Elearning Resources & News

Posted 8:46 PM by George Siemens
Top Ten Technologies for Schools
Quote: "What's a "smart" technology? While one might argue that all technology-from a toaster to a moon rover-is smart, those we present in the following Top 10 list meet their own set of criteria."
Comment: Some technologies in this list have been the "next big thing" for years (artificial intelligence, VR, voice to text)...and others (like digital video production) are still emerging. Simplicity and a learner-needs focus is missing (and this is one of the things that disturbs me every time I read about technology and education). Would be nice to have more communication tools on the list as well (simple things like blogs/rss don't make the list...whereas complex, FAR into the future items like AI do).
As we continue to move forward with technology, existing weaknesses in education (course model, lack of recognition for prior learning, instructor/lecture centric, content-focused - rather than addressing learner needs) will be more noticeable. For example, many instructors do not have course content created in learning outcomes format...but the very process of media and activity selection requires an understanding of the intended learning. Outcomes are like goals - they guide behaviour (in this case content development). The instructional design process is then utilized to ensure that outcomes are met through the use of technology, giving consideration to the uniqueness of the medium. (btw - outcomes do not have to be explicitly stated in a course outline - the greatest value of learning outcomes is not for the student, but for the course designer/instructor).