The role of technology in learning for varying goals

1. Discuss examples of how different affordances of technology have been used to foster different kinds of learning goals in the context of different kinds of learning or educational technology theories. For each example, be sure to address the following:

•  the specific technology affordance (not necessarily a specific technology, but what that technology affords)

• learning goals

• learning and/or educational technology theories

• the design of technology-supported learning and instruction.

2. What are some important trends in learning goals today (e.g., the 21st century skills movement)? Do you foresee any of those evolving trends in learning goals fundamentally altering technology-supported learning and instruction? Or do you think fundamental change is not likely in the foreseeable future? What do you see persisting, and what do you see changing? Provide a careful account of your reasoning in answering this question.

Learning with and without technology: Qualitatively similar or different? 

It has been argued that learning with technology, as it occurs today and is projected to occur in the near future, is a process that is not qualitatively different from previous modes of learning; that is, learning may be enhanced, but the underlying cognitive processes and the qualitative nature of learning outcomes is not different in kind. Others argue for disjuncture: new technologies are enabling learning - or may enable learning — that is qualitatively different in process and outcome than before these educational technologies became available.

a. What do you think are the most important points of continuity and of disjuncture?  Answer both with respect to the current time and your projection of what learning with technology has the potential to be in, say, five years.

In your answer, in addition to your own reasons for siding on one side of the question (or both), discuss at least one theoretical perspective on each side of the question (more than one theoretical perspective is fine).  What research is there in support of each side of this question (continuity and disjuncture)?  Where are some gaps where research is needed to help provide answers to this question?

The Role of Technology

The role of technology in learning has been for many years a hotly debated topic. Some have even argued that it would be impossible in principle to ever demonstrate positive learning effects attributable to the use of technology. Others have argued that affordances of technology are a “game-changer,” making possible important kinds of learning that have always been very challenging to achieve in the past.  And others still, of course, have argued for a middle ground between these positions.  Further complicating the question is that some agree that current uses of technology have not been shown to be as beneficial as educational technology supporters would wish, but that is just a reason for more research and development on better uses of technology for learning.  Additionally, some contextualize the issue by arguing that technology is very useful in some arenas of learning but not in others. 

Argue for your preferred stance on the value of technology in learning, following the contours of the above paragraph (that is, even if you don’t agree with a position mentioned above, at least mention/cite the opposing points of view to your own). Assemble theoretical/conceptual arguments and, where applicable, empirical support for your position.  

Demonstrate your knowledge of the literature through thoughtful connections to scholarship. Also, use headings and sub-headings to make it clear how your response is addressing each part of the question.

Educational technology as a discipline

In September of 2016, an article appeared in Campus Technology (a popular online magazine targeting higher education professionals) titled Why It's Time for Education Technology to Become an Academic Discipline. As a scholar and academic professional in the Educational Psychology and Educational Technology program, how do you respond to this assertion?

• Provide theoretical and historical support for your stance

• Contextualize your own work and research interests within your response

Source: https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/09/19/why-its-time-for-education-technology-to-become-an-academic-discipline.aspx

The psychology of the Like button

Some of the most popular social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram make prominent use of the "Like" button. As Facebook writes, Like Button is "a way to give positive feedback or to connect with things you care about on Facebook. You can like content that your friends post to give them feedback or like a Page that you want to connect with on Facebook." When users see the number of "likes" their content receives, they often report feeling "great", "loved", and "supported". In contrast, content that receives very few likes can lead to feelings of loneliness and ostracism.

Why do you suppose people, especially millennials (https://goo.gl/kObfCu), have become so invested in the like button? Answer this question by proposing two different psychological theories or perspectives that may help to explain why likes (or lack of) make people feel the way they do. These theories can be from a broad perspective like behaviorism or motivation, or be more specific such as theories of need for belongingess, connectedness, or social capital (these are just examples, you can propose others).

For each of the two theories or perspectives that you chose, please:

a) Elaborate how behavior and feelings surrounding the like button can be explained in terms of the concepts specific to that theory or perspective.

b) Provide any empirical (better) or anecdotal (not as good) support for using this theory or perspectives to interpret liking behavior

c) Propose the broad outlines of one study that might help further test if liking behavior can be explained by the theory or perspective that you chose.

