Barriers to the effective use of technology in Education

In assessing the barriers to the effective use of technology in Education I have focused on the role of the teacher and how a teacher makes use technology in teaching. Research has shown that barriers to using technology effectively when teaching can be as follows: teachers don’t have the time to keep up with the latest developments in software or find the most suitable one for their classroom; this is also due to training being generic rather than specific to each teacher and their needs for specific subject knowledge and possibly training being offered at unsuitable times (Cuban et.al, 2001, pp.813-834). Teachers are also often too worried about what can go wrong with technology and mobile technology ( power cuts, equipment not working as it should) so they don’t even use it to begin with or they use it in a minimalistic manner.

Whilst the learner can present some barriers to learning when using technology such as special learning needs or limited background knowledge (depending on their age), I believe these can always be overcome in order to ensure technology is used in an effective way. The next biggest barriers are the lack of suitable teacher training and lack of confidence which leads to teachers using technology mainly for instruction and presentation purposes rather than creating engaging and interactive activities which would enable and enhance learning.

 

Value of mobile technology in teaching and learning

Mobile technology could have a significant role to play in teaching and learning as it has the potential to make lessons more enjoyable and interactive for learners of all ages; mobile technology could also enable teachers to test learner’s comprehension, knowledge and ability to do things themselves by letting them work together and demonstrate what they learn (through use of mobile technology).

The value of mobile technology such as the iPad in the classroom is still being explored and with society these days needing instant access to all kind of information mobile learning is a fast developing phenomenon . Despite that I believe it is unlikely that lecturers and teachers will be entirely replaced any time soon.

‘The education industry needs new models and fresh frameworks to avoid losing touch with the radically evolving needs of its many current and potential new constituencies’ (Sergio,2012). In approaching the topic of mobile technology influencing teaching and learning I have thought of some of the mobile technology I have recently become familiar with myself such as: the stylus pen and the Interactive Whiteboard, tablet, Apps, iPad, iPod and amazing tools such as blogging. Reflecting on my recent experiences I also come to an understanding  that education needs to keep up with new developments in order to appeal to learners of all generations. It is then mostly down to the teacher to ensure mobile technology adds value to the teaching and learning experience.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20667870

Reference:

Sergio, F. (2012). 10 ways that mobile learning will revolutionize education. Retrieved December 9, 2013, from www.fastcodesign.com/1669896/10-ways-that-mobile-learning-will-revolutionize-education

What did I get up to this week-end?

Read my picture story and let me know if you can guess :)

PCET student

It's been a hard week.

Finding out I am not eligible for funding for the PCET course was quite harsh and a shock. It did make me seriously wonder whether I am able to continue the course or not.
Whilst this questions remains I am looking for a placement and hoping to be able to solve it all as I have found such a lovely group of people to learn and develop with :)

I have however had a great time looking for a teaching placement in Swansea with Mark. Amazingly our search was successful, it gave us ideas and I think it ended up with a placement for Mark :)

Hurraaay for student email and Moodle being back on, even if it is for reference only.
My use of Technology this week has mostly been email (Yahoo and MS Outlook) and Internet as well as a secure database I use for work to log various details from local business people and not forgetting mobile technology in the form of my Iphone that has become part of my life.
I have also been thinking about how I can use Technology in the micro teaching session coming up very soon.

So I remain optimistic about being able to continue on the PCET course. If anybody knows anything about student loans, I will very much appreciate your opinions and advice.

See you tomorrow,

Cristina

Mobile technology in the class today

Returning after the half term break was a little bit daunting as always but I really enjoyed today's IT class. Though the lack of Internet was a bit frustrating my first experience learning with a new piece of mobile technology - the ipad- was great.

 

I was handed a device that was sleek, nice to look at that stimulated my curiosity.

The Lenovo ThinkPad featured a lot of things I was familiar with from the volume buttons and built in camera to name a few to the Operating System Windows 8. Finding out about the device by exploration in the task set out by Mandy was a great way to activate and test my prior knowledge and play around with things until I discovered what I wanted. I had a few challenges in finding out how to perform a right click and how to close the device properly but I successfully found all the answers in the end.

 

I must admit I have used a laptop for years and have enjoyed using various smartphones ever since they have appeared. However when the technology boom brought to light ipdas, tablets , Kindle and lots more other devices I decided to avoid it all due to fear of becoming addicted to whatever these new things have to offer. I know everybody wanted a Kindle to read books but I purposely chose the hard copy of the book every time.

Today's IT class enabled me to see several great uses of mobile technology not only in teaching but also in learning, my own learning from now on not just for the PCET course but for any other things I may be interested in.

 

I must also mention the second task of the class because I really enjoyed it even though myself, Jon and Rachel got slightly distracted and focused on content rather than filming/ediditing/ using mobile technology.

I am looking forward to the next session and learning more with and about technology.