NMC Horizon Report: 2012 K-12 Edition
What is your experience with the six technologies to watch?
Near-term Horizon Technologies:
- Mobile devices & apps - these I would say I have the most experience with, both personally and school-related. I have started using apps in my classroom and allow students to use my iPhone to access them. The students love "playing" and don't always realize they are learning something.
- Tablet computing - Here is a headline from a recent article: "Illiterate kids given sealed boxes with tablets figure out how to use, master, and hack them". This article was honestly fascinating and so exciting to me. Our students need to to be given access to tablets and then allowed to use them as they see fit, not just how we as the teacher wants them to use them (within reason, of course). If students with no knowledge of print can use tablets and learn from them, why are we still not allowing our students to do the same?
Mid-term Horizon Technologies:
- Game-based learning - I use this in my classroom on a daily basis, in the form of BrainNook. Students are able to play games in both math and English and earn stars to buy goodies for their avatar. The assignments are individualized to each learner, and can be worked on at both home and school.
- Personal learning environments (PLEs) - I honestly have no experience with this technology type, but I think my students would really benefit from having their own "personal" network of resources and technologies, individualized for just them.
Far-term Horizon Technologies:
- Augmented reality (AR) - Once again I am not familiar with this technology, but can definitely see how it could benefit science and social studies education.
- Natural user interfaces - I have personally used these interfaces via cell phones and game consoles, but it would be exciting to see how these could be used more in special education. I have had students in the past who have used AACs and switches to communicate, but these natural interfaces could remove some of these barriers and allow them to interact in a much simpler manner.
Which of the key trends are affecting your teaching and learning?
There are two key trends that affect the teaching at my school: (3) and (6).
- (3) Cost of technology decreasing: While our school does not have Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), many schools from the intermediate level up to high school are encouraging their students to bring mobile devices and tablets to class to broaden their learning reach.
- (6) New emphasis on challenged-based learning: in our 3rd grade classes, the structure is for 90% of the instruction to be delivered in the problem-based learning (PBL) format. Students are required to think outside the box and increase 21st century skills as they learn.
Which of the significant challenges outlined in this report are most relevant in your current teaching and which are least relevant and why?
- Most relevant: (3) Demand for personalized learning: It is imperative for students with special needs to have individualized, personalized learning, and technological advances and methods can help this become a reality.
- Least relevant: (5) Incorporating real life experiences: Our school already includes PBLs to include real-life problems and experiences to our students. In our district this year, grades 3, 5, and 7 are using 90% PBL, while next year that will be increased to grades 4, 6, and 8. In the third year, all grades will be 90% PBL based, and open-ended problems and projects are designed for each grade level.
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