The reciprocal relationship between ed tech and ed psych

A.    What ideally is the 'reciprocal relationship' between educational psychology and educational technology? Support your argument with relevant educational research and theory.

Next, provide three examples or cases of this reciprocal relationship. In each case, consider what technology facilitates and challenges for research and practice.

B.    Describe a research idea of your own that involves learning technologies.  

• How does that idea make use of knowledge and methods from educational psychology?  

• How does the idea not draw upon educational psychology, and what are the pluses and minuses of that lack of connection? 

• Finally, in your example, reflect on the influence of educational psychology on educational technology and of educational technology on educational psychology. How is this relationship ‘reciprocal’ or not?

You may, in your answer to any or all parts of this question, be more expansive than just dealing with “educational psychology” and include as well cognitive psychology and the cognitive and learning sciences.

Structuring a debate on technology and improving student learning

There is widespread belief that educational technology can improve student learning. For example, the No Child Left Behind legislation identifies educational technology as an area for school improvement and a category under which schools can apply for professional development funding.

As an educational scholar and researcher, you have the responsibility of having a thoughtful, informed opinion on the role of technology and student learning.  Imagine you have been asked to be a moderator at a debate on whether a school district should invest heavily in education technology. Your job is to focus and structure a productive debate. 

Identify three important issues for debate related to educational technology and student learning. Write introductory remarks for each issue that will lead into the debate on each of these issues. Your remarks on each issue should accomplish the following.

- Argue convincingly why this is a critical issue to consider in this context

- Demonstrate clearly how this issue is multi-faceted and complex

As a scholar and researcher, your remarks should be firmly grounded in empirical research studies (as contrasted with opinion or conceptual pieces).

Technology & Subject Area Standards

The Next Generation Science Standards identify eight scientific and engineering practices that are key for all students to learn. These include:

1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering) 

2. Developing and using models 

3. Planning and carrying out investigations 

4. Analyzing and interpreting data 

5. Using mathematics and computational thinking 

6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering) 

7. Engaging in argument from evidence 

8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information 

Pick two of the eight practices and discuss how technology can support the development of those skills? Additionally, discuss how technology be used in the classroom to help students understand how scientific knowledge develops? 

Outcomes, effects, cause

Using theory and research from your own area of interest, evaluate the following statement: “Any outcome is both an effect and a cause. Thus, a student is an active participant whose thinking, feeling, and/or behavior is both a reaction and a stimulus for subsequent outcomes.” As part of your evaluation, assess the extent to which this statement characterizes psychological processes within your own area of interest. At a minimum, provide three examples as well as a discussion of the insights and challenges associated with this view of psychological processes.

"Highly qualified" online teachers

In the United States, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has required that K-12 face-to-face teachers have a bachelor's degree, achieve full state certification, and meet competency standards to be considered highly qualified. 

Most states, however, are now also requiring some sort of online education component for K-12 students. Michigan, for example, as part of the Michigan Merit Curriculum, requires that in order to graduate from High School, students complete at least one online course, or one significant online learning experience. Faced with the challenge of providing online curriculum, many turn to outside providers, such as the Michigan virtual high school (http://www.mivhs.org/). In such situations students take courses from different teachers, conceivably across state lines, potentially breaking down the state-by-state certification process.

While there some agreement about what constitutes a "highly qualified" teacher in the face-to-face environment, what does this mean for teachers in the online environment?  Specifically, answer each of these questions in your response.

1. Does teaching online require the same skill set as teaching face to face? If there different skills required, please be specific about which skills you think are different, and evidence for your claims. If you believe the skill sets are the same, please provide evidence and rationale for this claim.

2. Should there be some sort of certification process for online teaching?  If so, what would be the criteria to be assessed, and the rationale for doing so?  If not, why not?

The cognitive revolution

In the 1960s and 70s, educational psychology shifted from a dominant behavioral perspective on human learning and development that emphasizes particular stimuli and responses to the view that individual cognitive structures mediate and shape these responses. But since that period, views of human learning and development have continued to shift. 

