REVOLUTIONIZING

EDUCATION:
TECHNOLOGY
APPLICATIONS IN THE
MODERN CLASSROOM

Tyler
Abstract
Tomita

[Email address]
This paper reviews the uses of technology in the classroom
with
regards to what has been learned over the course of the semester in
EDUC 649. As a reflective piece, this paper sought to examine prior
experiences and understandings of technology, and how that mindset
has begun to shift over the course of the quarter as greater advances
in understanding and applications improved fundamental
understandings. That withstanding, this newfound understanding is still
tempered with the skepticism predating the EDUC 649 course. How
does technology enable, yet simultaneously limit the equitable access
of education to people of all backgrounds around the world?

EDUC 649 Final Paper

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Introduction:
Technology, as it pertains to the modern day, is one of the most pervasive elements in
daily life. Children and adults alike are captivated by the power and possibilities of technology in
a vast number of realms. Like most, I too was enthralled with the possibilities yielded by
technological advances while in my undergraduate studies. Yet I emerged from my studies a
different consumer, one who was keenly aware of the dangers lurking just beneath the surface of
technology. Through carefully planned works and analysis of metadata, I constructed a number
of journalistic pieces catering to a specific demographic with the aim of selling mass
consumerism. You see, the true power of technology and media is not the truth what it can
convey, but rather what is obscured beneath all the glitz and glamour. As such, I came into this
EDUC 649 class as a skeptic of the uses of technology within the educational realm; sure, the
possibilities were endless, but would it avail students an authentic learning experience? What of
all the skills left unlearned from the past, such as basic handwriting and penmanship? Spelling
and grammar?
Yet over the duration of this course, Ive come to find small comfort in knowing that
technology is availing newfound opportunities to hidden minorities and seeks to bridge the gaps
between the haves and have nots within the educational realm. Provided that technology was
utilized with the aim of facilitating new learning opportunities for those whom otherwise would
not be privy to such situations, technology can be one of the great remedies toward bettering the
educational realm. That said, my mentality towards the uses of technology within the educational
realm is one tempered with caution. While Im willing to see the ways in which the technology
can be utilized in the classroom, Im cautious in the ways Im willing to apply technology in a
large scale way.

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Pros:
Through a carefully examined format, there are numerous possibilities for technologies
uses within the classroom. Some of the most important positives of technological use within the
classroom stem from the ideas that technology is one of the most pervasive elements in our
world. It allows us, as a people, to collaborate on a large scale and work towards a new definition
of what a globally connected community is like. It furthers our understanding of previously
foreign cultures, and can help spread new ideologies like wildfire. In a way, technology allows
for a nearly unstoppable flow of information that was previously untapped by older generations.
As a future educator, we must learn about the newest technologies out there and apply them
within our given curriculum, given the prevalence of the upcoming digitally literate generation.
The aspect of collaboration which I speak of is availed to everyone at an unparalleled rate
in our modern age. People are able to communicate and collaborate with one another without
having to be present in the same physical space. With regards to the way this changes the face of
education, it means that technology will yield new spaces whereby students will not have to
communicate in a face to face manner. Students can now collaborate on projects and school work
from the comfort of their own home if they are given a medical leave from class. As a basic tenet
of the NETS (National Education Technology Standards), collaboration reigns supreme within
the classroom environment. Technological platforms such as the google suite, and Prezi seek to
change the very way in which student interact in the classroom. Each student can now work on a
single document on a chosen topic from the comfort of their home. They can collaboratively for
an online presentation and present remotely, sharing their ideas with nearly anyone.
This aspect was observable in my own educational endeavors as time constraints become
a big issue within graduate school. Often, people of different walks of life must collaborate and

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work on a single project conjunctively. The google suite, primarily Google Docs and Google
slides, has improved intragroup communication with all group members and allows each group
member to work with leisure when they find time. Google Docs and Google Slides allows for
active engagement with text written on the page; group members can annotate and make
alterations to the entirety of the document. Further, the use of Google Hangouts allows multiple
voice to be digitally heard through the chat bar, or the microphone if applicable. Ideas can flow
readily from here and work towards completing a project piece by piece, if necessary.
This flow of information is another topic of strength for technological use in the
classroom. Students are now privilege to all sorts of information on the web, creating an even
richer base knowledge and prior understanding that can be brought to the classroom and
assignments within the educational sphere. Information from various web pages can begin to
inform new choices for projects, or shed light on possibilities for previously accomplished
works. Technology has yielded a multimedia format in which students can access texts in a form
most suitable to their individual learning style. Students can access the information presented on
any given page in new and invigorating ways, incorporating many textual formats into a single
document. Some examples of this would be the use of multiple media formats on platforms such
as Zaption or voicethread.
Both of these platforms enable people to work with many mediums representing the same
essential information. With the use of Zaption, everyone can collaborate using multiple means of
communicating the same information in various forms. Zaption allows for the inclusion of
textual and image based representations overlaid a base video to provide a complete explanation
of any given topic. All collaborators can work towards providing their input in any form that
speaks to their own experiences. Insofar as to how this worked for my group, all the

