Second Assignment

Educational Technology
I have often thought of Educational technology as akin to a Mount Everest—an impossible challenge better left alone. Part of my angst towards it is the fact that it is such a wide encompassing field. Clearly we have, those of us in education, been exposed to it by attending “the super exciting instructional meetings” where platitudes are discussed through catchy words like technological synergy, globalization, or curriculum alignment. These unending meetings have done nothing but proven to be compulsory wasted time. And it is here that the problem lies; as general rule, the terms presented in education are simply too vast and in that vastness become nauseatingly unfocused, hence, inefficient.
However, all is not lost in the nebulous sea of knowledge. There are definite advantages in implementing technology in the classroom, as long as it addresses real problems and not those in the abstract world. This book addresses real life scenarios, whereby an educator could enhance his/her instructional capacity. Moreover, the author takes the approach that the socio-economic barrier can be addressed by technology. That is to say, current problems in education—such as lack of space, over-crowded classrooms, and overwhelmed teachers—can be patched up through a well developed technological approach. In fact, a well prepare teacher, as the books notes, can overcome challenging barriers by using just a bit of technology. For example, a teacher may use laptops to dually teach students technology and their current lessons and, thus, perform an exemplary integration model. If I recall correctly, the example the author refers to deals with a teacher who has to go into the hallway of her school, as there were no available space to teach her students. With a stroke of imagination, she checks out the school laptops and then develops an impressive lesson plan that addresses the needs of the students. I believe her inadvertent struck of luck lies in that she is successfully able to keep the students attention in an otherwise less than perfect situation—a busy hallway. In turn, she feels fulfilled and receives the gratifying emotion that, perhaps, initially turned her to teaching. A win-win situation…
Again and as the book illustrates, educational technology can and does advance education forward—so as long as it is done with specificity and not with generalities.