Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Access to Technology
Edgar Orozco
RWS 1301
Dr. Vierra
November 2018
GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 2
Abstract
The overall idea of access to technology is the fact that not all students around the world
have the same advantages as other students do. As the world may know not all students come
from the same equal background. However, most share a common goal in life, to be able to study
and make something out of their lives in the future. In order to achieve this goal, they must
determine the problem in order to get some help and turn their lives completely around. Many
problems present themselves to certain students, as the student may be financially unstable, have
some type of disability, or any type of problem that may prevent students from obtaining the
amount of technology that is necessary to their education. All of these problems can be avoided
education can have some negative views, it is evident that technology can be a lot more
students will be able to have more in-depth learning experiences as well as access to multiple
databases and communication resources that will help them stay a lot more connected and
focused with their overall education. As proven by experts, a student will be able to locate
nearby labs or technology provided to them by the school and be able to enhance their learning
Introduction
argue about the lack of importance and impact it will have on student’s education. However,
research shows how not only does technology help in various amount of ways, it also includes
many benefits that can have a long-lasting impact in students’ lives. Technology can be a useful
tool to provide students with impactful strategies that enhance students learning capabilities and
communication with any desirable source. Although many argue technology integration in
education is pointless, technology has been able to prove how it can be beneficial to all students
Discussion
Educational technology is necessary for education, as it’s beneficial to students all over
the world, on ensuring the best possible method of learning up to date. According to Lawless
(2007), implementing the use of technology will leave students with a long-lasting set of
knowledge for future reference. Along the same lines, research conducted by Fabry and Higgs
(1997), introduced the idea that educational technology is only beneficial if teachers are aware of
what type of technology is needed to help students understand the material being presented, and
not provide unnecessary technology methods that will hurt their learning capabilities. This
evidence suggests that when implementing the use of technology to education, the way it is used
Educational technology should be taken seriously since generations now depend highly
on it and so will generations to come. According to Baek, Jung, and Kim (2008), day by day
technology has shown to enhance in every aspect that it provides. Technology has become the
basis and focus of teaching in the classroom, as it makes the classroom environment run a lot
GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 4
more efficiently and productive when it comes to assignments. However, Earle (2002) states that
although technology is enhancing in many ways, it will not be as easy as it may sound to
integrate technology into education. It can be achieved, but along the way, many bits of
challenges will present themselves which will determine if an educational technology is worth
the risk for a new learning experience or not. This evidence suggests, that no matter how
more, and it is just a matter of time before all that society relies on, is technology. According to
Youngkyoun, Jaeyeob, and Bokyeong (2008), the idea of having technology in the classroom has
proven to be effective as it will become a lot easier for the students to take what was learned in
the classroom, to other places as well as study and get a better understanding of the topic.
However, research explained by Rowntree (1982), talks about the fact that educational
technology, can be viewed as the form or way of working with the community to learn new
knowledge by having a talk and interact with each other to understand a common goal a lot
better than alone with pure technology. This highlights the difference between just using
technology and using technology to interact and communicate with the community, to gain a
can go even further into the studies and curriculum as far as learning and comprehension.
According to Thomas and Kobayashi (1987), the idea of having the technology in the classroom
will greatly impact the way students view the topics and the course overall. As well as students
learning on a personal level as technology will work to find the best method available for the
GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 5
student to learn at its ultimate potential. However, further research done by Aguilera (2003), has
proven to students and faculty that with the idea of technology being pushed around campus,
students will soon obtain their own forms of accessing technology outside of the classroom. This
might even come to be a positive change for students, as they will understand better with outside
resources. This suggests that students will not need to rely on classroom technology in the future,
the reason being the fact that they will have their own devices to depend on.
Not all educational technology is specific enough to help students learn in their most
productive way since not all students learn and think the same way as others do. According to
Lawless (2007), the idea to find the perfect type of learning method for students using
technology is a long way from being figured out. It is explained throughout the claim, that once
the correct method of technology is found, it will go on to benefit and enhance the learning
capabilities that an individual has. However, studies done by Thomas and Kobayashi (1987),
show how the push for specific technology that helps out certain individuals, is within our reach.
It has been said that by focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of certain students, more
narrow technology can be created to benefit those sections of students that learn in the same way
or almost exactly alike. This means that by the dedication of research and time into this idea,
society will soon be able to implement technology for students to learn to the best of their
abilities.
Students can only benefit from technology in the classroom since it will be easier for
students to engage in the class curriculum in their own personal level and acquire access to class
materials a lot quicker. According to Earle (2002), the benefit from technology in the classroom
is proven by a survey conducted on teachers that already use technology in their classrooms. It
was stated that students get the best possible experience in the classroom as every assignment is
GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 6
available and the help from the instructor can help them better their understanding. About 85%
of the personal agree or strongly agree, that technology improves student involvement in the
classroom (Figure 1). Whereas Concannon, Flynn, and Campbell (2005), argue that students
don’t just have their own personal smartphones to access their courses. UTEP offers many ways
of helping students by providing labs and libraries which all help to understand the materials as
well as one on one help from professionals at the locations. This implies that although students
have their own personal devices, research shows what truly is an effective method for student’s
in the classrooms. Technology will lead students into other things they may see on the screen
that will not benefit the use of technology in the first place. According to Fabry and Higgs
(1997), the long-awaited idea of having implemented technology into the classrooms has stopped
being effective due to the many barriers that come into play. One of the problems including the
idea of knowing what part of the lecture to use technology for, as many teachers find themselves
using the incorrect technology type that does not benefit the students learning in any way.
