Written Assignment Six: Technology in Education. Technology Essay

Written Assignment 6
Imagine that you must make a proposal to your supervisor to create a training workshop for new hires in your field to help them acclimate to their jobs. Write a 500-word essay explaining your proposal to a colleague. Include a description of the position being trained. Identify and explain the learning objectives for the workshop. How do you plan to deliver the training: face-to-face or online? Why did you choose this mode of delivery? What learning technologies and resources would you use, and why did you make these choices? Be sure to support your reasons throughout with information found in the readings and materials assigned in this module.
STUDY MATERIALS
For this module, please begin by reading the Commentary (below) before you read the assigned Internet articles and view the video. These brief notes will give you a context for how the readings and video resources fit together with the objectives for this unit.
Articles (Academic Search Premier)
Bonvillian, William B., and Susan R. Singer. “The Online Challenge to Higher Education.” Issues in Science & Technology. 29.4 (2013): 23-30.
Articles (Internet)
Oller, Rick. “The Future of Mobile Learning.” Research Bulletin. Educause Center for Analysis and Research, May 1, 2012 https://net(dot)educause(dot)edu/ir/library/pdf/ERB1204.pdf

Brame, Cynthia. "Flipping the Classroom". Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University (2013). https://cft(dot)vanderbilt(dot)edu//cft/guides-sub-pages/flipping-the-classroom/
Klawe, Maria, and Schofield, Elizabeth. “The Evolving MOOC.” Educause Review (March 24, 2014). http://er(dot)educause(dot)edu/articles/2014/3/the-evolving-mooc
Video (YouTube)
What is a MOOC? (4:26) https://youtu(dot)be/eW3gMGqcZQc?list=PLVtJtqhiBIDHJuD-e8Hha2HtaIjjQFKbr
Commentary
The world is changing. Globalization is proceeding at a rapid pace. We are living in a world where competition for market share is no longer local or national but global. The expansion of the Internet, the advent of mobile computing, and the World Wide Web created an infrastructure that has fueled globalization in all markets including education. Higher education, in particular, has felt the effects of this phenomenon. Colleges and universities compete for students worldwide, especially in e-Learning. E-Learning is no longer considered an innovation in postsecondary education. It is now an essential way to do business. For some schools it has been a way to survive and thrive. Bricks-and-mortar campuses cannot keep up with the demand for education, nor do they always meet the needs of students. Thomas Edison State University is a case in point.
Education is changing. Twenty-first-century schools must focus on a different set of skills to create the intellectual capital needed to be competitive in this global economy. In addition to critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration, and interpersonal skills, an expanded kind of literacy is required in the curricula of today's schools. The definition of literacy in today's world goes way beyond the "three Rs." Literacy in the twenty-first century includes: (1) scientific and technological literacy, (2) visual and information literacy, and (3) multicultural literacy. Education in the twenty-first century occurs in both formal and informal settings. The social construction of knowledge is enhanced with the emergence of Web 2.0 tools, such as blogs, wikis, social networks, and content sharing sites. Add to this mobile technology, and the realization of anytime/anyplace learning is within easy reach.
Students are changing. A great deal has been written about the "millennial generation." These students, born after 1982, have never known a world without the personal computer. They grew up with the Internet. Research has shown that their brains are wired differently. Marc Prensky describes the generational differences between these students and their teachers with the terms digital natives and digital immigrants, respectively. They want to learn differently. They want to engage in meaningful problem solving. The construction of knowledge is a collaborative activity. They feel right at home using social networks and other Web 2.0 tools.
The materials assigned for this module explore an array of issues and current attempts to maximize the benefits of using technology in American education today.