Describe some of the main shifts/developments in theoretical orientation since the Cognitive Revolution and explain how they are revealed in theory and empirical research in the content area you know best (literacy, mathematics, etc.). Make sure that your response not only describes the shifts in orienting theory but also explains their significance for research.

Online Learning

Despite its impressive growth, online learning has often been criticized as being impersonal and lacking the sense of community and interpersonal connection that can be developed in more traditional classrooms. There are two key assumptions being made here.

First, that there is inherent educational value in developing inter-personal connections and community in the classroom (virtual or face to face).

Second, that such connections and community cannot be developed with online technologies.

1. Offer your perspective on each assumption. You could agree, disagree, or take some other position. Devote approximately 2/3 of your response. In your response, be sure to:

- Describe the major differences and similarities between face-to-face and online interactions with regard to these assumptions. 

- Point to the affordances and constraints of both forms of learning (face-to-face and online) in relationship to these assumptions. 

- Use examples to illustrate the differences and similarities.

- Draw on relevant conceptual and empirical research to illustrate your point and demonstrate your knowledge of this topic.

2. Offer a set of recommendations for designers of online learning systems so that they may most optimally use the technology to facilitate learning. Devote approximately 1/3 of your response.

- Be sure each recommendation connects explicitly to the analysis you provided in the first section.

Face-to-face and online student interaction

Many educators, in both online and face-to-face classroom settings, consider it important to provide students with opportunities to interact with other students.  For example, instructors of face-to-face classes might require student-to-student interaction through whole-class discussions, small-group work, or projects.  Instructors of online courses might use threaded discussions, chat rooms, or synchronous group sessions to enable student-to-student interaction. Although the importance of such opportunities for student-to-student interaction is often assumed, educators are not so often explicit about why student-to-student interaction is important.  Why is student-to-student interaction important for learning?  What function(s) is student-to-student interaction thought to play in the learning process? Does it increase motivation?  Does it lead to some important kind of cognitive engagement?  Does it make students less dependent on their teachers?  

Drawing on scholarly and research literature, provide one or more rationales for including student-to-student interaction in course learning activities.  The rationale should be grounded in some theoretical perspective on learning.  

Given this rationale and the conceptions of learning underlying it, discuss challenges in creating opportunities for productive student-to-student interaction in online or face-to-face settings.  For example, if you are arguing that student-to-student interaction is important for providing a particular kind of cognitive engagement, what are the challenges of fostering this kind of engagement in online courses?  If interaction is important for establishing a sense of belonging to a learning community, what are the challenges of fostering interaction that does this in a face-to-face class?

MOOCs

Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have received a great deal of news (and funding) recently. Hundreds of thousands of students across the world have signed up for free college-level courses offered by companies such as edX, Coursera and Udacity. Universities such as Princeton, Brown, Columbia, Duke and even our very own Michigan State have jumped on the MOOC bandwagon. Proponents of MOOCs suggest that there is a revolution in the making, by offering a cheap, high-quality alternative to expensive, exclusive universities—particularly to poor students who are often under-represented in universities. Tom Friedman of the New York Times was not alone in suggesting that MOOCs will lead to a revolution that will dramatically change higher education. 

On the other hand, as data has come in, the story has become more complicated. A significant concern that has plagued MOOCs is that of dropout. A recent University of Pennsylvania study found that of the more than 1 million people who signed up for a MOOC offered by their university only 4 percent completed the classes!

As an expert on educational psychology and educational technology your task is to tackle this issue of dropout. Your response should have two parts.

First, build on relevant (psychological and design) theories and research in the field to suggest design changes to MOOCs to reduce student dropout.

Second, provide the outline of a research study that would allow you to determine whether or not your redesign actually helps reduce dropout.

Learning with a technology: Qualitatively similar or different?

It has been argued that learning with technology, as it occurs today and is projected to occur in the near future, is a process that is not qualitatively different from previous modes of learning; that is, learning may be enhanced, but the underlying cognitive processes and the qualitative nature of learning outcomes is not different in kind. Others argue for disjuncture: new media are making learning qualitatively different in process and outcome than it was before these technologies became available.

