Educational technology is a double edge sword. On one hand, technology improves motivation, enhances content, and provides avenues for learning that were not possible in previous generations. On the other hand, technology can distract from a set learning outcomes, yield cognitive and sensory overload, and potentially detract from the content students need to learn. Due to these factors it is vital, as teachers, that we select and disseminate the appropriate technology we are going to use, in a given lesson, and implement that technology in a meaningful and effective manner.

Looking at these challenges, in the context of my own teaching practice, I found Emily Miller’s and Trevor Hood’s video review and summary the most interesting. My rationale is as follows:

  • We at Fort St. James Secondary School are seeking to establish a school that celebrates student cross curricular learning in an inquiry based environment.
  • I manage the shop spaces at Fort St. James Secondary School. I want to open this space up for other courses to incorporate hands-on, experiential learning, into their curriculum.
  • For a masters project, we are interested in looking at the efficacy of establishing the cross curricular inquiry method as a guiding principle in our small school setting.

Emily and Trevor look both at the role of leadership in technology, as well as appreciative inquiry for integrating information technology in schools. These areas of focus speak volumes towards my master’s degree and professional area of interest. Concerning leadership and change, Emily and Trevor highlight “three aspects of thinking about education policy and school expectations that school leaders can employ to help teachers make sense of possible changes in their practice” (Cobb and Jackson 2012) They write the following:

“What – will support desired learning goals related to a policy or expectation?

How – supports for learning specified in the policy or expectation

Why – rationale for support provided to fulfil the learning goals”

In order to affect change in our system, strong leadership is required to help fulfill the goals of the teachers and their school. Emily and Trevor also highlight that it is important to give enough time for changes to occur. It is not enough to simply implement something and expect it to immediately occur, but there needs to be time for “implementation, evaluation, and reflection.” As we strive to implement a cross curricular environment here at Fort St. James Secondary, Emily and Trevor remind me that we need to give time for the process to take hold and ensure it is properly justified, moving forward. 

In terms of incorporating technology, a number of groups talked about ‘cognitive load’ and how adding too much stimuli to a lesson can decrease performance for a given student. For example, Sean, Jeremy, and Clay discuss this problem when they talk about the Split-Attention Principle. According to Sean, Jeremy and Clay this theory posits that “when the learner must focus on two or more sources of instructional information simultaneously to understand the material. This in turn adds a stress to the cognitive load of the learner which slows the learning process.” This is important to consider when incorporating technology into a given lesson.

What I found exceptionally interesting from the presentation by Sean, Jeremy, and Clay, was however, the modality principle.  They describe this as “The modality effect or principal exists when learning occurs through a mixed-mode (partly visual and partly auditory) presentation instead of a single mode of presentation. This creates a balance in the visual and auditory pathways and does not create an extraneous cognitive load.” This is an important theory in the incorporation of technology in the classroom, as it sets viable boundaries for using technology in a multi-modal way. 

Overall, the many presentations have shown me that the incorporation of multimedia and technology in education is a complex and dynamic issues. It is not enough to simply use media in an attempt to enhance our student’s learning; it must be incorporated in a reasonable, logical, and justified manner. Each presentation has provided me with a great deal to think about, as I have been guilty of using media in an ineffective manner; the future me would like to strive to ensure my students are learning to the best of their abilities, at all times.Â