Write your own definition of the field of Education Technology  

Education Technology, or EdTech references the variety of tools such as software, web applications, mobile applications, virtual reality, and augmented reality to enhance learning for students. Education Technology is used to create more effective engagement and strives to personalize the learning experience for each individual student, who may have various ways of retaining information. Education Technology strives to improve efficiency by streamlining tasks for students, teachers, and administrators.  

Describe which timeframe in the evolution of the field of Educational Technology was the most pivotal decade? And why?  

21st Century – According to the text 2002 10% of students enrolled in higher learning learned online, whereas in 2011 approximately 32% of same group of students were enrolled in online classes. In 2008 9% of middle school kids were enrolled in at least one online class, where that number was up to 30% in 2010 – That's a significant jump in just two years' time. In 2004 26% of business training was done with the help of technology, but in 10 years that number rose to 41%   

Although at the turn of the century we were making significant progress with online learning, The Pandemic accelerated the need for online learning technology because students, teachers and much of the world was confined to their homes and living spaces due to The Pandemic. Students and teachers still needed access to education and tools to immerse students into a classroom-like environment from wherever they were, to help reduce learning loss.  

During The Pandemic, many students in the United States, and around the world relied on Zoom, Google Classroom, and additional, similar, technologies to attend classes – also known as Distance Learning. At that time, and from my experience, I have never had to depend on education technology as heavily as I did to achieve class goals for my students. I even used Splashtop which enabled my design students to login from their Chromebooks to use Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. (which does not work on Chromebook) from networked computers in my physical classroom.  

My colleagues and I quickly became accustomed to using online applications like Go Guardian and Illuminate to monitor student activity and student behavior online. These quickly became valuable tools for us as teachers, and since returning to an in-person learning environment, these two applications are still used, to this day, by myself and my colleagues.  

Describe what trend do you foresee in Educational Technology in the year 2040 and why?  

In the year 2040 I feel like Educational Technology will take advantage of immersive technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality. Both technologies, with the advancement of wearable technology, or holographic imagery, will help educators create a learning environment that simulates places and situations that students can interact with, or experience, so they feel like they are a part of information they are learning.  

In 2040, students will be able to sit in a simulated classroom and immerse themselves in the content, or lesson being delivered without having to physically be in one place, or another. Furthermore, AI-powered, personalized, learning will be a significant factor helping instructors and teachers personalize education for each student.