What do you think are the most important points of continuity and of disjuncture?  Answer both with respect to the current time and your projection of what learning with technology will look like in, say, five years. What research is there in support of each side of this question (continuity and disjuncture)?  Where are there gaps where research is most needed to help provide an answer to this question?

Does technology facilitate or transform teaching?

This is the age of cool tools. Facebook, iPhone, Flickr, blogs, cloud computing, Smart Boards, YouTube, Google Earth, and GPS’s are just a few examples of the many new technologies. This rapid rate of change puts increasing pressure on teachers to learn new ways to integrate technology with their teaching. This, in turn, puts pressure on teacher education and professional development programs.

How a teacher education programs might respond depends on their view of technology integration. On the one hand, technology can be seen as facilitating teaching; on the other it can be seen as transforming teaching.

In your response:

1.    What are the differences between facilitation and transformation, specifically as it relates to teaching with new technologies?

2.    How can one tell whether teaching in a particular case has been facilitated or transformed by the integration of technology?

3.    What are the kinds of knowledge and skills that teachers need to develop for these different goals?

4.    Describe two specific recommendations for how a teacher education program - like MSU’s - can respond to each of these goals (four recommendations total).

Connect to scholarly work throughout your response.

Affordances and constraints of technology

Nearly all teaching and learning involves the use of a technology.  Broadly conceived, these technologies are tools created by humans “to produce desired products, to solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy wants” (Koehler & Mishra, 2008).  They include papyrus, paper, chalkboards, screens, pencils, typewriters, rulers, microscopes, thermometers, calculators, blogs, mp3 players, word processing software, and more. While each technology enables the process of teaching and learning in some way, it can also complicate it.

1.    Identify two technologies that are currently used in teaching-learning contexts (e.g., wikis and paper-pencil created glossaries).

2.    Describe the ‘affordances’ and ‘constraints’ of both technologies for teaching-learning a topic in a particular subject area, grounding your descriptions in the scholarly literature and your analytic observations For example, what are the properties of a wiki-created glossary that lend it to working well (and not so well) for teaching-learning the essential vocabulary concepts in a middle school science unit on the 10 key organ systems in the human body?  What are the properties of a paper-pencil created glossary that afford and constrain the teaching-learning of this same topic?

3.    Discuss how the affordances and constraints of both technologies complicate and facilitate the process of teaching and learning. For example, how do wiki-created glossaries complicate and facilitate the teaching and learning of essential vocabulary concepts for the 10 key organ systems?  How do paper-pencil created glossaries complicate and facilitate?

4.    Craft one or two research questions that would examine these complication and facilitations. Explain why these are important questions to study.

Online and offline literacy  

How does literacy online compare with literacy offline? In this question, literacy may be broadly construed to include not only reading and writing, but also interactions with any kind of information. Also, literacy includes traditional as well as out-of-school activities. Your response should clearly address the following questions.

    1.    What evidence is there of the similarities and differences between the two?  

    2.    What do these similarities and differences suggest for the design and enactment of instruction in literacy?

Educational Psychology, Educational Technology, or Both?

Educational psychology has a long history. Indeed, the science of psychology in the U.S. could be described as growing out of the psychological study of learning, teaching, and education.  Educational technology has a much shorter history and one that has evolved more out of attempts at developing and applying tools than from attempts at developing more general theories of learning.

The rapid and pervasive growth of ever more complex technologies has increased the importance of technology in learning in and out of school.  At the same time, these vastly more complex technologies, including now the capability of designing environments with image, voice, text, sound, and interactivity far beyond capabilities in the past, may enable a more fundamental melding of educational psychology and educational technology by using the best of theories of learning and development to design learning environments that instantiate and test these theories to the betterment of both educational theory and educational practice.

Thoughtful scholars take widely differing positions on the relationship between educational psychology and educational technology, as well as differing degrees of engagement with these two domains in their own work. Describe your position with regard to the relationship between educational psychology and educational technology as fields of endeavor in education in general.

A.  Identify a prominent approach to learning technologies that is clearly tied to work in educational psychology and one that is less evidently tied to educational psychology.  What are the strengths and weakness of these two approaches?  How do their strengths and weaknesses relate to the role educational psychology plays in their design and use?

