LITERATURE SYNTHESIS

Literature Synthesis Podcast

Van Tran
University of St. Thomas

LITERATURE SYNTHESIS

Introduction
What is technology, and is it something we need? Can education survive and
thrive without it, or do we need it to compete globally with our foreign competitors?
Essentially, will our children have a need for it to learn, progress, and succeed in the
future work world? Are we, as a nation, equipped to educate our students with the
technology we have, or is it transforming too quickly that we, as teachers, are not able to
keep up with the constant alterations?
Yet, it is here. It is sitting stagnant in labs: dull, old, and heavy equipment. If there
is technology, there arent enough functional devices for class sets of 30 students for 275
teachers on one high school campus. That is our reality, and this is just one school out of
fifty total campuses for one district in Texas. One may ask, where are the Instructional
Technologists, and why arent they fixing the computers, tablets, and other devices that
need to be set up for student use? There are only one or two technologists assigned on
each campus, and their responsibilities are to fix electronic devices, set up programs on
all computers, develop trainings for teachers, sponsor grade level events, and much more.
What then, is transpiring with technology, and are we using it adequately?

Impression
Based on work gathered from educational sources, the issue of technology
remains a two-way road: it is fantastic and it improves learning or it is an electronic toy
that validates little. Schools are inundated with technology and resources claiming their
advantages to assist with childrens learning. In reality, does technology help the way it is
supposed to help, or is it because teachers are not trained or tech savvy enough to
understand how to use it effectively? Teachers at Alief ISD are required each year to take
technology training courses, but the turnout of five summer sessions have surmised to
this: introduction of sites, apps, and software, but no real application or valid data of the
effectiveness of these programs. On top of that, there are no guest Internet capability at
46 campuses, and only four campuses have just received guest services this year. To
document that teachers are being trained and to encourage the use of technology, but at

LITERATURE SYNTHESIS

the same time limiting teachers and students from the use of it, gains no distance or
ground to claim that it is showing improvement or progress in student learning. Although
the National Center For Education Statistics (2010) stated that in 2009, some 97 percent
of teachers had one or more computers located in the classroom every day and the ratio of
students to computers in the classroom every day was 5.3 to 1, shockingly, as an
educator who has taught in three districts for the past years, what is clear is a cycle of
implementation of technology, 5% of teachers have real access to it, and 40% of students
have actual application of it, and all the while, year after year, there are claims that
technology is doing wonders in school. The one computer in each class is the teachers
computer, and that is it. Frankly, it is inexcusable, but many high school students do not
even know how to open up a word document, how to find it in a folder, or how to save it
properly so they may retrieve it. The study by the NEA (2008) affirms that the majority
of computers were not based in classes but in labs, and laptops were shared by many
teachers, thus the use of them were short-termed. In addition, teachers were being trained
how to use technology for non instructional purposes, and many experienced a lack of
support from administration and technology services.
When analyzed, evaluated, and applied to use for specific purposes, technology in
class has surpassed the past tools utilized in schools such as the blackboard, the projector,
the tape recorder, and much more. Based on the articles of study, students are developing
products online, syncing devices, networking, and researching at a faster speed than
before. There is live engagement online between students and teachers, there is automatic
feedback of grades that students, teachers, and parents may access, and all lessons,
submissions, and data are saved for future reference. Students have the capability to
review information, videos, and other uploaded attachments from the comfort of their
own homes, and educational sites and apps are available for teachers and students to
contact each other safely for questions or concerns. When the proper use of technology is
set in place, yes, it does create a wonderfully new concept of education. The classroom
becomes a cyber room, every student is totally immersed in the development and

LITERATURE SYNTHESIS

production of an assignment, uploading files, researching articles, citing sources, reading

the selection online, etc. while the teacher walks around to assist and facilitate the lesson.

Evidence Gathered
The evidence gathered is based on personal experience and witness testimony of
the effects of technology in the classroom. At a national outlook, from the west to the
north, teachers are providing different aspects to the use of technology. Although they
praise the momentum of technology to engage students, some are using it to keep
students busy, and the use of it to really influence students to interact and develop their
minds is sidetracked by its appearance and ability to play with electronic devices instead
of actually using them for educational purposes. With live testimony from educators,
these readings reflect what teachers witness occurring in their classrooms, and again,
there are two views to technology in education. Technology, electronic devices, high
speed internet, web conferences, and much more are being utilized in corporate America,
and the sooner students know how to apply themselves to the applications of technology,
the better prepared they will be for future careers. With this perception in place,
technology has been introduced in schools, teachers have attended trainings, and teachers
have researched and explored their interests with technology. In the classrooms, teachers
facilitate learning with the use of technology at their comfort level: very little use,
moderate use, or daily usage. Depending on access to technology, some teachers have no
means to test out sites and programs of interest, and if they have signed up for a lab, it is
less than ten times in a school year because of the demand of its use from other teachers.
Technology, as stated by some educators, is utilized well for individual purposes.
Students in danger of dropping out due to an excess loss of credits have recovered credits
and graduated with a high school diploma, and students who need more intervention due
to learning disabilities have specialized programs and activities to aid them with practice
drills on certain skills. The use of technology to become crucial tools for special groups
have left definite marks in education, but what of the general student population? The
disparity between demand and availability of technology continues to be a dilemma in

