Page 244 - Educational Technology A Primer for the 21st Century

238 13 Emerging Issues in Educational Technology

On one of the PISA tests, an international test, they scored “two years
ahead of the average child living in either England or Australia”. Home
culture really matters.
(See http://www.bbc.com/news/education-29559814)

Example 5: Beyond the Classroom: The Impact of Culture on the
Classroom
When humans grow up without culture, do they ultimately invent it? What
role does culture play in defining the individual? How does culture impact
learning?
Culture includes what people actually do and what they believe. Culture
influences greatly how we see the world, how we try to understand it, and
how we communicate with each other. Culture determines, to a great extent,
learning and teaching styles with the help of technology.
(See http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/
community-voices/article36727782.html)

13.4 Challenges for Educational Technology

In addition to the issues previously discussed, there are a number of recurring
problem areas that have been called challenges in Woolf’s(2010) Roadmap for
Education Technology (see https://cra.org/ccc/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/08/
GROE-Roadmap-for-Education-Technology-Final-Report.pdf). That report focused
on the role and impact of computing and technology in education, including rec-
ommendations for the future. Seven grand challenges were identified followed by
seven technology recommendations, which will be discussed in the following texts.
In addition, the New Media Consortium’s Horizon Reports emphasize similar
challenges and considerations.

13.4.1 Personalizing Education

The one-method-fits-all approach does not match up with a diverse population and
the potential of new technologies; moreover, finding in cognitive psychology and
new technologies makes it possible to create effective learning activities to meet
individual student needs and interests.