Emerging Technologies

Emerging Technologies
Kelly Enderle
Education 214
October 18, 2015

Emerging Technologies

Abstract
In today's modern age with information readily available at the push of a button, many
people seem to forget how this technology is making it easier for students and teachers in
our school districts rather than causing disruptions. Every student and teacher has a
mobile device of some kind, i.e. cell phone, tablets, laptops, etc., that can help them in
both learning and teaching subject areas. In this paper, my goal is to identify the uses,
benefits, and integration of three pieces of emerging technologies that help both students
and teachers in the classroom rather than disrupt it. I will be covering three topics that
deal with emerging technologies: mobile devices, game based learning, and wearable
technology. All three topics relate to each other and work all for the same purpose, to
prepare students socially and academically for the 21st century.

Emerging Technologies

What does emerging technologies mean? According to businessdictionary.com, it

means New technologies that are currently developing or will be developed over the next
five to ten years, and which will substantially alter the business and social environment.
These include information technology, wireless data communication, man-machine
communication, on-demand printing, bio-technologies, and advanced robotics. But,
according Wikipedia.org, an emerging technology means technologies that are perceived
as capable of changing the status quo. So which one are we suppose to look at when
defining educational emerging technologies? For starters, lets look at three emerging
technologies that can be integrated into a classroom with benefits for both students and
teachers and how each of them works.
First off, game-based learning technology. The way game-based learning
technology works is it is a means of acquiring the skills and thought process needed to
respond appropriately under pressure in a variety of situations (newmedia.org). It draws
us into virtual environments that look and feel familiar and relevant. Game-based
learning is based on four principles (newmedia.org): Principle 1: Students prior
knowledge can help or hinder learning. Principle 2: Students motivation determines,
directs and sustains what they do to learn. Principle 3: To develop mastery, students must
acquire component skills, practice integrating them, and know when to apply what they
have learned. Principle 4: Goal-directed practice coupled with targeted feedback
enhances the quality of students learning (newmedia.org).
For students at a very young age, this technology helps them have fun and
subconsciously understand how to solve situations that were extremely similar to the
games/simulations. In high school, or at least in my high school, we had this computer

Emerging Technologies

game that taught us about finances, money responsibility, and scheduling all activities
such as school, work, travel time to get to places, etc. all while keeping yourself alive and
healthy and social. When we were told the specifics of the game, we all rolled our eyes
and groaned and thought it was going to be some corny educational game, but as soon as
we started playing, all 25 of us were really enjoying the game and learned quite a bit that
most of us are now using today.
As for the elementary level, students are able to use programs like Raz-kids.com
to learn reading and math in interactive lessons on the computer. The way I have seen
this integrated in a classroom is when the students finish their independent work, they go
on the computer and read along with a book and then they take a comprehension quiz at
the end. The quiz scores are then emailed to the teacher and the teacher can assess how
the students are doing and can determine if they are meeting their individual goals.
Students can also do this on their own time if they have a computer at home they can
use. Game based learning can also help students learning English as well. English as a
second language or ESL learners (Teaching and Learning; Lever-Duffy, McDonald; Pg.
101) can develop the knowledge of the English language through computer games and
apps available on mobile devices to help them understand concepts and subject areas.
Mobile devices technology are becoming increasingly popular amongst each
grade level in the district. CCSD policy P-5136, however, has a policy with technology
use. While it is acceptable to use it on the bus to and from school, at lunch or nutrition
breaks, and during school sponsored activities, they DO NOT allow personal student
technologies such as laptops and cell phones out during instruction time. Section II part
A, does say "with the principals' permission, students may have their personal

