I originally wanted to write about an occupation that I am not so close to, but the fact is that education is just so technology-centric that I think many people--like future teachers--do not really know how much to expect. The school system I work with is striving to achieve “one-to-one” status in all eleven schools. This means that there is a laptop, iPad, or other piece of technology for every student in the school. We currently have about 7,000 Chromebooks in the system alone. All the teachers have school-managed laptops and networked printers in their rooms. There is also a wireless router in every single classroom.
All the grading and attendance is done within a program. Most homework is assigned to students within Google Classroom which a cloud-based education tool that lets teachers and students collaborate on material with live and instant grading. Basically, teachers use technology all day. Even in Pre-K, the kids use interactive smartboards and ipads. Our high school, like many, has added a whole separate campus for STEM and STEAM classes and programs. In that school, there are circuit boards and robots. The student are learning math while programming games and AI robots. It’s very immersed in technology.
This is not unique to where I work. In fact, technology is getting teachers everywhere are getting crash courses in using technology that they might not have used before. “New technologies like AI, machine learning, and educational software aren't just changing the field for students, they're shaking up the role of educators, creating philosophical shifts in approaches to teaching, and remodeling the classroom” (Bernard, 2017). This means that things are changing fast. For me as an IT for schools, it is good news because it means that working networks and OSes are a must for every classroom. For teachers, like my wife, it means a wealth of new opportunities to teach in new ways and also the difficulty of adapting to that technology.
It is getting more common to have a “technology integration coach” at the school. This position is a job where the coach is responsible for teaching teachers how to integrate new technology. They explain things like how you could teach biology with A.R. or how you could teach math with Alexa (sounds crazy, but I’ve seen it), or any other innovative ways to use new tech.
In regards to the evolution of technology in the classroom, it will only become ubiquitous with each new generation. This is because the school system wants to prepare high school students for jobs that will exist in the next 2 to 6 years. It is also preparing elementary students for jobs that will exist in 10 years. With this, there are some major challenges, as the Business Insider article pointed out, such as distraction. This means that teaching with intention will become more important, and teaching self-discipline will be needed. A third helpful thing will be technology itself. Currently, we try to monitor and restrict social media access on all school networks. It isn’t perfect but that is another way the technology is used.
Reference
Bernard, Z. (2017). Here's how technology is shaping the future of education. Business Insider. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-technology-is-shaping-the-future-of-education-2017-12
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