Introduction

Education is evolving due to the impact of the Internet. We cannot teach our students in the same manner in which we were taught. Change is necessary to engage students not in the curriculum we are responsible for teaching, but in school. Period. April Chamberlain, Board of Education Technology

What exactly do we mean by educational technology? Its the study and practice of facilitating education and learning, to improve the performance of students, through the creation and use of management appropriate technological processes and resources. We have come a long way since the first portable computer was invented in 1975. The rapid pace of technology has created many opportunities for students and schools but it also brings challenges too. As an individual, youre probably thinking that technology has been a huge asset for how well you do in the classroom. We can all say that we use the internet everyday for many reasons. Its a quick and simple way for accumulating information. However, have we ever thought about the other side of things involving educational technology? Have we thought about what tools our parents generations used for their education? Do we only think about the benefits that come with integrating technology with education?
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Opportunities

The opportunities include greater access to rich, multimedia content, the increasing use of online course taking to offer classes not otherwise available, the widespread availability of mobile computing devices that can access the Internet, the expanding role of social networking tools for learning and professional development, and the growing interest in the power of digital games for more personalized learning according to the Education Week article.

Challenges
"The NMC Horizon Report: 2013 K-12 Edition," put together by the New Media Consortium as part of the Horizon Project, identifies key emerging issues .

Professional Development: Key among all challenges is the lack of adequate, ongoing professional development for teachers who are required to integrate new technologies into their classrooms yet who are unprepared or unable to understand new technologies. "All too often, when schools mandate the use of a specific technology, teachers are left without the tools (and often skills) to effectively integrate the new capabilities into their teaching methods," according to the report. Delivering Informal Learning: rigid lecture-and-test models of learning are failing to challenge students to experiment and engage in informal learning. But, according to the report, opportunities for such informal learning can be found in nontraditional classroom models, such as flipped classrooms, which allow for a blending of formal and informal learning. To define informal learning, its the learning that accumulates through daily activities outside of school.

Challenges Continued

Failures of Personalized Learning:

According to the report, there's a gap between the vision of delivering personalized, differentiated instruction and the technologies available to make this possible. So while K-12 teachers seem to see the need for personalized learning, they aren't being given the tools they need to accomplish it, or adequate tools simply don't exist. To define personalized learning, its the change of pace for a certain individual to meet their needs.

To Elaborate
The World is Changing- Arne Duncan

What Education Secretary Arne Duncan is saying is that our society is transitioning from textbooks to digital. When I say digital, I mean the usage of computers, phones and the internet. The reason we are moving towards that is that students are more engaged in getting work done, saves money, exposure to more content, etc. However, technology can create flaws for schools and students too. Lack of informal learning is huge because we as individuals dont spend much time outside of school reading a book. We just read the internet which doesnt challenge us as much. Teachers are also behind in the technological world because they didnt have these tools when they were younger. It makes it harder for them to transition it into their teaching methods. My final claim is that since there is no stopping change in technology, teachers need to be taking educational technology classes. This would help them gain insight on strategies to challenge students in a different way from what they were taught. It would also help them be caught up with what students do on the internet and what not. Technology is a great way for students to be engaged in gaining knowledge as long as its utilized the right way. I would be wrong if I said students werent coddled to death with technological tools. We definitely are, and thats where our society is heading. The internet practically gives you the answer to everything without having to read a book. Yes, I agree with integrating technology in education as long as teachers still challenge us more so we capable of living a successful life in the real world. A good example: Eliminating math websites that give the answer to every equation or not allowing students to use calculators come test time. Example 2: Teachers using social media as a way to expand ones mind like blogging or tweeting thoughts or opinions. The more your mind expands, the better knowledge youll have gained as Ive learned this year from doing technological education.

Huffington Post- Education

One of the main sources is a Huffington Post written by Josh Lederman. Conveys out quotes from Arne Duncan and other educationists. Emphasizes how Arne says we need to move to digital as fast as possible so we can be caught up with other countries. Elaborates on what they say and provides videos to support it. Gives examples of schools moving from textbooks to digital. Main audience is toward radicalists, teachers, and college students.

The Journal

The Journal website is another reliable resource written by David Nagel. Elaborates on challenges education faces with technology. Uses The Horizon Report to back up the challenges. Gives good insight on what each challenge means. Main audience is towards school districts and teachers.

Education Week.org

Education week is another great source. Talks about opportunities technology brings to education. Provides sources from other websites that had surveys to back up its facts. Uses analysiss and examples related to Elearning, mobile computing, social networking, and infrastructure of technology. Main audience is towards parents, students, and teachers

Education Laws.com
Great website that gave straight facts about education technology Gave the definition of education technology. Gave the tools of education technology Provided theories. Main audience is towards educationists.

Summary of Sources
Each source is related to education and technology. They gave me great opinions, facts, quotes, and insight in how I want to elaborate on my topic. I wanted to make sure I was going in the right direction with my topic and I think the sources gave me a better understanding of what I want to say. Main message is that progressing technology is providing many opportunities with education but also has its flaws too.

Works Cited

"Facts About Educational Technology." Educational Technology. Laws.com, 2013. Web. 08 Mar. 2014. Nagel, David. "THE Journal." 6 Technology Challenges Facing Education --. 1105 Media Inc, 6 Apr. 2013. Web. 08 Mar. 2014. Zhao, Emmeline. "Arne Duncan Calls For Textbooks To Become Obsolete In Favor Of Digital." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 02 Oct. 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2014. "Technology in Education." Educationweek.org. Editorial Projects in Education, 1 Sept. 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2013.