A WORLD-CLASS
EDUCATION
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Eagle for a Day: October 14th
Open House: October 30th
Scholarship Entrance Exam
December 3, 2016
Learn more at OaklandCatholic.org
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 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 research methods, interactive
tech is helping special education students have effective learning
experiences in the classroom unlike ever before. Intelligent toys,
or robotic toys, are allowing for extremely positive interactions
with withdrawn autism spectrum disorder (ASD) kids, again
allowing for a more inclusive classroom environment, where
each student can learn to the best of his/her ability.
“Technology has the potential to bring remarkable new
possibilities to teaching and learning by providing teachers with
opportunities to share best practices, and offer parents platforms
for engaging more deeply and immediately in their children’s
learning,” U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says.
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