Running head: BLOG POST

Blog Post
Nikita Seastrunk
EDU352 Foundations of Educational Technology
Professor Stacey Von Winckelmann
December 13, 2015

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Blog Post

Over the next few years technology will be increasingly overtaking the world more and
more and will be a major component in the world of Education. As a Technology Resource
Specialist I have prepared a brief describing the top five tools that I feel will impact education in
the next few years. As stated in an online article (What works in Education, 2015) A creative
explosion of school formats will utilize diverse strategies and structures for organizing learning
experiences to increase district adaptability and responsiveness.
I anticipate over the next few years that E-Textbooks, Individual iPads, Online Education,
Google Drive, and Respondus Lockdown Browser will be the top components use in Education.
My determining factors for this assumption was due to the fact that most are now being utilized
in the schools to some degree and steadily growing. For each of these tools I feel that they can
impact learning in many ways.
Examples would include the iPad, which can impact learning in the way we read and complete
assignments, E-Textbooks can provide round the clock access and can offer a broad selection of
titles, more clear pictures, and most of all is cost efficient. Online Education for K-12 can be
beneficial to learning do to its flexibility regarding availability or obtaining an education without
boundaries with majority of most parents having to be in the workforce. Google Drive can
impact learning by allowing students the opportunity to submit assignments online or through
Google Drive and also allow the opportunity to critique assignments, Google Drive has unlimited
storage and supports for individual files up to 5TB in size.
The last choice is the Respondus Lockdown Browser which is being used in some
Universities, allowing students to focus on test and not have to rely on outside sources.
Respondus is a software tool for creating and managing exams, students can actually download

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and then control the computer during a test. According to (Messier & Schroeder, 2014) The
ideal vision for stream teachers is for students to learn concepts and skill in a more integrated
manner to make learning more relevant, engaging, and meaningful to them. Teaching problem or
problem based units is the best way to integrate all content areas but, traditional schooling
models typically do not support teachers in accomplishing this due to time constraints and
resources.
I spoke with a second grade teacher in reference to the technology being used in her
classroom and she referenced the Plicker Cards. Plicker Cards use in the classroom allows quick
check for understanding or mastering key skills as well as data collecting tools to allow a teacher
for re-teach and small group instructions geared toward the learning objective. However,
additional tools that are geared to Special Needs Learners is a communication device which can
be used for students with speech impairments such as non-verbal Autistics.

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References

Messier, S., & Schroeder, S. (2014). 6 Elements of a successful iPad implementation. Retrieved
from www.iste.org

What works in Education. (2015). George Lucas Educational Foundation. Retrieved from
www.edutopia.org