Infographic created using Piktochart summarising the NMC Horizon Report: 2015 K - 12 Edition “What is on the five-year horizon for K-12 schools worldwide? Which trends and technologies will drive educational change? What are the challenges that we consider as solvable or difficult to overcome, and how can we strategize effective solutions?” These are the questions that guided the research behind the NMC Horizon Report: 2015 K-12 Edition. It attempts to help inform the decisions of educational institutes, around the world, regarding the implementation of Information and Communication Technology in classrooms. It covers three main areas – key trends, significant challenges and important developments in educational technology. See the video below for a helpful summary of the report:
What do I agree with? Constructivism is a learning theory which involves knowledge being acquired by a learner though the inclusion of problem-solving or inquiry based activities (Kumar, 2006). Much of the impacts, trends and challenges outline by the report, in some way, encourage implementation of technology which encourages learning by constructivist approach. For example, encouraging project-, problem-, inquiry- or challenge-based learning in order to increase collaborative learning and to shift students from consumers of knowledge/learning to the creators. The rise of constructivism has certainly been a consequence of the incorporation of ICT in classroom, however one that has been proven beneficial in many learning areas (Castillo, 2008). This is heavily reflected through the recommendations of the NMC Horizon Report. I also really like the suggestion to increase the use of blended learning – the amalgamation of the best online and face-to-face methods. As a student who completed my Year 11 and 12 schooling via the School of Isolated and Distance Education, it is certainly an idea I can relate to. By combining online and face-to-face learning methods I developed autonomy and responsibility. While there was always adequate support when it was required, I had to be responsible for my own learning. In addition to an individual context, blended learning, when in combination with the application of Constructivism, has also been shown to increase communication and interaction between students resulting in increased learning quality and outcomes (Al-Huneidi & Schreurs, 2012). Through the incorporation of both Constructivism and Blended-learning theories, students can develop both individual and group learning skills, both of which, as outlined above, will be important skills for their future in the workforce. However, the feature of the report that resonated with me the most was certainly the rise of STEAM learning. As the report highlighted, learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) have been identified as important to improving future economies by stimulating innovation and competitive global markets. These are, no doubt , important skills for our future work force and leaders to posses. But what about humanities? In a world facing so many social justice issues (and no, sadly, Trump is not solely to blame), the teaching of humanities will equip our children to be adequately informed citizens of tomorrow. I strongly believe that in our shift towards the technology-saturated future, we need to ensure that STEM learning areas are still integrated with Humanities and the Arts (STEAM), now more than ever. What am I still unsure about?The report raises concerns with teacher training and the lack of focus on digital media literacy. While I can understand that not all teacher training institutes might have embraced the importance of ICT, as a student currently undertaking a ICT specific unit as a part of my Teacher training, I find this difficult to completely agree with. I can certainly understand that digital literacy is not a ‘norm’ observed among the current cohort of many teachers but I do think of this as something that would be constantly progressing and changing. Perhaps just not fast enough. There will however be a time in the not too distant future where the majority of teachers in schools are digital natives opposed to digital immigrants. I also have concerns with how some of the more complex technologies such as 3D printers and wearable technology can be effectively and universally integrated as learning tools in low socio-economic areas. This doesn't just come down to whether or not children in schools have access to such technologies but also whether skills learnt at school could be demonstrated at home and vice versa. The application of ICT in Schools alone will not be able to combat the 'Digital Divide' we are already experiencing (Sutherland-Smith, Snyder & Angus, 2003). A final thought...We have two options in regards to the future with technology:
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