B.   Describe a research idea of your own that involves learning technologies.  How does that idea make use of knowledge and methods from educational psychology?  On the other hand, does the idea not draw upon educational psychology, and what are the pluses and minuses of that lack of connection?

You may in your answer to any or all parts of this question be more expansive than just dealing with “educational psychology” and include as well cognitive psychology and the cognitive and learning sciences.

Online Learning

Online learning is transforming all aspects of education: from K-12 classrooms to higher education to professional learning in the workplace. Despite its impressive growth, online learning has often been criticized as being impersonal and lacking the sense of community and interpersonal connection that can be developed in more traditional classrooms.

There are two key assumptions being made here.

First, that there is inherent educational value in developing inter-personal connections and community in the classroom (virtual or face to face).

Second, that such connections and community cannot be developed with online technologies.

In your response address both assumptions and offer your take on them. For instance you could agree with the first and disagree with second, or disagree with both or any other combination (from a total of 4 combinations).

Devote approximately 5 pages to explaining your take on these two assumptions.  In presenting your take, describe the major differences and similarities between face to face and online interactions with regard to these assumptions. Point to the affordances and constraints of both forms of learning (traditional and online) in relationship to these assumptions. Use examples to illustrate the differences and similarities. Make connections to empirical and conceptual scholarship throughout.

Finally, offer a set of recommendations (3 pages) for designers of online learning systems so that they may most optimally use the technology to facilitate learning.

Technology and Education

The needs of young learners evolve as quickly as their technological skills. There is a great deal of evidence showing that the next generation of learners will come out of a new learning population called “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001; Brown, 2000). The lifestyle of many of today’s children and teens revolves around being “connected” to a global network. For example, 73% of American youths age 12 to 17 instant message (IM) frequently, 32% of IM users say they do something else on their computer such as browsing the Web or playing games virtually every time while they IM. In addition, 20% of IM users say they do something else off their computer such as talk on the phone or watch television virtually every time they IM (Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2004).

This force of change places schools and teachers in the precarious position of having to adapt to new technological innovations. Schools, however, are slow to change. In looking back at historical precedents of attempted infusions of technology in education, Stanford researcher Larry Cuban contends that computers as a tool for instruction and a medium for student learning are inflexible and incompatible with the demands of teaching. Coupled with administrators’ and policy makers’ practice of placing computers in teachers’ classrooms without communicating with these teachers about how these machines will be used, digital technologies are oversold and underused in classrooms (Cuban, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000).

Your response should address the following issues.

    1.    Do today’s (or tomorrow’s) students come to school with fundamentally different skills, and do they present different challenges for educators?

    2.    What are the affordances (or lack thereof) of particular technologies that may ignite change in schools?

    3.    What are the specific technology needs of today’s students and will schools meet these needs or will they continue to be stuck in the mud as Cuban predicts?

Please include pro and con arguments for each issue (when appropriate), and cite appropriate literature sources in support of your arguments. Conclude each section with your own viewpoint or stance on the issues.

A framework for considering the role of computers in schools

Traditionally, the role of computers in schools has been viewed as a tool, tutor, or tutee. Since this framework was invented a couple of decades ago, technology has changed rapidly as have its uses in schools. With the advent of the Internet, particularly Web 2.0 technologies, more sophisticated computing technologies, and better educational software, do you think this framework still sufficiently captures the possible roles of computers in schools? Do we need a new framework to guide new development in this field?

To answer this question, please do the following:

    1.    Provide a review of the classic framework and its applications in the literature.

    2.    Discuss how teachers fit in the classic framework. That is, what is the role of the teacher in the three situations: computer as tool, tutor, or tutee.

    3.    If you think the classic framework does still capture the uses of computers in schools, provide logical and evidence-based arguments to support your assertion. If you don’t think the framework continues to capture the uses of computers in schools, provide logical and evidence-based arguments to support your assertion and suggest an alternative framework.

Technology and changes in school

Computers and the Internet have resulted in dramatic changes in society. Together they have led to new enterprises such as Google, YouTube, and MySpace; changed how we travel, obtain information, and socialize; affected how and where we work; and resulted in cost savings and enhanced revenues for some industries. Do you think they have led to changes of a similar scale in schools?