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research and in schools. What happens to the general student population and the AP
students who could be invigorated with interactive programs, challenging projects, and
online classes? Their exposure to technology is limited yearly, but they may make
instrumental progress unheard of before if they had the daily exposure to technology.
Technology, it seems, will remain a void of real data until all classrooms are equipped
with electronic devices for all students to have access to, and at this moment in time, it
only shows huge improvement in particular sectors in education.

Future Research
Future research that should be extended from technology is the determination of
which use of technology is producing a great turn around for students. There are limitless
sites, programs, and apps available, but which ones are the most beneficial, and for which
type of students? As schools, parents, and children are bombarded by all these new
technology, it takes time to test and apply the games, sites, and apps to see how effective
they are in their intention. However, a long expansion of time is needed to evaluate,
select, and test programs, but a school year flies by quickly before multiple programs or
sites are introduced, and the rush to evaluate and test begin once again. Out of hundreds
of possible selections a year, only a small number is chosen, and the minute amount may
not be the most useful applications for targeted students.
In addition, if brain research allotted the money and time, it would be beneficial to
see how technology may enhance and stimulate certain areas of the brain, and how it may
be used to focus on the location of most concern for analytical reasoning and evaluation.
If such a procedure were possible, technology may be utilized better, the production and
development of apps, games, and sites uniquely equipped to enhance thinking and
expanding the mind could be honed just for educational purposes. Right now, there is a
multinational amount of possible electronic devices and uses for anyone and for any age.
According to Young (2014), the military has found a way to stimulate the brain with
mild electrical impulses, and the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is using it on their
airmen. Results are positive and encouraging as tested participants showed 250%

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improvement on retests than those not tested, but it will demand a longer term to
determine its safety. Right not, clinicians feel it is safe based on systems in place, but the
drawback may be how this would relate and assist in actual warfare. If such a possibility
was tested on technology in education, the potential to develop superb minds may be
within a hands reach. Students in Pre Kindergarten may have super enhanced minds, and
children as young as 10 years old may be graduating college. Would this be conceivable
if certain technology was used to teach and stimulate the brain at the same time,
therefore, producing results similar to the Air Force?

Conclusion
The question remains: What is to be done about technology? The educational
powers to be need to logistically determine how and what to do with electronic devices,
apps, sites, and software in a more evaluative and analytical approach. Currently, it seems
as if sites and programs are evaluated, researched, and chosen by teachers, as they are the
ones who come into contact with students on a daily basis. However, the time to research
and find applicable sites and apps is demanding, and this extra duty only dissuades
teachers from taking the steps to learn, plan, and implement technology into lessons.
There are classrooms in which technology is enriching student learning, and there
is constant interaction between students and teachers on electronic devices. Teachers post
up live feed from the Promethean board while students work on their devices, and
submissions pop up immediately for everyone to view. There are also teachers who have
computers in their classrooms, but they are used 5% of the entire year. The
disproportional balance of computers and electronic devices is great, and no one is doing
anything to keep record on how technology is being used campus wide. A district training
at Alief ISD this year revealed that less than 50% of all teachers in the district were using
technology in the classroom, and the district request was for this percentage to increase
by the end of the year, but until some clear method or means is executed, there will be no
real data to gather and evaluate: technology is temporarily available with the shared use
of the insignificant numbers of labs and laptops accessible on each campus.

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7
References

Cleaver, S. (2014). Technology in the Classroom: Helpful or Harmful? Retrieved from

www.education.com/magazine/article/effective-technology-teaching-child/

Lytle, R. (2011). Study: Emerging Technology Has Positive Impact in Classroom. U.S.
News & World Report. Retrieved from www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/
articles/2011/07/14/study-emerging-technology-has-positive-impact-in-class
room

National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). FAST FACTS: Educational technology.
Retrieved from http://nces.edu.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=46
National Education Association. (2008). Access, Adequacy, and Equity in Education
Technology. Retrieved from www.edutopia.org/pdfs/NEA-Access,
Adequacy,andEquityinEdTech.pdf
Richtel, M. (2012). Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say. New
York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/education/technology
-is-changing-how-students-learn-teachers-say.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Young, E. (2014). Brain stimulation: The militarys mind-zapping project. FUTURE.
Retrieved from www.bbc.com/future/story/20140603-brain-zapping-the-futureof-war

Zananiri, N. (2014). Technology in the Classroom: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
Retrieved from kafkateach.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/technology-in-theclassroom-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/