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Trends from Research
Support for the vision outlined above has come from a number of
sources.
External scans of literature, Internet information sources, and
conference attendance suggest that the following trends deserve the
attention of those attempting to shape the future of educational
technology:
- Engaged learning model. This model, as it is described in NCREL’s Plugging
In, pairs what is known about the best instructional practices
with what is known about the best applications of instructional
technologies. The Warren school district has used this model to guide
its planning since 1994.
- Global Learning Communities. With access to the worldwide web of
networked resources via the Internet, among other network media, comes
the potential of facilitating communities of life-long learners. These
are virtual communities, electronic villages, in which learners can
collaborate with other learners from nearly any country on the globe.
- Miniaturization & computing power. A trend that has remained
consistent in the history of computing is that of devices becoming
smaller and more powerful. For the learner, this trend promises to
make tools (especially handheld devices) for accessing, sharing, and
processing information more and more accessible for learning
endeavors.
- New ways of learning and working, made possible and necessary by
access to a wide variety of world-wide resources. Higher level skills
of filtering large amounts of information will be required to become
such a "knowledge worker."
- Teachers must play an integral role in shaping how these resources
are integrated into instruction.
- The importance of focusing on information and communications
literacy over computer literacy, shifting control of information to
students and families, connecting everyone to everything, and teaching
students how to manage the freedom that access to information and
communication enables.
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Acknolwedgements