{"id":1632,"date":"2011-01-13T09:29:06","date_gmt":"2011-01-13T13:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/?p=1632"},"modified":"2012-09-27T10:39:05","modified_gmt":"2012-09-27T14:39:05","slug":"how-we-use-technology-in-education-is-more-important-than-which-technology-we-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/ict-in-schools\/how-we-use-technology-in-education-is-more-important-than-which-technology-we-use\/","title":{"rendered":"How We Use Technology in Education is More Important than Which Technology We Use"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><center><a title=\"Invisible Learning Facts( image created by John Moravec)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.slideshare.net\/cristobalcobo\/oecd-pisa-and-the-invisible-learning-ii?from=ss_embed\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5204\/5268963805_ace34dab39.jpg\" alt=\"IL facts\" width=\"500\" height=\"428\" \/><\/a><\/center><br \/>.<\/p>\n<p>After ten years of continuous effort to bring digital technologies to the classroom (particularly in the secondary and tertiary education levels) the European Commission has acknowledged in several policy assessments that the impact of these regional investments in technology have not been as effective as it was expected (see<a href=\"http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/education\/lifelong-learning-programme\/doc\/sec2629.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"> The use of ICT to support innovation and lifelong learning for all &#8211; A report on progress<\/a>).<\/p>\n<div style=\"float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px;\">\n<div class=\"addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style \"><a class=\"addthis_counter\"><\/a><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_config = {\"data_track_clickback\":true};<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/s7.addthis.com\/js\/250\/addthis_widget.js#username=wayan\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>From these evaluations arose the discussion that in addition to the public initiatives that encourage and promote the acquisition of technology, it is also compulsory to develop e-skills that enable the proficient use of the Internet and other technologies.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oecd.org\/department\/0,3355,en_2649_35845581_1_1_1_1_1,00.html\" target=\"_blank\">CERI<\/a> from the OECD published an interesting analysis based on the results of PISA 2006. This report, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oecdbookshop.org\/oecd\/display.asp?k=5KSCG4J39DHB&amp;lang=en\" target=\"_blank\">Are the New Millennium Learners Making the Grade?<\/a>, analyzed the influence of computers in the performance of the students. Some of the main results of this study are:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>There is evidence of a <strong>second &#8220;digital divide&#8221;<\/strong> emerging [&#8230;] between those <strong>students who have the skills to benefit from computer use and those who don\u2019t.<\/strong> Although the data do not prove a causal connection between familiarity with computers and performance, they show that better-performing students are more familiar with computers.<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy, <strong>the use of ICT in schools do not lead to having better results<\/strong> in subject-based standardized tests such as PISA 2006.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Interestingly this broadly adopted test highlights the existence of a correlation between <strong>better performance and higher use of computers <em>at home.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Can developing countries emend and do better than the European policies? What lesson can be learned from the European experience and the OECD report?<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Second &#8220;Digital Divide&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are several reliable studies to understand the \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.informaworld.com\/smpp\/content~db=all~content=a912485835\" target=\"_blank\">digital literacy<\/a>\u201d from a broader perspective (See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flacso.edu.mx\/competencias\/index.php?option=com_mojo&amp;Itemid=25\" target=\"_blank\">e-competencies research<\/a>). This means not only to focus on the development of certain specific abilities for the use of software but also being able to transit towards a strategic use of the knowledge and information through the ICT in a more holistic sense (<a href=\"http:\/\/ictlogy.net\/works\/reports\/projects.php?idp=1409\" target=\"_blank\">360\u00ba<\/a>).  This will demand to rethink certain strategies of the current educational policies in order to transform ICT users into \u201ce-skilled digital citizens\u201d (see <a href=\"http:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar?hl=en&amp;q=knowledge+brokers\" target=\"_blank\">knowledge brokers<\/a>) capable to face the challenge and take advantage of the knowledge-based society.