Research conducted by Thomas and Kobayashi (1987), states that although some may use
technology in the wrong way, technology is meant to provide efficiency in the classroom. This
can allow teachers to really see what technology types are most beneficial to students and use all
types to their advantage to make students more knowledgeable and benefit their future in many
ways as shown in (Figure 2). This confirms that when technology is used correctly, it can have a
Technology will not be impactful towards the learning of students and neither will it
make the classroom environment engaging at all. According to Lawless (2007), the way
GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 7
technology impacts the students, is by having the necessary and accurate technology methods
that will help students achieve many more opportunities in life that they would not be able to
without the technology. This process must still undergo some tweaking in order to actually make
this technique effective. Although many people believe technology will not benefit students in
the future, Warschauer and Matuchniak (2010), have shown that educators, sociologists, and
communication scholars have been talking about the impact that technology has had on
education today. Technology has come to benefit the educational world as it helps not only
students, but teacher’s lectures are more understanding and impactful as well as allowing easy
course access and even communication wherever students may be towards their teachers without
having to worry about time or not fully understanding the materials being taught. Based on this
evidence, it can be said that technology can be impactful in many ways and no matter the flaws
that it may currently have, technology I am enhancing day by day and it is just a matter of time
until technology is able to successfully solve some if not all of society’s problems especially in
education.
Technology should be made available to the students and possibly maybe even faculty of
the school because not all students have the same advantage as others, as they have disabilities.
According to Lee (2008), the ability to obtain access to the necessary technology needed by the
course can be challenging for students with disabilities. This shall grant disabled students' special
types of technology services that will benefit them by being able to work and access the same
materials as other students, without the extra stress or effort. On the contrary, Ramirez (2004),
states that the University of UTEP has many services and labs that are available to every student
enrolled in the campus. This should give students with disabilities an equal access to technology,
as most of the labs and services offer personal help and are accessible in a variety of ways. This
GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 8
is important because students with disabilities will no longer have to feel left out since they have
income communities that struggle to obtain technology, as they have to worry about other
financial situations. According to Warschauer and Matuchniak (2010), the lower income
communities are proven to be financially unstable, which prohibits them from being able to have
access to their studies at any given point and time. Along the same lines Servon (2001), states
that no matter how financially unstable one may be, the University of UTEP has many research
and internet access facilities that come at no extra cost and can be beneficiary towards students'
assignments, courses, or any technology related work they may have to complete. This means
that no matter the financial or circumstances in general, all communities are able to benefit from
Conclusion
Technology can either be beneficial or a complete waste of time. This is all left up to the
user to determine whether or not technology will be effective in the environment used in. In
conclusion technology shall we necessary to education, due to the fact that our world is
becoming more and more reliant to technology. This signifies that technology is the proper form
of materials needed to enhance the learning of students and how important it is to move along
with the advancements of technology. Furthering this step-in education will benefit all who have
access to it. There will be no more excuses or disadvantages towards anyone around the world,
as they will all have the necessary tools to be successful in life. No matter how financially
unstable or health-related issues one may have, everyone and anyone will have the same
References
Aguilera, M. (2003, May 14). Computers on campus. The Prospector, pp. 5. Retrieved from
https://theprospector.newspaperarchive.com/el-paso-prospector/2003-05-14/page-5/
Baek, Y., Jung, J., & Kim, B. (2008). What makes teachers use technology in the classroom?
doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2006.05.002
Concannon, F., Flynn, A., & Campbell, M. (2005). What campus-based students think about the
quality and benefits of e-learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(3), 501-
512. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2005.00482.x
Earle, R. S. (2002). The integration of instructional technology into public education: Promises
http://www.jstor.org/stable/44428716
Fabry, D. L., & Higgs, J. R. (1997). Barriers to the effective use of technology in education:
doi:10.2190/C770-AWA1-CMQR-YTYV
into teaching and learning: Knowns, unknowns, and ways to pursue better questions and
doi:10.3102/0034654307309921
Lee, H., & Templeton, R. (2008). Ensuring equal access to technology: Providing assistive
technology for students with disabilities. Theory into Practice, 47(3), 212-219.
doi:10.1080/00405840802153874
GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 10
Ramirez, M., J. (2004, March 3). A guide to computer labs in campus. The Prospector, pp. 7.
03/page-7/
Servon, L. J., & Nelson, M. K. (2001). Community technology centers: Narrowing the digital
doi:10.1111/0735-2166.00089
Development And Cross-Cultural Transfer (Vol. 4). Honolulu, Hawaii Santa Barbara,
Warschauer, M., & Matuchniak, T. (2010). New technology and digital worlds: Analyzing
evidence of equity in access, use, and outcomes. Review of Research in Education, 34(1),
179-225. doi:10.3102/0091732X09349791
GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 11
Figures
Figure 1. The percentage of the amount of people that agree, that technology in the classroom is
impactful.
GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 12
Figure 2. Examples of the benefits that students will achieve by learning through educational
technology.