Running Head: ISSUES 1

The Misuse of Educational Technology

Megan Qualls

Instructor Kathie Blanco

EDU352: Foundations of Educational Technology

08/28/2017
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I chose McLeod's article "If we were really serious about educational technology"

because I believe, as a librarian, it is important for me to stay up to date with technology so I

may help educate the community around me when they need assistance using computers and

other tech.

My article was about how we as a society do not even close to using the potential

educational benefits of technology as we should. Some of our incompetency come from teachers

not knowing equipment or shying away from online homework to avoid confronting "the digital

divide" (McLeod, 2010). One issue addressed is the banishment of Wikipedia to use on school

computers. I think this a mistake. Instead of banning Wikipedia for use, students can use it as a

starting point and use the references from the sources section to conduct their own research. It is

understandable that teachers do not wish for their students to use Wikipedia itself as a reference

in the students' assignments, but to ban it from use altogether is irresponsible since Wikipedia

really can be resource to find other resources (especially for those without access to an reputable

electronic library).

Another issue addressed was about Facebook, and how we miss educational opportunities

because schools banish social media sites instead of teaching students about security settings.

One reason argued against the use of social media is because students may be cyberbullied, but

students are bullied in schools every day. In fact, it is easier to catch a cyber bully than it is to

catch a bully in the hallway. Social media could be an advantageous tool for educators. Teachers

can use Facebook by having their students in groups, assigning discussions and post in the group,

post resources and polls, and help build online skills on the students in the classroom.

I found some sources to learn more about why we arent using technology to its full

potential for education below in the references. Doshmanziari and Mostafavi show that four
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human, cultural, and physical factors and courses content can create barriers in the use of

educational technology in the process of student learning meaning that these factors have a huge

impact on how students learn and how teachers teach (2017). By banning use of certain

technology, both sides regress. Wankel, Blessinger, and Wankels article discusses how

technology is reshaping and improving the education world (2013). Yilmaz and Bayraktar argue

that rapid access to information encourages teachers to be more resourceful and innovative when

designing lessons for their own classroom (2014). I believe that educators could progress more

quickly and with greater efficiency by researching the ed-tech provided to them, and maybe even

find technological tools for their classroom on their own.

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References

Doshmanziari, E., & Mostafavi, A. (2017). Barriers to Use of Educational Technology in the

Learning Process of Primary School Students in District 13 in Tehran. International

Education Studies, 10(2), 44-53.

McLeod, S. (2010, November 22). If we were really serious about educational technology [Web

log post]. Retrieved from http://bigthink.com/ideas/if-we-were-really-serious-about-

educational-technology

Wankel, L. A., Blessinger, P., & Wankel, C. (2013). Increasing Student Engagement and

Retention Using Multimedia Technologies : Video Annotation, Multimedia Applications,

Videoconferencing and Transmedia Storytelling. Bradford: Emerald Group Publishing

Limited.

Yilmaz, O., & Bayraktar, D. M. (2014). Teachers Attitudes towards the Use of Educational

Technologies and their Individual Innovativeness Categories. Procedia - Social And

Behavioral Sciences, 116(5th World Conference on Educational Sciences), 3458-3461.

doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.783