View this page "Linda's Problem Statement"
Linda Spaulding
ED 633
Problem Statement
There is a growing consensus among educators that our educational
system must be transformed if it is to address the needs of a global
society. In a world filled with ubiquitous information, children
growing up in the 21st century are digital natives, comfortable with
technologies for interacting with information socially and in
classrooms. Students adapt quickly to technologies used in classrooms,
creating a scaffolding of knowledge as each new technology is
introduced. Today’s children are looking to education to prepare them
to compete in global economic environments as adults. To achieve
levels of technological sophistication that future employers will
expect, students must become proficient in 21st century tools, namely
through classroom technology based on collaborative and cooperative
participation, skills that are inherent in today’s digital natives.
Zhao and Frank (2003) suggest that schools fall behind when it comes
to using technology for learning purposes. Technology is spreading to
all areas of our lives, but schools are still slow to introduce
technology in spite of large financial investments in recent years to
improved education through use of technology.
The evidence provided by Zhao and Frank (2003) claims that teachers
meet with resistance when they request release time to spend in
professional development to learn how technology tools can be used to
further enhance student learning. Infrastructure often requires
planning networks, locations of computers, and scheduling. Teachers
are more inclined to use computers for communicating with peers and
parents, not for communicating with students or involving students in
computer use.
Given the barriers, education will continue to produce students
lacking technological knowledge unless teachers provide innovative
instruction. One plausible solution is to create receptive teachers,
helping them understand the value of utilizing technology and evolving
toward a pedagogical shift in practices. Teachers will develop their
capacity to implement software and hardware through various in-
services and professional development training strategies. As teachers
acquire skills in innovation, their roles may evolve from instructor
to facilitator of student learning. Students are quick to develop
presentation skills with PowerPoint and spreadsheet applications with
MS Excel, as well as word processing with MS Word. Students who create
multimedia presentations build multiple communication skills and
opportunities for collaborative learning that will transfer from grade
schools and eventually to professions in what Friedman (2006)
described as a “flattening” global economy.
A review of the literature will show a slow but gradual growth of
technology use in grade schools through universities. A global
flattening of economic conditions applies pressure on curriculum
designers to employ methods of innovative use of technology for
learning. A review of the studies will show that a transformation is
taking place in education, promising to prepare students to meet the
technology demands of the 21st century.
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