There are myriad professional organizations important for individuals active in educational technology. Consequently, focusing on relatively few organizations will negate a much larger, much more diverse menu of organizations available to educators, but will hopefully provide the reader with a nexus from which further exploration will yield results tailored to the needs of the individual educator. However, as an exhaustive list of educational technology organizations is outside the scope of this paper, I will include within this list a few of the more prominent professional organizations dedicated to educating educators in the use of educational technology.

-The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is a professional association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving learning and teaching by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and higher education. The ISTE conducts research into the use of technology in the classroom, produces white papers, research studies, and reports (available here) “that have helped shaped national and local policy and practice in educational technology.”

-The Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is a professional association of educators whose “activities are directed toward improving instruction through technology.” The AECT produces and publishes educational technology based research through a wide variety of publications (available here).

-The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) provides leadership, community and advocacy tools essential to the success of local and national leaders in the field of educational technology. CoSN conducts a research and case study based approach which is applied to leadership in technology instruction.

(research and case studies available here)

-Another excellent resource educators seeking Educational Technology organizations can be found at the Innovations for Minnesota Schools website (available here), which was created for teachers and those who support technology use in the classroom.

There are many benefits of joining professional organizations dedicated to educational technology. In addition to providing information about ed tech, professional organizations enhance one’s professional development and provide exceptional networking opportunities (professional organization article here). Associations may also provide financial returns such as tuition assistance through private grants and fellowships (link here) Professional associations also provide newsletters, journals (example here and here) and websites with important information and developments in the field of educational technology (see previous paragraph). In addition, prospective employers seek out individuals whose field knowledge is not solely dependent on college studies (link here). Memberships convey to an employer that one is dedicated to his or her profession. One’s membership could also open doors of opportunity as he or she is provided with greater exposure to the job market – organizations provide “members only” job listings on their websites, journals, newsletters, or other publications. Because of the previously listed benefits and opportunities available to members of professional organizations, educators should consider association membership as a means of accessing the rights and privileges thereof.

There appear to be nearly as many conferences dedicated to educational technology as there are professional organizations dedicated to the field. Many organizations offer conferences as an opportunity for professional educators to network, develop skills through workshops, and learn about new innovations and ed tech products available for individual teachers and school systems. Each of the organizations listed in paragraph one holds an annual conference, and there are many, many other conferences available to those interested in educational technology.

References:

International Society for Technology Education, 1997-2010, http://www.iste.org/

Association for Education Communications and Technology, 2010, http://www.aect.org

Association for Education Communications and Technology, publications page, 2010,

http://www.aect.org/Intranet/Publications/index.asp

Consortium for School Networking, 2010, http://www.cosn.org/default.aspx

Frank, M. (2006)  Strategy for Developing Technological Literacy. Journal of

Technology Education Retrieved July 4, 2010, from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals

/JTE/v18n1/frank.html

Innovations for Minnesota Schools, 2007-2010, http://www.informns.k12.mn.us/Educational_Technology.html

As evidenced in the editorial by Andy Carvin, the lack of equitable funding for public education continues to create economic and social disparity along racial/cultural lines.  This problem ultimately manifests itself in the homes of those that have traditionally received a lower quality education (or at least lower per-pupil funding.)  As stated by Carvin, “only 46% of African American students, 48% of Latinos and 43% of Native Americans had (internet) access at home; Asian-Americans and mixed ethnicity students fared better at 74% (slightly lower than white students). Regarding disability, 68% of non-disabled students and 55% of disabled students had home access.”

Again, until we, as a nation, decide that all truly are created equally, we will continue to be divided, and conquered.  The digital divide is only one symptom of a much larger problem.

Perhaps we should better ask, “What have we not learned from some 50 years of applying technology to educational problems that can improve our strategies now?”  In the past 50 years we have learned that audio visual stimulation and instruction are effective means of educating “large numbers of individuals with diverse backgrounds”. For example:

During the WWII training efforts, “Most training directors reported that films reduced training time without having a negative impact on training effectiveness, and that the films were more interesting and resulted in less absenteeism than traditional training programs.” (Saettler, 1990).

-and-

“The audiovisual devices used during World War II were generally perceived as successful in helping the United States solve a major training problem -namely, how to train effectively and efficiently large numbers of individuals with diverse backgrounds. As a result of this apparent success, after the war there was a renewed interest in using audiovisual devices in the schools”(Finn, 1972; Olsen & Bass, 1982).

However, seemingly inexplicably, by the mid-1960′s much of the interest in using television for instructional purposes had abated. (Reiser, 2001) True, Reiser does present a few fairly weak arguments in answer to the question why much of the interest in using television for instructional purposes had abated, but I would suggest that there are far more rational socio-political arguments that explain the demise of funding for educational television (and, more recently, education in general). Is it possible that television proved so effective in creating desired outcomes that Madison Avenue and other power brokers desired the medium to be used almost solely for the creation of the consumer driven society in which we live today? I would suggest that anyone interested in researching such a preposterous hypothesis view the excellent BBC documentary The Century of the Self which rather convincingly advances the argument that the theories of Sigmund Freud and the methodologies of Edward Bernays have been used by big business and big government to further their own control in an age of perceived Democracy. Is it plausible that television proved too useful to be used for merely educational purposes, when it could reach its fullest potential in the commercial arena?

