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EdTech Coaches Needed, or Not?

It's so challenging to change the mindsets of others, especially in the field of education.  Trying to move teachers and educational leaders from the traditional teacher centered style of instruction to a more student-centered approach that integrates digital technology requires lots of patience and determination. Part of their hesitance to adopting digital technology for instructional support, teachers lack the knowledge in connecting these tools to teaching and learning pedagogy and best practices.  In current research on teachers' attitudes towards technology use and adoption, many educators have expressed that not only do they have the time needed to devote to learning a digital platform, they lack the skills in connecting these tools to the curriculum to enhance instructional activities.  Schools today would benefit from having an instructional support specialist and coach to work alongside teachers and administrators in developing a technology integration plan, ...
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The Disruptive Power of Second Life

         Second Life, an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab, allows users to interact with one another through avatars, build virtual objects, and create and trade virtual property and services.   Phillip Rosedale, founder of Linden Lab, claims that individuals, through Second Life, are able to begin again by transforming self and creating a new identity; and these new identities can be replicated in virtual worlds (Rosedale, 2008).   Fox, Bailenson, and Ricciardi (2012) support research findings that virtual representations of the self can actually influence attitude and behavior change in reality.   Since its inception in 2003, Second Life has disrupted the way individuals interact with each other in virtual environments on the Internet.             Thornburg states that disruptive technology is one of the six major forces that explain how new technologies emerge (Laureate Edu...
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Rhymes of History

RHYMES OF HISTORY TECHNOLOGY             Thornburgh suggests that there are six factors that drive emerging technologies and seek to explain how and why these technologies are adopted: evolutionary technologies, rhymes of history, disruptive technologies, science fiction, increasing returns, and Red Queens (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009b).   More specifically, he states that the force called rhymes of history demonstrates how societal events of the past have influenced today’s emerging technology, and thus the affect or impact of new technology rekindles something from the distant past (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009a). One example he presented to illustrate rhymes of history is the use of social networking tools, such as Facebook and MySpace, among adolescents rekindles water hole gathers from ancient times.   Just like social networking is not just a place to keep abreast with what’s going on, but also serves as a ...
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EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TETRAD

McLuhan developed four laws of media that seek to explain the impact of emerging technologies on society and other technologies (Thornburg, 2008). According to Marshall, every technology moves along four stages: enhancement, obsolescence, retrieval, and reversal.   The four questions addressed by each are: 1.      What does the technology do that is new? 2.      What technology does it obsolete? 3.      What does it rekindle from the past? and 4.      What does it change into in the near future? The following illustrates the four elements of the document camera: Enhancement What does the technology do that is new? Turns text and objects into digital format. Teacher can visually project objects and text for students to see with ease.   Obsolescence What technology does it obsolete? This technology makes the overhead projector obsolete. Retrie...
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Edmodo: An Emerged Technology within the Last Five Years

1.      Identify a current technology that has emerged in the last few years that shapes learning or productivity in education. Edmodo, a free social networking site for education, was founded in September 2008 by Nicolas Borg and Jeff O’Hara.   Currently having over 30 million users, Edmodo allows teachers to explore the use of social networking in the classroom with students (Hutter, C., 2014).   Students are able to collaborate with other students, post assignments, take quizzes and polls, and share multimedia files with class.   Teachers are able to provide instant feedback to students on their progress, keep parents informed and up-to-date, and facilitate online collaboration to enhance learning in the classroom.   2.      What problems or challenges have been associated with this technology? One of the major challenges with this tool is the criticism of others that believe social networking should not be allowed in...
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