Let's Tech About It

  Digital literacy skills are critical for an informed and productive citizenry, as a gateway to social, political, educational, and economic participation (Southern Regional Education Board, 2018). This statement illustrates the overall importance of ensuring students are informed of the best practices associated with technological usage and how to navigate their experiences online properly and safely. In addition to this, technology security was examined and introduced the responsibility of digital learners in not only protecting their own personal information but their potential areas of employment as well. According to the Southern Regional Education Board (2018): Technology security is a global issue for education, government, military, business, and private individuals. Today all technology systems, from learning management systems to institutional networks, access points, wi-fi networks, enterprise resource planning, and student information systems, need technology securit...

    More schools and colleges are seeking new and innovative learning models to provide students with greater engagement, flexibility, and control of their learning experience. (Southern Regional Education Board, 2018). This statement embodies much of what I learned this week and ties together how multiple components factor into the modern educational experience for students. Instructional innovation highlights the many ways that technology is currently reshaping how we learn, including mobile learning, social connection, and student-based creation. Competency-based education coupled with adaptive learning allows students to gain knowledge at their own pace while using periodic assessment to gauge competency, while ensuring mastery of concepts before allowing students to move forward within a course. Familiarizing myself with concepts such as this will continue to expand my knowledge and understanding of educational technology, especially as it relates to specific framew...

  Overcoming the digital divide is not an easy task, because in attempting to overcome one divide, we observe the emergence of a new usage divide (Min, 2010). This is part of the closing comments for the article “From the Digital Divide to the Democratic Divide: Internet Skills, Political Interest, and the Second-Level Digital Divide in Political Internet Use” (Min, 2010). It explores some interesting concepts including the emergence of the second-level digital divide and how that impacts the democratic, and specifically political, usage of information and communication technologies (ICT). The core of the study within the article aims to prove that the prevalence of the digital divide, a phenomenon characterized by the disparity of accessibility to computer technology based on major sociological factors, potentially alters the differential use of internet for politics, otherwise known as the democratic divide. After resolving access to an information and communication technology,...

According to Porter & Balu (2016) predictive modeling estimates individuals’ potential outcomes by testing models that use data on subjects whose determined outcomes are already known. While predictive models and analytic data accompany traditional business and marketing efforts, in recent years, they have become a major component in public education. Using data and models to better align learner performance and outcomes is now a focal point of many educational entities. In this same context, emerging technology almost necessitates the need for data analysis and predictive models. In that regard, technology continues to change and must be utilized in ways to better serve students and learners based on their individual and collective needs. It is necessary for me to stay informed on trends such as predictive analysis and emerging technology, not only as a future instructional technologist, but as someone who values continuing the learning experience myself and expanding my knowl...