Emerging Technologies

technologies out during class". Does this mean that the principal has direct influence
over the way a student learns and not the teacher? If the principal is against technology
use overall for students to use during instructional time, does that mean that they are
creating a disadvantage for that student to learn and grow?
At the elementary level, teachers are allotted an iPad cart for students to use
during class. The same goes for the middle and high school levels with the exception of
at the high school level, teachers are integrating students' cell phones and tablets into
lesson plans and activities. Having mobile devices also helps lessen the weight of
textbooks and lessens the amount of paperwork teachers have to take home with them.
A student's mobile device allows them to access a majority of their classes online
with internet connection available and if their teacher has provided a way for them to
access certain material online. A great way of doing this is by having the students
participate in in-class discussions with the phones or tablets. In an article in
educationworld.com, Jeff Fiscina, a high school math teacher from New Milford, NJ said
that he tells students it's okay to pull out their cell phones when they are polling in their
answers and he says that he has almost 90 to 100% participation (educationworld.com).
This is a way of showing that the technology is in fact helping students understand
concepts through the use of their phones.
For many students, learning and understanding concepts can be a challenge. With
their mobile devices, students are able to download apps that can help them such as Ebooks or audio books. E-books are electronic versions of books for PDA, personal
digital assistants, (Teaching and Learning; Lever-Duffy, McDonald; Pg. 160)are a great
way for students to carry their textbooks without the weight of an actual textbook. It also

Emerging Technologies

helps students when they are out of town to read course material that they otherwise
would wait until they got home to do. Audio books are also a great way for students with
disabilities such as blindness or dyslexia and ESL learners to learn English and be able to
comprehend a book without difficulty.
Lastly, wearable technology is a great way for both teachers and students to teach
and learn. Now, wearable technology does not just include pedometers and Google
Glass. It is also people's phones, watches, and glasses. I realize that I have already said
phones as a mobile device, but with the increase in apps allowing everybody to manage
their life from it, I have included it as a wearable technology. With that being said, on
virtually every phone, there are apps that enable students and teachers to count their
steps, log their food, etc. and this can be implemented as a health class or P.E. class as
most high school and middle school girls have their phones on them during P.E. class for
some reason. Maybe it's because of the lack of physicality that they are doing, I dont
know, but that is not the subject of this paper.
Wearable technology is a great benefit for students with disabilities such as
hearing impaired and ESL. They can be using apps such as Google translate with their
Google glass or with their phones for E-books. For teachers, wearable technology can be
integrated into the classroom by having students access their phones during field trips and
having them do like a scavenger hunt thing where they use a QR code to help them learn
about different things or if they want to know more about something on a trip
(teachthought.com), but there isn't anybody who can answer their question or answer it
right away, they can Google it and find their answer.

Emerging Technologies

In conclusion, the emerging technologies that I have chosen all go together to help
prepare students academically and socially for the 21st century work force. According to
nea.org, in order to prepare for students for the 21st century workforce, teachers should be
using the four C's: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Communication,
Collaboration, and Creativity Innovation. In my paper, I believe I have identified all of
those in some way for each technology is not limited in numbers to what it can do.
Teachers are able to integrate all sorts of technology into their lessons and curriculum and
it is the same for students, they can integrate all sorts of technology into their education
and learning process.

Emerging Technologies

Resources
Tomaszewski, J. (2012). More Great Uses for Mobile Phones in Class. Retrieved
October 2, 2015, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/mobilephones-in-the-classroom-gaining-popularity.shtml
Trybus, J. (2014). Game-Based Learning: What it is, Why it Works, and Where it's
Going. Retrieved October 2, 2015, from http://www.newmedia.org/gamebased-learning--what-it-is-why-it-works-and-where-its-going.html
36 Ways to Use Wearable Technology in the Classroom. (2014, May 27). Retrieved
October 2, 2015, from http://www.teachthought.com/technology/36-ways-touse-wearable-technology-in-the-classroom/
A Guide To Four Cs. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2015, from
http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/A-Guide-to-Four-Cs.pdf Pg. 7
Retrieved October 2, 2015, from https://www.raz-kids.com/
CCSD Policy(2013, June 20). Retrieved October 2, 2015, from
http://ccsd.net/district/policiesregulations/pdf/5136_P.pdf
Retrieved October 17, 2015, from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/emerging-technologies.html
Emerging Technologies. (2015, September 29). Retrieved October 17, 2015, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerging_technologies
Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2011). Teaching and Learning with
Technology (4th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.