New Educational Media Technology

Gustavo Mellander, "High tech: help or hindrance to hispanics in college?" Education Digest, May 2007, pg. 19-23.

Although it seems like technology can only bring benefits, there are certain drawbacks and considerations. One aspect to consider is the "digital divide," or the fact that some groups of people have much greater access to technology than others. Lower-income and minority groups are considered "have-nots," and many of them have not had the exposure to technology that they need in order to succeed in a college classroom. Hispanics in particular are affected by this digital divide. Many of them cannot afford a home computer, and this limits them in their ability to take distance education courses and provide training to their children. In addition to not having the home computers, many Hispanic children are in low-income school systems. Teachers in low-income schools tend to use technology less and have outdated resources.


Bruce Bower, “The social net,” Science News, May 4 2002, pg. 282-286.

How does the use of the Internet affect students, teachers, and people in general? Does it force us out of our comfort zone and improve the classroom experience, or does it make us lazier and more antisocial? Several studies have been done regarding whether the Internet and cyberspace make people more or less sociable. There is some conflicting evidence, but it appears that sociable people use the Internet as a way to network and become even more sociable. Outgoing, sociable people are able to plan events, keep in contact with relatives, and communicate more frequently than ever before. On the other hand, people who are introverted and have problems making friends feel even more withdrawn and isolated after spending a great deal of time on the Internet. Therefore, in the context of a classroom and learning environment, the Internet can serve as an educational tool that connects people and helps the learning process - as long as it doesn't completely take over the other facets of education.

Jeffery R. Young, “Professors give mixed reviews on internet’s educational impact,” Chronicle of Higher Education, August 12 2005, pg. A34.

Many professors today report mixed feelings about the interweaving of technology and education. In a way, it seems like it can only be positive - teachers and students can email back and forth, post blogs, create webpages, and use the technology as an educational tool. Many teachers and professors report that technology helps them communicate better with students and students' parents. Teachers can also use the Internet to read online journals and detect plagiarism in student papers. But despite some of these benefits, technology also seems to be dumbing students down. Plagiarism has increased, because students can easily shop for and buy research papers. Also, it can be annoying if students become impatient with a professor who doesn’t immediately respond to an email. Also, with the spell-checkers on computers, students don’t have to try as hard as they used to and their writing has been “dumbed down” in the process.

Scott Carlson, “The net generation goes to college,” Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 7 2005, A34-37.

The millennial generation has been raised on high-tech devices and can multi-task like never before. This of course has affected the classroom, and professors often feel they must both educate and entertain this easily distracted, multitasking group. A greater amount of classtime is devoted to group work or discussion, and many students feel that they should be able to learn at their own pace and in the way that suits them best. Carlson cites professors who feel that this is damaging to the institution of higher learning; the system of instruction should not necessarily be overthrown or revamped to be made appealing to the new generation. Part of the “cultural shift” is ego-centrism, but young people today are busier than ever before and feel that they must multi-task in order to get everything done in the day.

Betty Shanahan, "The secrets to increasing females in technology," Technology Teacher, Oct 2006, pg. 22-24.

Despite the innumerable benefits of employing technology in the classroom, many educators are not taking advantage of this resource. Technology could be a wonderful asset to almost any lesson plan, yet it is frequently neglected. The lack of practice with technology in the classroom is having an impact on the overall "technology competency" of females. In today's society, females are very outnumbered in various technology careers, even though the number of openings and opportunities in this field is booming. One of the reasons that females are not entering technology-based careers is because they are less experienced and exposed to technology as they grow up, in their homes and in the classroom. While boys enjoy playing video games and strategizing and building robots, girls are more likely to use technology more to just communicate with friends. Teachers could think of ways to use computers, software, the Internet, or other programs - not only would the lesson be better overall, but girls would be learning more about technology and hopefully getting on even footing with the boys.