A Closer Look at Educational Technology

The opening chapter of A Closer Look at Educational Technology identifies the three fundamental obstacles that are currently preventing the development of successful large-scale STEAM projects. It defines an ontology of these projects, labeled Computational STEAM. Next, a case study examines the degree to which teachers in a well-resourced secondary school integrate technology into their teaching. The author, who spent five months at the school studying its journey toward integration, utilized three lenses to determine the degree to which technology integration was successful or not: the presence of student-centered practices, evidence of higher-level thinking, and the Substitution-Augmentation-Modification-Redefinition Framework. The authors discuss the way in which makerspaces proliferate in abandoned cities and factories. Beyond these informal areas, the makers have crossed the walls of formal educational institutions and are making their way into universities. In this line, the integration of makerspaces in universities represents a challenge of the highest level, as it involves breaking the barriers between formal and informal learning. The authors also present an analysis of current trends in educational technology so that readers may assess the feasibility of inclusion and scalability of implementation within their organizations. Practical examples of new technologies currently being used in language classes are presented in the concluding study, and the challenges that they pose to language teachers are outlined.