Oscar Retterer made an interesting observation in his Instructional Technology: Looking Backward, Thinking Forward video: “Many physical classrooms today look eerily similar to those of the past century.”

All this being said, I think that it’s time that we (educators) reclaim the use of audiovisual communications for the betterment of the individual, and thus the society in which we live.

Viva la Educational Technology!

Initially, it was fairly difficult to locate projects related to high school ELA classes, but several can be found at the Project Exchange Site.  I also believe that such relation is possible through in-depth research and analysis of literature, possibly beginning with the 12 essential questions posed by those at Dramatica.com.

It is very encouraging to me to see such global awareness beginning to blossom in our educational system.  For too long we have trained our youth to be “useful tools and instruments” (H.D. Thoreau) of the state/system rather than responsible members of a much larger society and world.  The results of such an emphasis in education are unfortunate, and unfortunately far too apparent in our society.  It is my hope that PBL can help students to recognize and develop higher ethical standards necessary for truly independent thinking within the context of a social existence.  It seems to me that the aforementioned ”common features” of PBL certainly are a good starting point.

Share one PBL project that you were able to locate during your search.

During my search I was able to locate the comparatively speaking project, which integrates digital design, language arts, social studies and world language.   It was designed by Paul Koh and Kristin Russo.  The project helps “upper division students prepared for a talk show exhibition about the experience of slavery and civil war through various viewpoints. Students were required to compare an aspect of slavery/civil war in America and in a Spanish-speaking country. For example, a student had to compare ‘life under slavery’ in both America and Brazil.”

The students were asked the driving question: How does slavery and civil war compare between America and a Spanish speaking country?

Students were able to choose from a variety of topics ranging from “Slave Families” to “African Influence on Visual Arts” to “Military Strategy in Civil War”, and were expected to become experts on their selected topics through the completion of research papers.  Eventually, each student contributed his or her expertise to the culminating project; a news broadcast/talk show exhibition, which brought the comparative topics together.  In addition, the project included the requirement that students record a portion of their talk show in Spanish.

Explain why you like this project, and how you might be able to adapt it for your own use.

I really appreciate the use of historical multi-cultural perspectives and technology use integrated into this project.  I have often attempted integration of multimedia into my own classroom through the utilization of video projects (mostly for mythology), but I can also imagine relating this type of project to To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM), by Harper Lee, as well as a variety of other books and short stories that we read in Language Arts.  Although we do cover some of the historical context surrounding the time period in which TKAM is set (American South, 1930’s), history and/or social studies classes could be used for more in-depth studies.  A student could research one aspect of the period (i.e. The Great Depression, Jim Crowe Laws, even the Reconstruction and its effects on the social standing of African Americans well into the 20^th Century, etc.) and the students could bring their individual works together to create a live talk show that could be recorded as well.  At this point I cannot foresee the integration of a foreign language, as we currently do not study Hispanic or French literature (the only two foreign languages that PHS offers.)   One major limitation that I can foresee is the time constraint of the trimester.   A six week project would take up over half of our class time, and in that time the students would need to read the entire novel, answer the 12 essential questions from the dramatica website, research their individual topics of expertise, stage a talk show, produce the video, etc.

The article goes on to describe the 21st Century Educator as “The Adapter,” “The Communicator,” “The Learner,” “The Visionary,” “The Leader,” “The Model,” “The Collaborator,” and “The Risk Taker,” all of which I whole-heartedly agree with.  However, again, the technological integration of all of these venerable characteristics seems a foregone conclusion within the description of each category.  Am I the only one that sees this?  Am I just a pessimist?  Should I assume that at some point 21st Century educational funding will become a priority in this country, at which point we can actually  give our students a 21st Century education?

Perhaps this is why I’m involved in educational technology in the first place; to help me understand how others have overcome these all too pervasive limitations within the funding of our educational system.  I just would hate to think that I’m gaining new intellectual tools without the technology necessary to utilize them in the classroom.

There is an excellent video regarding the future of educational technology @

http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Teacher

very inspirational.  Again, I understand what they are saying, I’m just concerned about the goals vs. reality w/ in a “school” environment.  I actually see what they’re talking about as a possibility “outside” of the school environment (as “homework”?)  “Wandering around the city with their cell phones, collecting data…”   “We’ve got a classroom system, when we could have a community system…”  Again, great visions, but when we emphasize “real world” skills, it seems to go against the grain of standardization.  Whereas “21st Century Students” may excel at “real world” challenges, the much sought for “standardized students” will continue to lose interest in the current educational system and the standards by which we currently gauge achievement.  It’s a brave new world, and it seems that the teacher is either at the helm of the ship, steering it’s course, or slogging coal into the furnaces just to keep the old system chugging along.

You can always see the sun

Day                             -or night…

It’s also a world in which I’ll post my various musings about multitudinous mind boggling Master’s Degree matter’s.  As I’ve not yet had an awful lot of exposure to all things Ed Techy, this post will be fairly thin -but watch out!  The next time you return you may find that I’ve learned a thing or two (or three) and am engaging in the process of becoming masterful in the craft.  What will happen then?  You’ll just have to wait and see.

To be continued…