Teaching and Learning with Technology Emerging Technology Chapter 14 This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

Wireless Technology WiFi connects to a “local area network.” Its use has exploded across the country WiMax, a recent entry, can reach across long distance and means schoolwide and districtwide connectivity without cables Bluetooth creates a PAN (personal area network) connecting PDAs, smartphones, printers, even TV and DVD players when Bluetooth-compliant

Wireless Technology Students currently access school networks with laptops, netbooks, and PDA/smartphones Continued evolution in wireless connectivity will continue to expand and be enhanced, making computers in instruction very powerful tools

Virtual Environments Virtual reality - 3-D representations of real or imagined environments Available now online or in video games Rapidly becoming more sophisticated Avatars enable a digital stand-in to represent you in the environment SecondLife is an alternative digital world that currently features many educational sites Wii video games physically put the user in the action

Artificial Intelligence Programs that work similarly to human brain Neural networks learn and adjust responses based on previous interactions Fuzzy logic software resembles human decision making Expert systems offer suggestions and advice based on database of expertise Intelligent agents can help with specific tasks

Communications, Collaboration, and the Semantic Web Web provides platform for unrestricted communications and collaboration WEbook is literary version of social network, gives young writers chance to be read “Mash up” new tool, combines data from different sources Convergence of diverse and large amounts of data will transform the way to understand and represent information. Collective intelligence is large groups of people gathering, discussing, and collaborating on issues

Communications, Collaboration and Semantic Web Place where problems can be solved via technology’s ability to process and connect vast and diverse amounts of information True Knowledge (www.trueknowledge.com) interprets questions, seeks out a single answer (rather than list of potential choices) from all online resources

Expanded Mobility Web mobile computing use increasing, and web devices able to access content faster Web-enabled devices: Apple iPhone, Blackberry, Google G1, and Pilot Pre, as well as netbooks Wearable computers still in the future, will offer computer capabilities built into or small enough to be attached to clothing Web 3.0 will be arrival and full implementation of handheld computing Convergence: the blending of technologies into single pocket device (smartphones) Brick-and-mortar educational environments will no longer restrict learning with current and coming technology

Grid and Cloud Computing Communication via networking may turn out to be as significant as the Internet itself Grid computing joins many computers on a single task, can provide greatly enhanced processing power Cloud computing links computers together, but members individually use a small portion of resources for their specific needs (e.g., Apple’s “Mobile Me”) Peer-to-peer networking using principle of the grid, users connect computers directly, sharing a portion of their drive rather than sharing space on a server

Displays Flat panel LCDs were significant advance but will be primitive compared to those in development FOLEDs (flexible organic light-emitting devices) can be small enough to roll up into a pen or large enough to be a wall mural Electronic paper: transparent film with millions of black- and-white beads of ink. Current causes beads to rotate to black or white and produce image Interactive displays use touch screen technology to select, zoom in and out, change views or applications, and more (CNN and other networks use)

Emerging Issues Computers as appliances becoming as commonplace in homes as TVs and phones Tablet PCs may replace books, paper and pencils as computers continue to evolve Computer literacy: digital age means teachers will expect this, just as they expect reading and writing Decentralizing instruction: May eventually bring bigger changes than equipment or skill levels of students and teachers Distance and alternative delivery already redefining instruction Virtual learning will take students to learn anywhere/anytime

Changing Role of the Teacher Teachers will: Find themselves in new and more challenging roles Facilitate learning by creating optimal instructional experiences and assisting students with them Not be bound to a single classroom setting Be essential to design and deliver learning Not be isolated, but be part of a network of teachers focusing on educational best practices

Changing Role of the Teacher (cont.) Technology and the digital age will make great changes in teaching and learning as we know it Digital-age design offers much capacity for individualization Technology will bring many changes but is a tool with great potential only when understood and used properly