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Current Issues In Educational Technology

EDU 352 Foundations of Educational Technology

Katherine Hunter

Professor Susan Cannon

December 10, 2018

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Current Issues in Educational Technology

The Issue that I chose was Accessibility to Technology in Education. The reason that I chose this

Issue is because I have had personal experience with the lack of access to technology while I was

in high school. We did not have laptops or iPads, we had old style desk top computers that ran

really slow and had early windows programing. Because of low fundtage for the school they

were unable to buy more updated technology to better integrate technology into teaching. This

issue is very important because in the society that we live in now technology is a key part of our

daily lives, so for students to be able to have access to technology and be able to use it and learn

from it helps to prepare them for what they will deal with in their adult lives in a technology

dependent age.

As for the issue of accessibility, the majority of schools have made inroads into bringing

computers and the internet into the school, but a larger amount of access is still required so that

technology becomes a source/tool for teaching students but is also needs to be reliable.

Unfortunately the availability and quality of the technology provided is not up to par, the

majority of classrooms are not provided computers, the computers are located in a separate room

and are used to support the whole school. Teachers must schedule times in which they take their
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class to the computer room and allow them to work on the computers. Students need to learn the

skills related to this century, literacy in information and communicative technology requires the

technology to be integrated into the classroom and only support the class itself not the whole

school, this is advocated by educators and policy makers. “A national count of computers in

public schools shows a ratio of 3.8-to-1 for the number of students sharing an “instructional

computer” with Internet access, but the data means no distinctions between computers in the

classrooms and those in school technology labs. All computers in the school are counted as being

used for “instructional purposes” whether or not they are available for students’ use”(Van

Roekel, 2008). Outside of this distinction, the numbers of students to computers do not show

how computers are spread out around the school district. So that technology in classrooms can be

supported the use of wireless, and portable forms of technology are becoming more heavily

relied upon by students and staff members outside of the school. Because of the shortage of

technology and the funds to purchase them school districts are counting on funds from outside

sources such as from the public or even private fundings.

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Reference:

Van Roekel, N. P. D. (2008). Technology in schools: The ongoing challenge of access, adequacy

and equity. National Education Association, Washington DC. Retrieved from

https://www.nea.org/assets/docs/PB19_Technology08.pdf

Additional References:

Shaheen, N. L., & Lazar, J. (2018). K–12 Technology Accessibility: The Message From State

Governments. Journal of Special Education Technology, 33(2), 83–97.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0162643417734557

Ketterlin-Geller, L. R., & Tindal, G. (2007). Embedded Technology: Current and Future

Practices for Increasing Accessibility for All Students. Journal of Special Education Technology,

22(4), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/016264340702200401

Kathleen Krach, S., & Jelenic, M. (2009). The other Technological Divide: K-12 Web

Accessibility. Journal of Special Education Technology, 24(2), 31–37.

https://doi.org/10.1177/016264340902400203