WhatisHappeninginInstructionalTechnology?

SurprisingTrendsandTheirConsequences
Focus:K12Education

by
LaurieWhite
IST524
Dr.BudeSu


InstructionalTechnologyTrendsinK12Education

Asapublicelementaryschooleducator,Ihavewatchedtheslowprogresstowardthe
addeduseoftechnologyineducationforsometime.SeveralofthetrendsIhavereadaboutand
discussedduringthistermcoincidewithwhatIhaveseeninthepublicschoolclassroom
environmentovertheyears.Duringthelastyearorso,theleveloftechnologyhasincreasedat
anacceleratedrate,bothinmydistrict,andthroughoutthecountry.Weseemonthevergeofa
greatshift,notonlyintheuseofelectronictechnologiesaslearningtoolsforstudents,butin
teachingmethodsaswell.Thecomputer,smartphone,andtabletarenolongerviewedasjust
toolstoenhanceteachersadministrativeduties,norasengagingtoyschildrenonlyplaywith
outsideoftheschoolenvironment.Teachers,parents,andadministratorshavebeguntochange
theirviewsonthevalueofaddingtechnologicalequipmentintheclassroom.Studentsviews
areshiftingtoo.Theynolongerseetheuseoftechnologystrictlyassomethingtheyuseathome
toplaygames.
Thismonthmarksaninterestingchangeinmyownteachingjob.Icreatedanonline
courseformystudentsusingGoogleClassroom,whichallowsmetofacilitatemorethanlecture.
StudentsbeganusingGoogleaccounts,includinggMail,Calendar,GoogleDocs,andSlides.
Thestudentsenthusiasmforthischangehasbeenremarkable.Theyhavequicklytransferred
priorknowledgeoftheirowngamingorcomputingexperiencetotheonlineclassroomsetting.
TheyareengagedinhelpingoneanotherlearntousetheonlineappsinwaysIhavenotnoted
before.IchangedthedeliverymethodofalessonaboutEuropeanExplorers,toincorporatethe
useoftechnology,encouragingstudentstouseGoogleSlidestopresenttheirreportstotheclass.
Differentiatinginstructionwaseasierusingthistool.Thestudentspresentationsexceededmy
expectations.Whetherthischangeindeliverymethodtranslatestoanincreaseintheirlevelof


InstructionalTechnologyTrendsinK12Education

understandingofthecoresubjectsissomethingIwilllearnoverthenextmonths.Ihavealready
seenthattheyaremoremotivatedtolearn,which,accordingtoMerrill,isoneofthekeyfirst
principlesofinstruction.1
Severalshiftsintechnologytrendsineducationhavereachedatippingpoint,2according
tothearticle,10MajorTechnologyTrendsinEducation,byChrisRiedel,in
THEJournal
,the
2013SpeakUpSurveyconductedbyProjectTomorrow,andrevealedbytheirCEO,JulieEvans,
attheFETCconferenceinearly2014.Theirsurveyfoundthateightyninepercentofhighschool
agestudentsandfiftypercentofupperelementaryagestudentshaveaccesstoamobiledevice,
typicallyasmartphone.Interestingly,sixtyfourpercentofstudentssurveyedconnecttothe
internetvia3Gor4Gnetworksratherthanbroadband.
Studentsareusingonlinevideostohelptheirlearningexperience.Thestudyshowedthat
fortysixpercentofteachersusevideotopresentmaterialintheclassroom,andaboutthirtythree
percentofthestudentssaidtheygoonlineontheirowntofindvideostohelpthemwith
homework.ThisisbeingtermedtheKhanAcademyeffect.3Whilestudentsrarelystickto
onetypeofplatformfortheirlearning,theyareincreasinglyawareoftheirdigitalfootprint.
Sixtyfourpercentofhighschoolstudentssaidtheyarecarefulwithwhattheypostonline,and
aboutthirtyninepercentsaidtheyhaveadvisedfriendstoremove,orrevise,somethingthey
postedonline.Thesestudentsevenshowedawillingnesstostopinteractingwithcertainfriends
online,withsomethirtytwopercentsayingtheynolongerengagewithfriendsthathave

MerrillonInstructionalDesign
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_TKaO2jXA
Riedel,C.(02/03/2014).10MajorTechnologyTrendsinEducation.
THEJournal.
Retrievedfrom
https://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/03/10majortechnologytrendsineducation.aspx?p=1
3

