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Running head: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

Emerging Technologies
Crystal Clark
Corinne Blake
EDU 214
September 25, 2015

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract
This essay explains the importance of three emerging technologies: game-based learning, tablet
computing, and augmented reality. I will be discussing how they can be used in our classrooms
and how these emerging technologies can affect our teachers, students, and our education
system. Game-based learning, augmented reality, and tablet computing all incorporate each other
in some way and they all have similarities. They each make the teaching and learning process
more creative and they each make the students interact with the lessons. All of these emerging
technologies are important for our future classrooms as they create other ways for students to
learn, teachers to teach their lessons, and each benefit the classroom in their own way.
Technology is improving every day and it is crucial that the classrooms update with technology
in order to ensure students get the best education they can get. Not only does technology improve
education for the students, it also creates a fun, interactive environment for them.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

Emerging Technologies
Technology is improving quickly and our classrooms need to do the same. The old
teaching techniques are no longer sufficient enough to comply with society today. With some of
the emerging technology today, it can improve our classrooms and help students gain a better
education while fitting todays societys needs. Although we have a numerous amount of
emerging technology, I believe three certain ones will make the most difference in our
classrooms today, those are augmented reality, tablet computing, and game-based learning.
Many confuse augmented reality with virtual reality, but the difference is, Virtual reality
replaces the real with the artificial whereas augmented reality enhances real life with artificial
images (www.vrs.org.uk, 2009). Augmented reality is a technology that superimposes data (a
text label, graphic or other element) over imagery of the real world as its viewed through a
computer, phone or tablet (Peterson, 2015). Augmented reality gives objects life and brings
excitement to the classroom. In order to be able to use augmented reality, you have to download
certain apps and have the right technology, like smartphones or tablets. Although this
requirement may have teachers hesitant about this technology, there are many apps that are free
and use augmented reality, and it can improve the classroom dramatically and actually make
learning for the students easier.
Augmented reality can generally be used in every grade level. If you are trying to teach
your class to read, students can scan their book and have the app tell them how to pronounce the
words and can tell them what they mean. If you are a history teacher in high school and are
teaching a class on the presidents, you can have your students scan a picture of each president

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

and have the picture tell you all about that president. Teachers can also use this technology to
have their students learn about the human body with a detailed anatomy program (Peterson,
2015). These are just a few examples of how augmented reality can benefit the classroom. With
the right technology, it is very simple to use and will be very beneficial in a classroom.
Teachers can use this new technology to help them teach anything they want too, as I
gave examples as to what they can do in the above paragraph. Instead of relying on numerous
books and wasting tons of paper to give information to the students, all of the information can be
given on one single device using one app. This will help teachers stay more organized and teach
more efficiently. Students will be willing to learn more because of this interactive system.
Augmented reality allows students to interact with every lesson and students can scan their
homework and get immediate video help from their teacher using this app. Augmented reality is
a great technology that can really benefit each and every classroom, as well as tablet computing,
which allows augmented reality to take part in the first place.
Tablet computing is becoming more and more popular. Tablets are similar to computers,
except they are portable and touch screen. Many schools are now going completely electronic,
issuing every student a tablet and getting rid of paper. Between 2014 and 2016, the number of
tablet computers in schools is expected to rise from about 430,000 to almost 900,000
(Coughlan, 2014). Because many high school students and college students are already used to
using touch screen technology due to smart phones (Madan, 2011), incorporating tablets into the
classrooms will be easy and will help students in the learning process.
Not only are tablets good for the older students, they are also very useful for the younger
kids as well. Many toddlers are introduced to tablets and many of them know how to work a