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collaborators on our works provided insightful and meaningful representations of why they
wished to be teachers. Some expressed it through the base video selection, some choose to find
quotes or images which provided them the inspiration for pursuing this path, while other still
choose the written word to best express their thoughts. Throughout the process of creating the
Zaption, everyone had an equal means of expressing their thoughts on the issues. Voicethread
likewise becomes a unique platform as it allows ones voice to literally be heard as you engage in
faux discussions with previously posted responses. You can tailor your voicethread responses to
your preferences with drawn comments and superimposed images to further clarify your
speaking points.
All of these uses of technology within the classroom are meant to widen educational
access to the masses, specifically targeting the unrepresented minorities. Through increased
collaboration from any internet connected device, more voices can be heard than ever before;
further collaborators no longer have to inhabit the same physical space to work conjunctively and
ideas can be shared from anywhere around the world, which simultaneously caters to the
communicative aspect of NETS 3.
Cons:
While there is a lot of like about technology, especially with regard to the ways in which it
is utilized within the classroom, there are also worries that mirror the very strengths of using
technology in the classroom. There are often issues with collaboration and communication
through a technological format. Further, there is the always pervasive issue of access within the
technological realm, particularly when it comes to providing the appropriate technology for each
students. Socioeconomic situation always becomes a mitigating factors when considering the use
of technology within the classroom.

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To address the ideas of collaboration and communication, it would be best to provide a

direct example. There were numerous occasions where members in my group were not reachable
or where the connectivity of the platform we were using failed us. One such instance left our
group scattered and voices were left unheard; once the adobe connect platform and google
hangout kicked certain members out of our contact group, we were unable to contact them in any
other fashion other than email. It significantly delayed the creative process on creating a
collaborative work, so those who were still in the chat forum dealt with the brunt of creating the
new media. Upon completion of the work, the excluded group members felt as though their ideas
went unheard and ignored.. Collaboration became an issue when group members could not find
time to participate in the group work, or at least for the majority of the time. Collaboration often
failed when unforeseen circumstances, connectivity issues, or miscommunication occurred
within the group. Evidence of this was observed when various assignments throughout the term
yielded a more unilateral perspective on any given issues based on the dominant voices present
in the meeting at the time. Other time, as reflected in the vast majority of the projects, all voices
were heard and as such there was a more representative viewpoint of the issues.
Yet the biggest issues within the realm of technology in the educational sphere revolves
around the idea of the turnover rate of technology and the socioeconomic implications held
within. Technology is in constant flux to improve itself, attempting to one up the competition in a
highly competitive market geared toward a large consumer audience; while this competition
breed fine products, often they are not without their kinks as the goal is to be the most innovative
the quickest. Glitches in software and connectivity issues are some of the more prevalent
problems, but often there are changes in the fundamental way the software works rendering prior
knowledge moot.

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This was the case with my experience using Wix; while I have previously used website
builder similar to Wix, the entire format seemed unfamiliar. It seemed as if I was faced with a
large learning curve despite the fact that I had previously built numerous websites for personal
and professional reasons. Overall, the experience was not an enjoyable one, especially when the
platform lost connection to the main server and deleted build elements on my site. Yet these
frustrations would amount to nothing when compared to the experience of being unable to
complete a project due to access issues.
This was the case for some of my colleagues during our undergraduate endeavors. As our
courses became more technologically demanding to keep pace with the consumer demand of
new information on multiple platforms, we each had to purchase additional software. The costs
piled up until my friends simply could not afford to keep pace with technological planned
obsolescence. Ultimately, they quit the journalism program and sought out less consumeristic
programs.
Conclusion:
If one is left undecided on whether or not to implement technology in the classroom, the
best advice I can give would be to approach technology with caution. Do not wholeheartedly
accept technology as the end all and forsake more traditional forms of educating our youth. Yet,
we lose out on many things if we do not consider the use of technology within the educational
realm; we would limit the ways in which our students can express their ideas while
simultaneously stifling any intelligent expression that deviates outside of the written or spoken
word.
In my view, technology should be used as either a supplement or a selectable option for
assessment, but should not replace standard conceptions of education. It is important to note that

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education does not take place in a vacuum and as such comes with an important social aspect.
Our students would lose so much if they cannot connect with people in a face to face or personal
manner. This reality can already be observed by our youth; students are often afraid to speak out
or are nervous to actually speak with a person. They prefer the cloak of keyboard interaction,
where everything can be edited or redone.
You see, technology has this odd way of interacting with the human psyche: the more
mass consumerist we become as a people, the more we lose out on the essential facets which
make us fundamentally human. As we become more technologically driven, we lose touch with
spoken eloquence and become ever closer to the automatons that technology seemingly seeks to
create: a single mindset, where everything has to have a direct answer. In a humanistic field such
as teaching, technology should have a limited role; often education is more about the social and
emotional support given and finding alternative ways to a right answer than finding the most
direct or correct answer.