Emerging Technologies Tetrad

Emerging Technologies Tetrad
Module 2
EDUC 7108



According to EBook Task Force 2000, the has been a shift to the commercial production, sale, and distribution of e-books that has changed how libraries deal with this new technology (Snowhill, 2001). E-books will enhance learning by offering creative possibilities in many ways. Primarily, e-books will never go out of print, new editions can be easily created, content is accessible anytime/anywhere and can be read using a multitude of electronic handheld readers, PCs or laptops.
E-books will obsolete the need for schools to purchase hard cover text books, further eliminating students lugging around backpacks that weigh more than they do. Also, e-books has the potential to greatly alter the public library and how books are checked out by patrons. With e-books, patrons will not have to visit the library to get books, but simply access via the internet. Lastly, with the implementation of e-books in the school environment, students with reading disabilities or the auditory learner will benefit from having an e-book edition that can be read to them, much like books on tape.
If e-books are to emerge and become accepted by a large portion of the population, it is possible that a cell phone application could permit the reading of e-books on a cell phone.
Finally, the content of e-books has the potential to rekindle stories or legends that were once told by family members and passed from generation to generation.

References:
Snowhill, L. (2001). E-books and their future in academic libraries. Retrieved from http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july01/snowhill/07snowhill.html.

Thornburg, D. D. (2008b). Emerging technologies and McLuhan's Laws of Media. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.

Module One

Module One
Current Trends in Educational Technology

The constantly changing landscape of educational technology can be thought of as a series of transitions from older tools to newer ones (Thornburg, 2009). Even though these same tools may have emerged in previous years they are just now becoming emerged in to area of education. One such consideration to the incorporation of new technologies is the residual effect on the environment which Thornburg coins as running hot to going green. In the last year, my entire school district has caught the green bug and has recently installed solar panels on all of our buildings. This not only is cost effective in lowering the supply of electricity we have to purchase but also in that our innovation sheds a positive light to many community members.

While I would like to be able to foresee the day when our students each have a laptop or netbook, I do not think this will be a reality in the near or even distant future. So in selecting a current technology that has emerged that shapes the productivity of my current situation I would have to select United Streaming (US). While this may not be a newly emerged technology it is one in which can be considered emerged in my school. This service allows videos to stream via the computer to benefit an entire room of students. The video selections are from Discovery and other valued sources and provide either full length or clips of specific material.

As more and more teachers began to use this service the need for classroom DVD/VCR players has decreased creating a possible expenditure budget to be utilized for newer, emerging technology. One downfall of this streaming service is that it’s use is contingent upon the speed of the school server, which at times can be quite slow. One other challenge is being able to connect via a cable to the classroom TV so that the entire class does not have to gather around a computer monitor.

In order t o avoid such pitfalls, an in-service training could be provided so that each teacher knows how to connect the TV and the computer, thus easing some of the frustration experienced. All in all, I utilize this service frequently to provide clips and videos to enhance my science lessons.

Thornburg, D. D. (2009a). Current trends in educational technology. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

http://www.thwt.org/unitedstreaming.html