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

tablet before they can even form a whole sentence. Tablets can help first graders learn how to
read and do math, they can teach fifth graders how to type essays, and they can allow high school
students to take notes better and access the internet right at their desk. With the use of tablets in
classrooms, it can save schools tons of money. They will no longer have to keep buying books to
keep up with the new editions because students will have access to those books on their tablets.
Students can type a whole essay right at their desk instead of having to leave the classroom to go
to a computer lab. Students also love the fact that tablets are thin, lightweight, and spring to life
without delay (Madan, 2011) which, those qualities are absent in computers and paper
assignments.
Teachers can use tablets to create interactive and educational assignments without the
hassle of numerous papers and books. Teachers can create power points with the class as they
teach lessons. They can test what knowledge the students know by having them fill out the power
point as they go on through class and take notes at the same time. This lets the students interact
with the assignment as well as having fun. Teachers can also assign homework on the tablets
instead of using paper. Tablets make life in the classroom easier because of it is portable, saves
money on paper and books, and it can make learning and teaching fun, which encourages the
students to learn. The last emerging technology that I would like to discuss is game-based
learning, which actually incorporates with tablet computing and augmented reality.
Game-based learning simply means incorporating games in your instruction (Eames,
2014). Game-based learning can mean you used monopoly to teach math, played Jeopardy to
have your class study the human body, or played the matching game with cards to help with
younger kids memorization skills. Game-based learning can be incorporated into the classroom

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

a thousand different ways, it can also improve how students learn and help teachers find new,
inventive ways to teach the material.
Game-based learning is incorporated at every grade level, from playing a counting game
at age six to acting out Shakespeare at sixteen. Teachers have long valued the strategy of presenting
material in a variety of ways in order to reach different kinds of intelligences and learning styles (Eames,
2014), and game-based learning gives teachers the gateway to do so. This technology appeals to all
students and grabs their attention. Teachers can use this to actively involve the students and make their
lessons more appealing to the students. This benefits the classroom by making the environment friendlier
and enables the students to interact with each other more than they would with traditional teaching
methods.
As students, We dont need more time in the classroom to learn how to think and perform in
the face of real-world challenges. We need effective, interactive experiences that motivate and
actively engage us in the learning process (Trybus, 2014). With game-based learning, we can
gain that knowledge we need for the real world. Most students learn better hands on and this
technology will increase the chance of students retaining the knowledge they are taught. Good
game-based learning applications can draw us into virtual environments that look and feel
familiar and relevant (Trybus, 2014). If students can relate to what they learn in class to
something they do every day outside of class, then they are more likely to retain that information.
Many people are afraid of game-based learning in schools because they are afraid kids will focus
on just the game, but thats why only appropriate games need to be played. If the appropriate
games are played in class, more and more students will retain that information and actually want
to learn and participate.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

Technology, creatively applied, is a powerful tool that can be utilized to address the
needs of diverse learners and make the teaching and learning process more effective, efficient,
and successful (Lever-Duffy and McDonald, 2011). Technology is improving fast and our
classrooms need to move with it. Augmented reality, tablet computing, and game-based learning
are just a few of the emerging technologies today, but I believe they are crucial to our future
classrooms and will enhance the teaching and learning process.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

References
Coughlan, Sean. (December 3, 2014). Tablet Computers in 70% of schools. Retrieved from
www.bbc.com/news/education-30216408
Eames, Justin. (May 28, 2014). What Game-Based Learning Can Do for Student Achievement.
Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2014-05-28-what-game-based-learning-can-dofor-student-achievement.

Lever-Duffy, Judy and McDonald. (2011). Teaching and Learning with Technology. Boston,
Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.

Madan, Vincent. (May 16, 2011). 6 Reasons Tablets are Ready for the Classroom. Retrieved
from http://mashable.com/2011/05/16/tablets-education/#QsFmtpPhFqqF.

N/A. (n.d.). How Augmented Reality Really Works. Retrieved from

http://www.vrs.org.uk/augmented-reality/how-it-works.html.

Peterson, Patrick. (January 23, 2015). Augmented Reality: Bringing a New Dimension to
Learning. Retrieved from https://thejournal.com/articles/2015/01/23/augmented-reality-bringing-a-new-dimension-to-learning.aspx.

Trybus, Jessica. (2014). Game-Based Learning: What it is, Why it Works, and Where its Going.
Retrieved from http://www.newmedia.org/game-based-learning--what-it-is-why-it-works-andwhere-its-going.html.