Vision and Mission Statement

Educational technology has always existed, but its prevalence in schools has increased exponentially in the last thirty years or so. From transforming a stick into a tool to draw in the dirt to Roman wax tablets, from the creation of paper to the printing press, from the quill and feather to the graphite pencil, technology has been used in education since time immemorial. What is different from the eras that came before us now is the global and instantaneous reach of technology, its ability to deliver information anywhere at anytime, and the facility it provides to quickly and efficiently create and distribute knowledge throughout the world. Technology is only a tool. It can help, or it can hurt. An important question to ask is how is it used in education. A more important question is why is it used in education. 

Driven by both objectivist and constructivist theories of learning, educational technologies adopt elements of both. The acquisition of hard facts, like math fluency in elementary grades or chemical equations in high school can readily be accomplished in direct methods imparting knowledge such as behaviorist-inspired drills. The creation and deployment of information, on the other hand, is better accomplished through the constructivist building of “both mechanisms for learning and that person’s own unique version of the knowledge informed by background, experiences, and aptitudes” (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019, p. 37). Effective educational technologies combine elements of both approaches. 

Technology has transformed the classroom. Overnight, the pandemic sent students and teachers home for what was supposed to be a short period. Suddenly the classroom was thrusted into the virtual world, and tools that have existed for a decade or more became essential, alongside newer arrivals. Teachers who were pioneers of technology integration found themselves innovating yet again in uncharted waters. Teachers who were reluctant to embrace technology found they had to jump in the same waters. Educational technologies were validated through trial by fire, and the way schools did business in February 2020 have been upended for the better. 

Educational technologies possess the power to fundamentally transform the relationship of teachers and students away from one of teachers imparting knowledge to students to one where the students are “active agents in their own learning” (Romano, 2020-present). Educational technologies are inclusive. They allow all students to learn at their own pace and to acquire both a basic skill set shared by everyone, along with more specialized skills driven by a student’s passions and interests. Educational technologies provide “channels for helping teachers communicate better with students—ways of making their instructional relationships more meaningful and productive” (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019, p. v). They facilitate the shift from consumer of information to creator of knowledge. Ultimately, they unleash the passions that motivate our students to continuously learn. 

For teachers, administrators, and parents, this means we need to “redesign the work and the roles of the learner and educator to tap the potential of our new technologies” (November, 2017). We must create more flexible models of learning. We must empower our students to own their learning: “Only when children learn what they want to learn and begin to take the responsibility for learning and living can they stay truly engaged” (Zhao, 2012, p. 171). By themselves, educational technologies are the new shiny objects we continue to chase after, one more puzzle piece that will facilitate a task or improve an aspect of teaching and learning. That’s the answer to the how question in the first paragraph. We need to figure out how all the puzzle pieces fit together to form a new picture. We need to understand how educational technologies work together with teachers and students to solve problems, but more than that, to create new ways to engage and promote students’ ownership of the learning in authentic contexts. That’s the why of the first paragraph, and that’s the most important question to ask of educational technologies. 

References 

November, A. (2017, Jan 23). Crafting a vision for empowered learning and teaching: Beyond the $1,000 pencil. November Learning. https://novemberlearning.com/article/crafting-vision-empowered-learning-teaching-beyond-1000-pencil/

 Roblyer, M.D., & Hughes, J.E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. 

Romano, R. (Host). (2020-present. The CoSN Podcast [Audio podcast]. MindRocket Media Group. https://cosn.org/podcast 

Zhao, Y. (2012). World class learners: Educating creative and entrepreneurial students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.