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, the EU Commission but also the EU industrial sector has highlighted the importance of adopting common initiatives to rethink the educational system in order to promote the development of XXI century skills in the coming generation of professionals (<a href=\"http:\/\/docs.google.com\/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=explorer&amp;chrome=true&amp;srcid=1IQO3fHeg0SRIRr6QCLdCxvCK30dx7b8eJ4CqfWzpRmGKTho9jvwjAcxuOBHM&amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\">IDC Skills for Innovation Survey<\/a>), previously referred to as the \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/scholar.google.com.mx\/scholar?q=%E2%80%9Csecond+digital+divide%E2%80%9D&amp;hl=es&amp;btnG=Buscar&amp;lr=\" target=\"_blank\">second digital divide<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The reduction of this \u201cdivide\u201d will demand a transversal, multidisciplinary and mid but also long term collaboration between the private and public sector. But also it will demand a more ecological approach to combine formal and informal environments of learning.<\/p>\n<p>It is expected that the design of the <a href=\"http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/information_society\/digital-agenda\/links\/index_en.htm\" target=\"_blank\">2015 EU Digital Agenda<\/a> will be a supportive instrument to enhance these initiatives and strategies oriented to reduce this not-always-visible \u201csecond digital divide\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, it might be fair to say that the problem is not due to the technologies by itself, but because the lack creativity and innovativeness of how ICT have been integrated in the core educational activities.<\/p>\n<p>A lesson already learned is: <em>What<\/em> technologies are being used is not as important as <em>how<\/em> we are using them. From the perspective of developing countries that has to be understood as stronger opportunities for open source and\/or low cost technologies as equally valuable instruments to better prepare learners for the already changing society.<\/p>\n<p>These trends bring new questions to be explored. How are students using the computer at home? How relevant is the \u201ctechnological capital\u201d that they acquire within the family or community? What are their strategies to transfer skills and knowledge in informal environments? Are we ready to explore more flexible strategies of learning? Do we have the mechanisms to promote and validate the informal use of technology? And finally, What are the impacts of these massive investments in technology in the classroom?<\/p>\n<p>Some of these questions will be explored in the next publication: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.invisiblelearning.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Invisible Learning: Toward a new ecology of education<\/a> (see <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oii.ox.ac.uk\/cobo\/?p=102\" target=\"_blank\">this post<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/issuu.com\/cristobalcobo\/docs\/invisiblelearning\" target=\"_blank\">presentation<\/a>). This <a href=\"http:\/\/www.invisiblelearning.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">book<\/a> written together with John Moravec will be published as an open conversation of how we can better connect formal, non-formal, informal, lifelong and serendipic learning for building better education futures.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embednewsletter\">\n<h2>Don&#8217;t miss a moment of the action!<\/h2>\n<p>Subscribe now and get the latest articles from Educational Technology Debate sent directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n<form action=\"http:\/\/feedburner.google.com\/fb\/a\/mailverify\" method=\"post\" target=\"popupwindow\" onsubmit=\"window.open('http:\/\/feedburner.google.com\/fb\/a\/mailverify?uri=EducationalTechnologyDebate', 'popupwindow', 'scrollbars=yes,width=550,height=520');return true\"><input class=\"text\" id=\"email\" name=\"email\" type=\"text\"><input value=\"EducationalTechnologyDebate\" name=\"uri\" type=\"hidden\"><input name=\"loc\" value=\"en_US\" type=\"hidden\"><input value=\"Sign Up\" class=\"img\" type=\"Submit\"><a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/EducationalTechnologyDebate\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~fc\/EducationalTechnologyDebate?bg=003366&amp;fg=FFFFFF&amp;anim=0\" height=\"26\" width=\"88\" style=\"border:0\" class=\"fburner\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><br style=\"clear:left;\" \/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After ten years of continuous effort to bring digital technologies to the classroom (particularly in the secondary and tertiary education levels) the European Commission has acknowledged in several policy assessments that the impact of these regional investments in technology have not been as effective as it was expected.  From these evaluations arose the discussion that in addition to the public initiatives that encourage and promote the acquisition of technology, it is also compulsory to develop e-skills that enable the proficient use of the Internet and other technologies. The reduction of this \u201cdivide\u201d will demand a transversal, multidisciplinary and mid but also long term collaboration between the private and public sector. But also it will demand a more ecological approach to combine formal and informal environments of learning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[690],"tags":[724,259,722,725,729,727,70,723,728,726],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1632"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1632"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2742,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1632\/revisions\/2742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}