Riedel,C.(02/03/2014).10MajorTechnologyTrendsinEducation.
THEJournal.
Retrievedfrom
https://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/03/10majortechnologytrendsineducation.aspx?p=1


InstructionalTechnologyTrendsinK12Education

inappropriateposts.OneofthetrendsIfoundmostinterestingwasthebeliefofhighschool
studentsthatapositivedigitalfootprintcouldhaveapositiveimpactontheirfuture.4Thissurvey
alsonotedanincreaseingamification,adesirebystudentstotryonlinecourses,andan
expectationfromthestudentsperspectivethatsocialmediaisintheeducationalenvironmentto
stay.Itisnotjustsomethingtheydoawayfromschool.
InoticedrightawaythatwhenmyownstudentsopenedGoogleClassroomforthefirst
time,therewasaninstantaneousconnectiontooneanotherviacommentsinanannouncementor
assignmentpost,ortheywereeagerlygettingeveryone'semailtostartconnectingthatway.
Someofmyquieteststudentsarefarmoreengagedsociallythroughtheircomputerconnections
thanIseetheminteractinperson.Studentswhoseldomaskedquestionsinclassaresendingme
emailswithquestionsabouttheassignments.Thesesamestudentsarebeginningtoopenup
moreinthefacetofaceclassroomenvironmentaswell.Ithasbeensurprisingtoexperiencethis
majorchangefirsthandwithsuchanimmediateshiftinstudentparticipation.
TheNMCHorizonReport:2015K12Edition5addressesthekeytrends,significant
challenges,andimportantdevelopmentsthatarecurrentlyimpactinginstructionaltechnologyin
K12education,aswellasmakespredictionsastotheimpactsexpectedduringthenextfive
years,ormore.Manyofthetrendsnotedinthisreportconcurwithchangeshappeninginthe
ConejoValleyUnifiedSchoolDistrict,whereIteach.
Thetrendstowardrethinkinghowschoolswork,andrethinkingtherolesofteachers,
posethemostsignificantchallengesinmyopinion.Assomeeducators,parents,andstudents

Riedel,C.(02/03/2014).10MajorTechnologyTrendsinEducation.
THEJournal.
Retrievedfrom
https://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/03/10majortechnologytrendsineducation.aspx?p=1
5
Johnson,L.,AdamsBecker,S.,Estrada,V.,andFreeman,A.(2015).NMCHorizonReport:2015K12Edition.
Austin,Texas:TheNewMediaConsortium.
4


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beginattemptingtoincludemoretechnology,tocreatemorestudentcenteredlearning
environments,andestablishanincreaseduseofcollaboration,theycomeupagainsttheneedthat
manypeoplehavetoholdontothetraditionaleducationstylethathasbeeningrainedinthe
UnitedStatesschoolsforwelloverahundredyears.Teachersaregettingmixedmessagesto
moveforward,yetholdontocertainpracticessimplybecausetheyvebeendoneforsolong.
Schoolstendtobemorelikemuseumsthanchangemakers,saysJennifer
Jones,aschooldevelopmentandmanagementconsultant.Parentsfightchangebecause
theybelievethebestthingfortheirkidistohaveaschoolexperienceliketheirswhich
theyrecallthroughrosetintedlensofnostalgia.Itsparticularlydifficulttobringchange
topublicschools,whereparents,educators,superintendents,schoolboards,district
managementteams,andofficesofaccountabilityallcometogethertocreatelayersand
layersofdecisionmaking.6
Anyshiftinthepracticesandbeliefswithinasocietytakestime,usuallyasubstantial
amountoftime.Inmyopinion,themajordrivershapingthisneedtorethinkhowschoolswork
andhowteachersteachisthestudentsthemselves.Todaysstudentsarecomingintoschool
knowingfarmoreabouttechnologythantheirparentsdidatthisage,buttheyarealsomore
knowledgeablethanthestudentsenteringschooltenyearsago.Manyoftodaysstudents
struggletositstillinthetraditionalclassroom,listeningtothetraditionalteacherlecture.They
haveaneedtomovearound,toengagemorewiththeirpeers,andadesiretolearnwiththeuse
oftechnology.