In your response, you should include the following:

Provide an overall assessment of the impact of technology (mainly computers and the Internet) on education over the past two decades. Support your assessment with evidence.

Provide an analysis of how technology has or has not resulted in similarly dramatic changes in schools. Support your analysis with relevant research literature.

Technology Integration in Teacher Education

Much has been written about what teachers need to know about technology to be effective teachers in the information age. That said, most scholars working in this area agree that traditional methods of technology training for teachers are ill-suited to produce the “deep understanding” that can assist teachers in becoming intelligent users of technology for pedagogy. For instance, a survey by the Milken Family Foundation and ISTE found that teacher-training programs, in general, do not provide future teachers with the kinds of experiences necessary to prepare them to use technology effectively in their classrooms.

Given this context, please address the following questions, with citations to relevant research and scholarship.

1. It has been argued that modern digital technologies are different in some fundamental ways from previous learning technologies. Do you agree? Explain how these new technologies change (or do not change) the fundamental tasks of teaching.

2. One of the criticisms of research in this area has been its ad-hoc and relatively a-theoretical nature. Offer an overview of current research and scholarship in the theory of technology integration.

3. Based on your answers to the two parts above, offer a set of guidelines for teacher educator and teacher education programs seeking to develop better technology integration skills in their students (i.e,. future teachers).

Online Learning

Educational institutions at all levels—K-12 to graduate—are increasingly turning to online courses to supplement or replace their traditional course offerings.  Some people applaud this move, arguing that online courses can better meet the needs of students and, in some cases, enhance the learning of students.  Others worry that online courses cannot provide as good a learning environment as face-to-face courses.  

Choose an educational level: elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or graduate. In the first part of your response, analyze the potential benefits of online courses at this level. Also, discuss the potential problems or difficulties. In addressing the potential benefits and problems, you should draw heavily on the research and scholarly literature for conceptual arguments and empirical evidence.

In the second part of your response, discuss two key issues related to online learning where further research is necessary for making decisions about whether to incorporate online courses at your chosen educational level or for improving the effectiveness of online courses as learning environments.

US DOE Report on the Effectiveness of Technology

In April 2007, the US Department of Education released a very significant report of a study that assesses the effectiveness of technology on learning. This report has generated lots of discussion in the media, among educational researchers, educators, and the educational technology industry. As a scholar, you are asked to write an essay in response to the study findings. Your essay must be grounded in the literature.

The following is the abstract of the report and you can find the full report at:

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pdf/20074005.pdf

The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance produced this major study of the effectiveness of education technology. Mandated by Congress, the report uses scientifically based research methods and control groups to focus on the impact of technology on student academic achievement. The main findings of the study are:

Test scores were not significantly higher in classrooms using the reading and mathematics software products than those in control classrooms. In each of the four groups of products-reading in first grade and in fourth grade, mathematics in sixth grade, and high school algebra-the evaluation found no significant differences in student achievement between the classrooms that used the technology products and classrooms that did not.

There was substantial variation between schools regarding the effects on student achievement. Although the study collected data on many school and classroom characteristics, only two characteristics were related to the variation in reading achievement. For first grade, effects were larger in schools that had smaller student-teacher ratios (a measure of class size). For fourth grade, effects were larger when treatment teachers reported higher levels of use of the study product.

Thirty-three districts, 132 schools, and 439 teachers participated in the study. Sixteen products were selected for the study based on public submissions and ratings by a study team and expert review panels.

The Mutual Influence between Cognition and Technology Environments

Cognition and technology are firmly connected to each other. Traditionally, we have looked to the cognitive and learning sciences for underlying constraints and enabling conditions for more effective computer-supported learning. More recently, some have begun to argue that we need to at the issue from the “other” direction as well. Namely, it might be the case that widespread immersion in new media environments, especially beginning at early ages, is changing the nature of cognition. How do you see the balance between these two directions of influence?  And to the extent that new technologies might be altering cognition, what are the new educational affordances that might be emerging?  Be sure to cite both theoretical and empirical work in support of your answer.