The Technological Savy Will Succede

There are trends happening in the world of education and technology. One important trend is that those who know, understand, and use technology will advance further than those who do not know do not use, and do not understand technology. This trend is a factor of education rather than economics. (Johnson p.6) When you think about this is makes sense. The more you know about technology the more doors will open for you. For example in our distance learning experiences if you know about facebook, blogs, and twitter chances are that you will be exposed to much more information than compared with someone unfamiliar with these technology tools.

The contributors to this trend are changing occupations, people who have multiple careers, and an increasingly mobile workforce.(Johnson p.6) Our jobs are changing with the changes in technology. When we apply for a job we are expected to know how do use the basics technology had to offer. For example most jobs require the use of the company website or network as well as the use of email. For those of us who have changed careers over the years we have seen a need to become updated and informed on the latest technology to have a step up on the competition. Since technology is so important in our jobs today we need to be well versed to even get the job. Many workers are working from their homes. Working from the home will most certainly require knowledge of the latest technologies involved in communication. Someone working from home may need to use Skype to communicate with coworkers or participate in a blog or google docs to complete a group project.

If we are not knowledgeable about technology we will have a much more difficult if not impossible time succeeding in our rapidly changing environment. Since this trend is a factor of education some of us may need to be more proactive about learning about new technologies in the future to stay ahead of the game.

Based on a study at the University of Oklahoma which used a  model to utilize technology integration which involve a school’s individuals and teams in a collaborative learning model. The collaboration and technology integration improved students’ standardized test results, class performance, discipline, attendance, and dropout rates. (Williams p.294) This study is interesting because it has provided us with tangible results that prove the more we know about and use technology the more successful we will be.


Citations

Williams, L., Atkinson, L., Cate, J., & O'Hair, M. (2008). Mutual Support Between Learning Community Development and Technology Integration: Impact on School Practices and Student Achievement. Theory into Practice, 47(4), 294-302. Retrieved from E-Journals database.Persistent link to this record (Permalink): http://navigator-clarion.passhe.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eoah&AN=16967422&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Johnson, L., Levine, A., Smith, R., and Smythe, T. (2009). The 2009 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.