Wolfson,E.(9/8/2014).WhatClassroomsCanLearnFromtheGoogleCampus.Newsweek,U.S.edition.
Retrievedfrom

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/09/19/whatclassroomscanlearngooglecampus268707.html
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Oneexampleofaschooldistrictthatisleadingthewaytozerostudentdropoutsthrough
theuseofstudentcenteredlearningapproachesistheTaylorCountySchoolsinKentucky.7They
haveadoptedsixinstructionalmodelsfromwhichstudentsmaychoosetoguidetheirinstruction.
Forthosecomfortableinthetraditionalclassroomsetting,theymaychosethismodeloflearning
andteaching.Somestudentschooseonlinelearning,completingitattheirownpace.These
courseareofferedthroughOdysseyware8 ,anonlinecurriculumproviderwithanextensivelisting
ofcourses.TaylorCountySchoolsfoundthatthisvirtuallearningstyleappealedtotheatrisk
learnerbecauseonetraitcausingthemtobeatriskwastheinabilitytositthroughthe
traditionalstyleteacherlectureinatraditionalclassroomsetting.Asaresultofbeingallowedto
moveattheirownpace,thesestudentsweregraduating100%ofthetime,essentiallyeliminating
thedistrictsdropoutrate.9
TaylorCountyalsooffersstudentsthechoiceofprojectbasedlearning,peerledlearning,
andselfpacedclassrooms.Intheprojectbasedclassrooms,unitsarecenteredaroundreallife
scenarios,suchasastudentrunbank,culinaryartscateringservice,andschoolgiftshop.Inthe
peerledclassroomsstudentsactsasinstructorswhiletheteacheractsasthefacilitator.Inthe
selfpacedclassroom,teachersrecordtheirinstructions,andstudentsareabletowatchthese
videosatschoolandathomeasmanytimesastheyneed.Theteacherhelpsthemworkout
problemsduringclasstimewhileactingasthefacilitator.
Intheirnewestlearningmodelapproached,calledCardinalAcademy,TaylorCounty
allowsstudentstodeveloptheirownlearningplanandschedule.Theydosowiththeguidance

TaylorCountySchools:http://
www.taylor.k12.ky.us
Odysseyware:
https://www.odysseyware.com/
9
Pierce,D.(04/07/2015).Thisinnovativedistrictletsstudentschoosehowtolearn.
eSchoolNews:DailyTechNews
andInnovation.
Retrievedfrom
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/04/07/studentschooselearn063/
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ofanacademicadviser.10Thesesixlearningapproachesaremadepossiblebecausethedistrict
hasaonetoonecomputerprogramforstudentsgradethreeandup.Thelogisticsofallowingso
manyoptionstostudentsisachallenge,butinthesixyearssincetheybegan,thedistricthas
beenabletosmoothouttheprocess.
AscitedinResearchandPracticesinK12OnlineLearning:AreviewofOpenAccess
Literature,thisrelativelynewfieldoffersmanybenefitstobotheducatorsandstudents,but
challengesanddebatesonitseffectivenessstillneedtobeaddressed.11Oneconcerntheauthors
hadwasthelimitedamountofempiricalresearchthathadbeencompletedatthetimeoftheir
publication.Thisledthemtorecommendadditionalresearchintoestablishingbestpracticesfor
onlineteachingstrategies,identifyingcharacteristicsofthesuccessfuladolescentonlinestudent,
andhowvirtualschoolandbrickandmortarschoolpersonnelcanencourageinteraction
betweeninschoolandonlineclassmates.
Ithinkastudyofeachoftheseareasiscriticaltothesuccessofimplementingmore
onlinelearningintheK12environment.Asteachersattempttoincorporateonlinelearningwith
theirclassroomstudents,knowingthebestpracticeswillhelpthemavoidthesamepitfallsothers
mayhavestumbledinto.Forthoseteachingmiddleschoolandabove,understandingwhysome
adolescentsaresuccessfulwiththevirtualschoolenvironment,whileothersarenot,should
guideteacherinstruction.

10

Pierce,D.(04/07/2015).Thisinnovativedistrictletsstudentschoosehowtolearn.
eSchoolNews:DailyTech
NewsandInnovation.
Retrievedfrom
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/04/07/studentschooselearn063/
11

Barbour,M.,Cavannaugh,C.,Clark,T.(Feb.2009)ResearchandPracticeinK12OnlineLearning:AReviewof
OpenAccessLiterature.
InternationalReviewofResearchinOpenandDistanceLearning
,
Volume10,
Number1.
Retrievedfrom
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/607/1182


