By Nestor B. Querido, CUOL Supervisor
This is the first in a three-part blog series about technology
In the popular TV show Star Trek, whenever Captain Kirk and the crew needed to be transported back to the Federation starship USS Enterprise, he would beacon his chief engineer Scott and would say, “Scotty, beam me up” (though the popular catchphrase is “Beam me up, Scotty”). And when Captain Kirk and the crew would investigate a strange planet, they would communicate using handheld telephone-like gadgets and would speak to the Enterprise virtually (but face-to-face). Today, technology has made it possible to communicate across the world using our own mobile devices in a similar manner – without delay (Skype/Facetime). Meanwhile, there is compelling evidence that holographic projection technology will soon be part of the latest innovation. It is being prototyped.
Technology.
The very word conjures up excitement – and trepidation. Many significant achievements involve the use of technology and our daily routines are inundated with mobile devices, widgets and apps. But very little is known about side effects, risks and surprises – and that makes us somewhat anxious. We really don’t know about the long-term effects but we gravitate nonetheless and use the latest inventions. As one technology matures, a new one arrives, and the cycle continues.
In education, the landscape is changing in the most dramatic way. This was made possible by the technological revolution in the ‘60s when the Internet was introduced. Then the technological developments of the ‘80s and ‘90s dramatically altered teaching and learning. Twenty years ago a computer on every student’s desk was neither viable nor realistic because it was too expensive. Today, there is mounting pressure to integrate educational technology in every aspect of teaching and learning.
Technology has moved on; almost everything is becoming automated, portable, and computerized. Graduates are entering a world in which more than half of jobs will require technological competency, a world in which teachers and students must continually update their technological skills in order to be successful. Many institutions are transforming their curricula to include courses with online components. But there is still that nagging question that academic scholars are asking, “Will students learn mathematics better by computers than by textbooks?”
Historically, educators have articulated that the delivery of quality education means small courses with tenured faculty. But what happens when innovators prove otherwise? That pedagogical principles and technologies don’t just replicate classrooms, but transform them into a new kind of online learning hub.
It is causing the higher education institutions to experiment, consider alternative models, and explore new ideas. Schools are recognizing that there is value to learning online. Harnessing the power of the Internet could bring about the revolution to educate the masses. We are seeing visionary educators coming into the classroom equipped with technological knowledge to aid their teaching.
Game-based learning – let’s call it the ‘gamification’ of education – has taken off, incorporating game-like elements when presenting information to students. Subjects in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) will continue to expand app development, animation, game design, digital filmmaking, programming, robotics, and visual effects. 3D printers are a big boost to industrial design or prototype-modelling classes. Teaching using rich media content is building its presence. For example, the inspiring movie “Lincoln” by Steven Spielberg in some ways is far more engaging to teach history than a textbook.
Digital generation students want modern, up-to-date educational technologies to help them in their academic career, and at affordable prices. They pay big tuition fees and when they get out of university, understandably, they expect returns. The employability metric sometimes doesn’t add up. The cost of higher education is high, and when coupled of youth unemployment and student debt, it has become a serious issue that is getting a great deal of attention. Looking at other avenues might present affable solutions and perhaps lead to waning some of the underlying anxiety towards educational technology by academics.
The ingenuity of technology, in particular the Internet, has presented the most unlikely but promising solution to fair education of the masses for delivering course materials anywhere and everywhere. We are seeing big time changes in course offerings, mostly the blending of courses with online components, and the eventual morphing of courses into pure online courses. For instance:
- Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) were the product of someone deciding that we could have more creative people becomes the next Albert Einstein if higher education is accessible to everyone. The question of whether MOOCs will become the norm is still unclear—some are convinced that this is a real game changer, while others are completely dismissive.
- Open in 2009, the University of the People allows anyone with a high school diploma to take classes toward a degree in business administration or computer science —without standard tuition fees (though exams cost money).
- Salman Khan made a dent in education with the Khan Academy, which delivers online tutorials widely used as a form of home tutoring. Khan Academy tells us that the conventional education can be “flipped.” Students are no longer given lectures in the classroom. Instead they watch instructional videos at home and work on problems in class.
- There are others that offer free online courses. For example, the Open Culture website advertises that you can get “1000 free online courses from the world’s leading universities – Stanford, Yale, MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, Oxford and more. You can download these audio & video courses (often from iTunes, YouTube, or university web sites) straight to your computer or mp3 player.”
Higher education is changing “from being a privilege for the few to a basic right, affordable and accessible for all.” The global community wishes education to be a reality for everyone. If technology provides the answer, why not use it?
Next Monday, read part two of this three-part series.