for Serious Games: Digital GameBased Teaching in K-12 Schools. Retrieved from http://digra2017.com/static/Extended%20Abstracts/80_DIGRA2017_EA_Jenson_Serious_Pedagogy.pdf

Kopcha, T. J., Ding, L., Neumann, K. L., & Choi, I. (2016). Teaching Technology Integration to K-12 Educators: A 'Gamified' Approach. TechTrends, 60(1), 62-69. doi:10.1007/s11528-015-

Ministry of Education, (2016). Ontario Helping Students Learn to Code. [Web page]. Retrieved from https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2016/12/ontario-helping-students-learn-to-code.html

Ministry of Education, (2017). Preparing Students to Thrive in Ontario's Innovative Economy. [Web page]. Retrieved from https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2017/03/preparing-students-to-thrive-in-ontarios-innovative-economy.html?_ga=1.161594298.765483170.1491340202

Nicholson, S. (2014). A RECIPE for Meaningful Gamification. Gamification in Education and Business, 1-20. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-10208-5_1

Randbeeck, W. (2016, April 5), Gamification in Citizen Participation. [Web log post]. Citizen Lab. Available from https://www.citizenlab.co/blog/civic-engagement/gamification-in-citizen-participation/

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Tobias, S., Fletcher, J. D., & Wind, A. P. (2013). Game-Based Learning. Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology, 485-503. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3185-5_38

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Technology and the Curriculum: Summer 2018

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Blaise Patterson Blaise Patterson ( blaise_patterson@hotmail.com) University of Ontario, Institute of Technology Rapid technological advancement has resulted in an influx of emerging technologies becoming available to today's educators. This grants many opportunities for educators to deliver their lesson plans in a multitude of formats.

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The Future is Now

Tomorrow is the geometry unit test for Sebastian, and he still confuses simple definitions such as complementary and supplementary angles. His teacher, Mrs. Billet, anticipated the need for pre-test review and introduces the class to the augmented reality application on their tablets. She posted relevant trigger pictures around the room, and by pointing the tablet's camera, AR allows students to watch problems being solved and listen to videos that explain theories. Students were buzzing over the novel approach, absorbed in topic review.

As you can see from the scenario above, the growth of future technology in our nation's classrooms promises to deliver methods for teaching and learning that only existed in the minds of visionaries in previous decades. Even techniques and tools that we depend on now are undergoing remarkable changes as we use them. This lesson explores some exciting technologies that will greatly affect classrooms in the future.

Future Technologies in Education

Using technology in in the classroom makes learning real, tangible, and most importantly, available to teachers and learners around the world. Let's take a closer look at some classroom technologies that are still evolving, but promise even more great leaps for learners and teachers.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented reality is a technology that is activated by the combination of a trigger image and an uploaded video response. The process is similar to aligning bar codes on store products to a phone app and having product descriptions, price per ounce, and store availability come up. Stop into a bookstore or library, and take a look at an AR-enabled copy of the Guinness World Records 2014 or 2015. The potential is clear when you point the app at a trigger picture of a cobra and see it coil off the page, or target a photo trigger of the world's smallest woman, then rotate the image so the viewer can walk 360 degrees around her and even snap a selfie.

Education is already seeing some uses for AR, such as promotion for student activities like plays or sports, messages to students from teachers and back, cross-curricular content review, and in-depth learning, such as skeletal and circulatory systems overlaid on the human body. Eventually, students could wear Google Glasses instead of using tablets or smartphones for endless AR possibilities.

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future technology in the classroom | study.com

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Future Technology in the Classroom | Study.com

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Tomorrow is the geometry unit test for Sebastian, and he still confuses simple definitions such as complementary and supplementary angles. His teacher, Mrs. Billet, anticipated the need for pre-test review and introduces the class to the augmented reality application on their tablets.