InstructionalTechnologyTrendsinK12Education

Inthearticle,Educationaltechnologyisntlevelingtheplayingfield,12 columnist,
AnnieMurphyPaul,discussesthefindingsofSusanB.NeumanandDonnaC.Celanoas
publishedintheirbook,GivingOurChildrenaFightingChance.13Paulfocusedspecificallyon
theircomparisonoftwoPhiladelphiaarealibraries,oneinanaffluentarea,theotherinan
impoverishedneighborhood.Bothlibrariesinvestedinthesamecomputertechnology,offering
patronsinbothareasthesameaccess.Theinitialexpectationwasthatthiswouldhelplevelthe
playingfieldforthechildrenlivinginvastlydifferentsocioeconomichouseholds.Afterhours
andhoursofobservation,theyfoundtheoppositetobetrue.Childrenfromthewealthier
householdstendedtoaccessthetechnologyunderadultsupervisionandguidance.Theadults
tendedtodirectthechildrenslearning,offeringassistancewhenneeded.Childreninthemore
impoverishedareasdidnottendtohavethesameadultsupervisionorassistancewhenaccessing
thetechnology.Theyweremorelikelytoplaygamesorbecomefrustratedandwalkawaythan
thechildreninthewealthierareawhoreceivedguidanceduringtheircomputeraccess
experiences. 14
ThesefindingsaresignificanttothoseinK12educationbecausetheyunderscorethe
importanceofparentsandteachersasschoolsmovetowardinvestinginmorecomputer
technologyforclassroomandschooluse.Theequipmentalonecannotmakethedifferencein

Paul,A.M.(6/25/2014)Educationaltechnologyisntlevelingtheplayingfield.TheHechingerReport.Retrieved
from
http://hechingerreport.org/content/educationaltechnologyisntlevelingplayingfield_16499/
13

Neuman,S.,&Celano,D.C.(2012).Givingourchildrenafightingchance:Poverty,literacy,andthedevelopment
ofinformationcapital.NewYork:TeachersCollegePress.
14

Paul,A.M.(6/25/2014)Educationaltechnologyisntlevelingtheplayingfield.TheHechingerReport.Retrieved
from
http://hechingerreport.org/content/educationaltechnologyisntlevelingplayingfield_16499/
12


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improvingstudentachievementthroughtheuseoftechnology.Teachers,parents,andschool
supportstaffneedtobeknowledgeableintheirguidanceofstudenttechnologyuse.
AsreportedbyDavidNagel,in
THEJournal,
theNMCHorizonReport:2013K12
Editionidentifiedkeyissuesthatshowedthatmanyofthesekeyadultsareuncertainabout
makingashifttousingmoretechnologyintheclassroom.Theycitedlackofadequate
professionaldevelopmentasthenumberonechallengeforteachersexpectedtointegratenew
technologyintotheclassroom.Thenumbertwochallengeiscomfortwiththestatusquo,which
iscommoninalltimesofchange.ThethirdchallengecomesintheformofMOOCs(massive
openonlinecourse)whichgeneratecompetitionwiththetraditionalstyleschools.Additional
challengescitedincludeadequatelydeliveringinformallearning,personalizedlearning,andthe
failuretousetechnologytodelivereffectiveformativeassessments.15
Thoughtherearemanychallengestoeffectivelyimplementingawidespreaduseof
technologyintheclassroom,itismyopinionthatthetoughestobstaclestandinginthewayis
inadequateprofessionaldevelopmentfortheteachersexpectedtouseeachnewpieceof
hardwareorsoftwarethatmayfinditswayintotheirclassrooms.Teachersneedmoretrainingin
thebestusesoftechnology,howtoeffectivelyincorporateitintotheirteaching,andan
understandingofthepotentialimpactitcanhaveonthisgenerationofstudentlearners.AsIhave
alreadyseeninmyownclassroom,effectiveincorporationintomyteachingrequiresmoreeffort
onmypart,butthepotentialpositiveimpactisworththiseffort.

