LDT566: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Process

Overview

In this course, you will be reading about technology's impacts on learning and development for the purpose of understanding how best to use technology to enhance learning processes. In order to achieve this purpose, we also have to understand how educational contexts are changing. The relationship between technology and education is complicated, because technology and society are co-evolving. As technologies evolve, they change the way people carry out activities—and, therefore, change society. In a similar vein, as society evolves, the problems that humans have to contend with and the activities they have to complete change. The technology that we create to meet new challenges and carry out new activities also changes. In this lesson, we focus on understanding the current educational landscape.

The Collins and Halverson chapter, which everyone has to read, focuses on how education is changing in K–12 contexts. Everyone must also watch a short video that discusses changing teaching methods. Finally, each of you will pick one more reading, based on your interest, that focuses on a specific aspect of the changing educational context. One of the reading options explains how emerging technologies are not just about "new" technologies, but also new practices with old technologies. Others focus on changes in higher education and work contexts; there is also an interesting paper on the myth of digital natives. For those of you who are not interested in another reading, you have the option to watch a TED Talk by Laura Jana that discusses the types of skills learners will need in the future.

Goals for This Week (and, Really, Every Week)

It is important that you read all of the required readings and watch all of the required videos, because you will need to engage with them deeply as part of team discussions, as well as draw on them for your final paper. Please note that it is not necessary to read everything listed, as you will be able to choose among some options. However, for those readings and videos that are required, be sure to read and watch them carefully. Take notes on problematic concepts, words, or sections, putting question marks next to them. Underline things you find interesting, surprising, or intriguing (for example, you may underline the title of a paper that you want to look up). Along with these notes, create summaries for each reading, keeping a list of authors, years, and themes. Please keep in mind that this is for your own benefit; you will not be graded on whether you keep detailed notes. However, you can use these notes to guide the questions and resources you include in the class Viva Engage forum, your discussion activities, and your final paper.

Please read the articles and watch the videos to question and critically understand course concepts, rather than to memorize facts. The goal is for you to remember the main argument and findings of each paper so that you may use them to guide future design or inform how you think about technology use. You will not be quizzed on the facts contained in each article; however, you will find it difficult to engage in deep discussions in our Viva Engage and class discussion forums without having carefully completed the required activities. Also, it will be very difficult to do a good job on the final paper if you have not done all the assignments. Moreover, waiting until the end of the semester to catch up on work almost always leads to a poor grade in the class.

Readings, Activities, and Additional Resources

All of the materials you will need (including links to readings, videos, or examples) have been organized at the end of the lesson.

Deliverables Due

• Make at least two thoughtful Viva Engage posts per lesson that are directly connected to course readings or the theme of that lesson. You can reply to moderator posts, come up with your own question, or provide links to technological environments or tools that are related to topics covered during the week.