CASE ANALYSIS

TRANSFORMING EDUCATION THROUGH EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

LILIBETH T. ERONGA

CASE ANALYSIS

A. CASE BACKGROUND

The subject is Albermarle County Public Schools and their 2015 plan that contains the
7 Pathways that describe their educational environment. They used a variety of
advanced technology in their educational program. Everything that happens in the
school are available for public viewing and sharing thus very open to the world. They
share everything from classroom activities and even conferences. Everything becomes
visible to students, educators and community members.

B. MAIN PROBLEM

The school becomes vey open that may lead to some problems like a privacy issue.
Everything and everyone become public and for public consumption. Too much is
exposed for public viewing and sharing. It is like Pinoy Big Brother House.

C. SPECIFIC PROBLEMS

1. The children are exposed to all and their behaviors and day to day activities are
seen by everybody and can be subject to criticism and scrutiny. Use of devices are
allowed thus need close supervision by adults.
2. The right for privacy may be violated.
3. Everything can be shown in public that may make the pupils act not naturally
because they know they are always seen.

D. MAIN COURSE OF ACTION

To regulate the online sharing of everything that happens in the school.

E. ALTERNATIVE COURSE OF ACTION

1. Choose the best practices in the school and share them online.
2. To show only highlights of what the school does that is worth sharing for public
consumption.
3. To promote continuously their improved learning designs online for the
improvement of the educational systems worldwide.
4. To bring their students outside the four walls of the classroom not only through
online technology but real experience of the world.
F. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Social Media, Twitter, use of Pinterest and the like are very useful in the Educational
field yet those who are using them are still obliged to become responsible users and
promoters. It is good that as educators these materials are very much available for
our effective and efficient learning and teaching yet we should not forget that these
aids may not always be of help and can be detrimental in some aspects if not used
properly.

The case at hand gives a picture of a 21st century school, with all its technological
advancements. Their achievement is worth the notice and recognition yet not always
very good. Though we may have these materials and opportunities at hand, we are
supposed to use them responsibly. The advanced technology may make and unmake
us. These are supposed to be used for the promotion and advancement of the human
person and comm unities and not for the downfall and destruction of human life. I
mean, though a pupil is a child of the world, he/she should be cared for in the school
in a way proper for a human person not as a guinea pig whose life is made public
because of online advancements of schools. Filtering of online sharing is necessary for
protection of a person. Privacy is still important.

Learning should not only take place within the confines of the school, for it can also
happen outside of it. The pupils can also experiment or study with others or
individually. By using the social media, Facebook and the internet, we can learn and
achieve the educational objectives yet the real and actual practice and exposure to
the real things are necessary and much useful. We see the world, we feel the world,
we live in the world of reality and the emerging technologies should make the reality
real to learners.

What are the emerging technologies that may be adapted to further the school’s
cause?

Gone are the days when students race towards the library for search of reading
materials. Now there are infinite copies of reading materials available online. The
schools and students can make use of online journals and publishers, by using their
iPad and mobile phones anywhere and everywhere. Cloud services and unlimited
apps designed for anything and everything the student needs are very available for
free or for a fee. The school can also use Apple Icloud, Google Drive and Amazon
Kindle for their e-programs. Mobile learning and use of games can be useful, too.
Consider your own workplace. Are these strategies applicable and workable in your
own place? Why or Why not. How would you localize the application of these
technologies?

My workplace is in a rural area. My pupils are in grade 2 whose families care mostly
for food rather than advancement in education. What is important for them is to learn
the basics: reading, writing and counting. For them, it is already a privilege to study in
a well ventilated, clean and tiled classroom with a projector or smart tv for movies,
short videos and guided reading activities. I use apps and downloaded games for
interactive learning. I also use my mobile internet access for direct online activities for
the school cannot provide a wifi connection. I sometimes provide food for feeding
and fruits from personal pocket. Our room is secured and conducive for learning. I
spend much from personal pocket but I cannot complain because many souls benefit
from my family’s generosity. I believe that because of this, God blesses us more
abundantly. I went to go on vacation for 1 month with my family in Italy and purposely
documented everything for my pupils to see the world outside our Barangay. I show
them other local places, consequently teaching them to see outside the box and
urging them to explore the world someday. And they started to dream big. Whenever
I am away during classes, they knew I was seeing them everyday because they
believed I installed a cctv inside the room when in fact there was none. Sometimes I
take short videos of my pupils in their activities and show them in the smart tv, for
them this is a treat and worth viewing.

Ours is not a highly technologically advanced school yet I am happy working here. The
simplicity of life and the uncomplicated environment of people provide me with the
tranquility and the comfort of peaceful living, yet I should not be lenient. I have the
duty to show them what the world can give and has given. I have the duty to teach
them to stay grounded and fly if they can but not forgetting that the basics of life are
still very important. All the discoveries in the educational field are for betterment of
life and learning therefore I should also teach them not to be slaves of the modern
technologies. We use them, not us being slaves of them.

Lilibeth T. Eronga
Student