15

Nagel,D.6TechnologyChallengesFacingEducation.THEJournal.Retrievedfrom
https://thejournal.com/articles/2013/06/04/6technologychallengesfacingeducation.aspx
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AnnotatedBibliography
Barbour,M.,Cavannaugh,C.,Clark,T.(Feb.2009)ResearchandPracticeinK12Online
Learning:AReviewofOpenAccessLiterature.
InternationalReviewofResearchin
OpenandDistanceLearning
,
Volume10,Number1.
Retrievedfrom
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/607/1182
Thisarticleprovidesaconsiderablenumberofreferencesforfurtherresearchon
thetrendsinK12onlinelearningandtechnologies.Thefocusofthearticleisto
informthereaderofthevarioustypesofliteratureavailable.Theavailable
literatureincludessuchtopicsasthebenefitsandchallengesofvirtualschools,
levelsofimpactonvariouseducationalpersonnel,onlinecoursestandardareas,
andonlineteachingstandards.
Johnson,L.,AdamsBecker,S.,Estrada,V.,andFreeman,A.(2015).NMCHorizonReport:
2015K12Edition.Austin,Texas:TheNewMediaConsortium.Retrievedfrom
http://www.npsct.org/pdf/departments/Information%20and%20Research/nmc_horizon_re
port_k12_2015.pdf
Thisannualreportfocusesonshortterm,midterm,andlongtermtrendsin
technologythatwillimpactK12education.Theyaddresssignificantchallenges
thatmayimpedtechnologyadoptioninK12educationaswellasupcoming
developmentsintechnologythatwillfindtheirwayintotheeducationarena
duringthenextseveralyears.
Merrill,M.D.(Aug.11,2008)
MerrillonInstructionalDesign.
mdavidmerrill
.Retrievedfrom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_TKaO2jXA

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InstructionalTechnologyTrendsinK12Education

Inthisvideo,Merrilldiscussesthefirstprinciplesofinstruction,focusingonthe
needtoshowthelearnerwhatweretryingtoteachthem,givethemthe
opportunitytopracticewhattheyvelearned,andsuggestingthatrealmotivation
comesfromlearning,notattentiongetters.
Nagel,David.(06/04/13)6TechnologyChallengesFacingEducation.THEJournal.Retrieved
from
https://thejournal.com/articles/2013/06/04/6technologychallengesfacingeducation.asp
x
ThisarticlecitesTheNMCHorizonReport:2013K12Editionasitfocuseson
thechallengesfacingeducationinthecomingyears.Theauthorcomestothe
conclusionthatwhilesomeofthesignificantchallengesaresystemic,andsome
relatetothetechnologiesthemselves,theadministratorsandteachersthemselves
mustshouldersomeoftheblamethathaspreventedthewidespreadeffective
implementationoftechnologyuse.
Paul,A.M.(6/25/2014)Educationaltechnologyisntlevelingtheplayingfield.TheHechinger
Report.Retrievedfrom
http://hechingerreport.org/content/educationaltechnologyisntlevelingplayingfield_16
499/
Inthisarticle,thefindingsoftworesearchersareexplored.Thereisacomparison
oftwoPhiladelphiaarealibrariesandthedifferingusageoftechnologybytheir
patrons,somewealthy,somepoor.Theconclusiongivenisthatthougheach
libraryinvestedinthesametechnologywiththeexpectationofequallingthe

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playingfieldbetweenrichandpoor,insteadtheyfoundthatratherthanmaking
thingsequitableitwidenedthegap.
Pierce,D.(04/07/2015).Thisinnovativedistrictletsstudentschoosehowtolearn.
eSchool
News:DailyTechNewsandInnovation.
Retrievedfrom
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/04/07/studentschooselearn063/
Inthisarticle,thefocusisonTaylorSchoolDistrictsinnovativeteachingmodels,
andhowtheyhaveledthedistricttoazerodropoutrateamongtheirstudentsby
incorporatingtechnology.
Riedel,C.(02/03/2014).10MajorTechnologyTrendsinEducation.
THEJournal.
Retrieved
from
https://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/03/10majortechnologytrendsineducation.aspx?
p=1
ThisarticleconveystheresultsofasurveydonebyProjectTomorrow.They
askedstudentsabouttheirlevelofelectronicdeviceuse,waysofuse,andhabits
practicedwhileusingtechnology.
Wolfson,E.(9/8/2014).WhatClassroomsCanLearnFromtheGoogleCampus.
Newsweek,U.S.
Edition.
Retrievedfrom
http://www.newsweek.com/2014/09/19/whatclassroomscanlearngooglecampus2687
07.html
Thisarticlediscussessomeofthechallengesfacingpublicschoolsthatareless
likelytobefoundinprivateschools.Thefocusisonchangestothe
environmentaldesignofschools,notingthatmanypublicschoolslookastheydid

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ahundredyearsago,butthatbrainresearchsuggestsomechangestothe
environmentmayenhancelearningoutcomes.
Neuman,S.,&Celano,D.C.(2012).Givingourchildrenafightingchance:Poverty,literacy,and
thedevelopmentofinformationcapital.NewYork:TeachersCollegePress.

13