Mission and Vision
Around the World in Seconds
For many, being connected 24 hours a day is a standard and sometimes a necessary part of life. Technology connects us to cultures and places faster than ever before. What used to take weeks and years for information to travel can happen in seconds now. This visualization of information sharing from Twitter from 2009 (Twitter Visualization, 2009)
The communication and information sharing that can happen on Twitter in realtime is remarkable considering how long the news would have taken to travel around the world just 20 years ago. Currently, technology has changed not only information sharing, but how we process and use the information after it is received. Thinking about the visual representation of the Tweets ‘flying’ across the globe, we can understand and work with data in different ways. The visualization is just one example of the many that show how technology and the access to information it brings have become an essential part of our lives.
Use in the Classroom
Because of this technology infiltration, it is an exciting time to be an educator and even more so to be an educational technologist. Technology has become essential and infused into learning activities, and there is a strong push in education to bring more and more technology into learning. This drive is changing what teachers and students are doing in the classroom (Hofer, Chamberlin, & Scot, 2004). The use of technology in the classroom is multifaceted, and there are many reasons to integrate technology for learning. More than one learning theory can incorporate technology into its strategy. Directed (Objectivist) strategies can include solutions that promote self-paced learning, skill fluency, or automaticity. While strategies that are constructivist included solutions that encourage creative problem solving and metacognition; along with multiple and distributed intelligences. Combing the theories that are directed and those that are constructivist, technology integration can be used for learning motivation, provide a way to deal with scarce resources, and provide a way to eliminate logistical barriers for learning (Roblyer & Doering, 2011, pp. 46-52). The idea is to match technology use with what is being done and the goals surrounding what will be learned, rather than match what is being done to the technology, i.e., the learning goals and objectives drive the integration NOT the other way around. The best approaches being the solutions that follow the “topics and problems that define the learning activity and individual learning needs” (Roblyer & Doering, 2011, p. 46).
Integration and Learning Goals
Using cutting-edge technology can be an attractive element to add to classes, however, while using innovative technology can be a boon for learning it is essential that the technology does not overshadow the learning objectives. The overriding goal of technology used in the classroom should be to create meaningful and impactful activities for the students, and the addition of technology would help facilitate this (Charp, 2000). Technology integration can be a beacon to help find individual students where they are in relation to the learning goals, and leverage to remove the barriers that may be hindering their learning. Keeping these goals in mind, it helps individual instructors use technology for their individual situations. In my classroom, the goal is to keep the technologies that are assisting the purposes of my classes and abandon those that do not.
Closing the cultural gaps
As an instructor who teaches students in their second or third language, and the cultural aspects are almost opposite for all five of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010) issues sometimes arise that can be mitigated with the use of technology. Since I am asked to teach in a foreign language to my students (in this case English) it is crucial that my awareness of the differences in culture, start with my own so that I am aware of the gaps, and can make the adjustments to the activities as necessary. I have found that the attributes of Power Distance (PDI), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), and Individualism (INDV) (Hofstede, 1986) are most helped with the use technology to help bridge these intercultural and language gaps and help facilitate and create the meaningful and impactful activities that help encourage learning .
References:
Charp, S. (2000). Technology integration. T.H.E.Journal, 27(7), 8-10. Retrieved from http://libproxy.boisestate.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libproxy.boisestate.edu/docview/214813636?accountid=9649
Hofer, M., Chamberlin, B., & Scot, T. (2004). Fulfilling the need for a technology integration specialist. T.H.E.Journal, 32(3), 34-39. Retrieved from http://libproxy.boisestate.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libproxy.boisestate.edu/docview/214828236?accountid=9649
Hofstede, G. (1986). Cultural differences in teaching and learning. International Journal of intercultural relations, 10(3), 301-320. doi:10.1016/0147-1767(86)90015-5
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, Third Edition. McGraw Hill Professional. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.kr/books?id=o4OqTgV3V00C&printsec=frontcover&dq=cultures+and+organizations&hl=&cd=1&source=gbs_api
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2011). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.kr/books?id=Lk7SXwAACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
Twitter Stories: the world connects during the T'hoku earthquake [Video file]. (2011, November 30). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SybWjN9pKQk
Hofer, M., Chamberlin, B., & Scot, T. (2004). Fulfilling the need for a technology integration specialist. T.H.E.Journal, 32(3), 34-39. Retrieved from http://libproxy.boisestate.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libproxy.boisestate.edu/docview/214828236?accountid=9649
Hofstede, G. (1986). Cultural differences in teaching and learning. International Journal of intercultural relations, 10(3), 301-320. doi:10.1016/0147-1767(86)90015-5
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, Third Edition. McGraw Hill Professional. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.kr/books?id=o4OqTgV3V00C&printsec=frontcover&dq=cultures+and+organizations&hl=&cd=1&source=gbs_api
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2011). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.kr/books?id=Lk7SXwAACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
Twitter Stories: the world connects during the T'hoku earthquake [Video file]. (2011, November 30). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SybWjN9pKQk