IN Cranberry Fall 2016 | Page 37

BENEFITS OF TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION Technology is finding its way into every aspect of our lives… from the alarm clock on your phone to the fitness app that tracks your workouts and counts your calories, to the DVR that records all of your favorite shows to watch at a later time. Technology is all around us, and there is no escaping it. It has even made its way into mainstream education through rather unexpected avenues. The U.S. Department of Education’s 2016 National Education Technology Plan “outlines a vision of equity, active use, and collaborative leadership to make everywhere, all-the-time learning possible. While acknowledging the continuing need to provide greater equity of access to technology itself, the plan goes further to call upon all involved in American education to ensure equity of access to transformational learning experiences enabled by technology.” EdTech Magazine outlined the benefits of effective, interactive technology that is being used to amplify classroom learning in colleges and universities as well as schools. THINGS TO KNOW: Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming a thing in education. If you are unfamiliar with IoT, it is defined as the development of the Internet in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing data to be shared. According to International Data Corp., IoT spending will increase from $655.8 billion in 2014 to $1.7 trillion in 2020. IoT is very new in the classroom setting, but is predicted to stick around. Wearables aren’t just for