SPECIAL SECTION: TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
TECHNOLOGY
IN THE
CLASSROOM
Social media and technology
are changing the way
schools and colleges teach,
how students learn, and the
way teachers and students
communicate.
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T
echnology 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 counting steps for
students, although teachers are finding ways to
make each step count. Pedometers are allowing
gym teachers to keep track of their students’ steps
and heart rates and to ensure safe and healthy
workouts. Wearable cameras are making projects
both in and out of the classroom more exciting for
students. From wearable fundraisers to pinging
students’ whereabouts on field trips, wearables are
making their way into schools and onto the wrists
of students across America.
3D printing has surely made a splash with
the story of a teacher and his students creating new
feet for a duck to walk again. 3D printing allows
students to bring their ideas to life, and with the
cost quickly becoming more affordable, students
and teachers are able to embrace the technology.
“There is an inflection point that people get when
they start to print because people go out onto
Thingiverse, a repository of 3D files, and they
print and they print and they print, but there is a
certain moment when they realize, ‘I don’t need
something that exists, I want something that
doesn’t yet exist.’ It’s just a complete paradigm
shift,” Jordan Brehove, MakerBot’s vice president of
solutions, says.
Interactive tech is becoming better, more
advanced, and more sophisticated. From robots to