Productivity Suites and Presentation Tools have significantly enhanced the educational landscape. In our recent presentation, there was an engaging discussion about your observations from our experiences over the years. One of my memorable experiences was with WordPerfect, which proved quite helpful at the time. However, it did have limitations regarding collaboration, especially when different programs were in use, often leading to formatting issues. Today, we are fortunate to have a variety of file formats compatible with multiple digital applications. This development is vital for improving efficiency in student instruction and co-teaching among educators.
Furthermore, there has long been a strong belief in the importance of scribing and graphomotor skills within educational pedagogy. While this belief remains, it has become increasingly clear since the 1990s that we need to equip students not only with scribing skills but also with typing skills, as both are essential in today’s world. While technology brings many benefits, it also presents educational challenges, particularly in balancing communication in both online and offline environments. Students should be encouraged to maximize the use of educational technology, rather than treating it merely as a tool for basic word processing. This perspective mirrors past ideologies regarding pencil use, typewriters, and computers. Consequently, there is an opportunity for students to harness the full effectiveness of the tools available to them.
It’s crucial for our understanding of educational pedagogy and technology to evolve. I appreciate the insightful quote from George Siemens: “We always seem to think about how does technology influence learning. Sometimes these roles have to be reversed. We must think about how learning influences technology because there are greater changes occurring in our society and not just within technology.”
Additionally, our peers have raised important questions about how we can determine the success of educational technology in the classroom. Addressing this question requires an emphasis on collaboration and the use of project-based learning. By implementing project-based learning and establishing norms in the classroom, we can have a significant impact on how students and teachers engage with educational technology. It’s interesting to note how viewing the relationship from the perspective of learning influencing educational technology can yield different results compared to the reverse approach, which can sometimes lead to ineffectiveness in a collaboration sense and limited in terms of showcasing students’ knowledge and creativity.
Amazing post Gerald! I really appreciate how you explained the evolution from tools like WordPerfect to today’s more collaborative productivity suites. Your stress on the need to balance both traditional scribing skills and modern typing skills is relevant, as both are indeed crucial in today’s educational landscape. I also found your reflection on George Siemens’ quote very thought-provoking that says we need to consider how learning can drive technological innovation, not just the other way around. I completely agree with you that project-based learning is a way to truly engage students with these tools, as it allows for deeper collaboration and creativity.