Running head: ED TECH ISSUE

Ed Tech Issue - Accountability and the Standards Movement

Allison Mayoros
EDU 352
Instructor Lenardson
January 8, 2015

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After visiting the page "Top Ten Issues Shaping Today's Technology Uses in
Education" on the education.com found in our resources document, I decided on the topic
"Accountability and the Standards Movement".

The reason I chose this topic is because this is one of the topics that makes me
nervous to become a teacher. I worry about being able to help my students be able to
reach the required standards set for education. I know that testing and whether results are
accurate or not because of the great diversity of ways that students learn. I know that
children also come in all shapes and sizes when it comes to intelligence, their ability to
absorb and learn, and how to recognize their progress.

The way I see it, technology can either enhance or stunt actual learning,
achievement and progression in studies. The point of this topic is to discover whether or
not technology can actually help students meet the curriculum requirements and also,
what the role of technology should be in the classroom.

As we have discovered throughout this course so far, technology can be a

wonderful tool, helping to reach more students with greater impact and improving the
quality of time spent at school. we have seen examples such as smart boards, ipads and
laptops that are proving to be helpful in many ways. We have also seen bad examples of
technology such as the example of the student trying to learn from a teacher over a
webcam.

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Some feel that technology can help students achieve the standards set, while
others like to stick to the "old fashioned" way of teaching and testing.

One way technology can help students achieve the curriculum requirements is
using things like "e-portfolios" which has been seen as a replacement to standardized
tests. "e-portfolios ... combine individual student work with standards-based assessment, while
also organizing and indexing student data". (The Journal, '04)

On the flip side, some people feel that technology can get in the way and become
the focus rather than focusing on the lesson itself. One example of this would be what I
mentioned previously with the teacher and student conversing over webcam. Because the
teacher and student were not in the same room, it was difficult for both of them to feel a
connection to each other and what was being taught.

To learn more on this topic, check out these resources:

https://books.google.com/books?id=McBUx67rw7wC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=pro
s+and+cons+of+using+technology+to+help+meet+curriculum+requirements&sou
rce=bl&ots=cINDICDOeW&sig=j9qkDZn9ZQ_xLyY3a2AyAuzv8TM&hl=en&s
a=X&ei=PRSTVKvbCZXXoATjoHADA&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=pros%20and%20cons%20of%2
0using%20technology%20to%20help%20meet%20curriculum%20requirements&
f=false

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http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0
136101259.pdf

https://www.coursera.org/course/ltto

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References

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2010, July 20). Top ten issues shaping today's
technology uses in education. Retrieved
from http://www.education.com/reference/article/ten-issues-shaping-todaytechnology

The Journal (2004, April 4) Electronic Portfolios: Blending technology, accountability &
assessment. [internet file] Retrieved from:
http://thejournal.com/articles/2004/04/01/electronic-portfolios-blendingtechnology-accountability--assessment.aspx