Five educational technologies that will most influence teaching, Essay

Five educational technologies that will most influence teaching, students, and the classroom environment over the next ten years - Essay Example For example in 2009, the private institutions enrolled 3.7 million students and spent $ 22,514 per student while the public schools enrolled 7.7 million students and spent $12, 812. There is thus a great variation between the colleges therefore, driving the need for change to the future of higher education. Jackson also noted that there were increasing costs in education and student debts which raised much concern over the future of these institutions.2 Furthermore, these institutions are expected to produce individuals with skills that are relevant in the job market. Since most students enroll in public institutions, there is need to effect changes in those institutions to ensure efficiency and productivity. Information technology in this case, if incorporated in schools can play a great role in delivering the much needed change. The high demand for incorporation of IT in schools has been necessitated by the many challenges faced by educational institutions in a dynamic global envir onment. First, there is increased need of expanding the content of the curriculum to cope with the demands placed on education by the society. Education is expected to deliver more content due to growth of knowledge. There has also been tremendous growth in reasoning and critical thinking skills hence IT is needed. Due to increased diversity of students, the traditional methods of learning are proving to be incapable of fulfilling learner’s needs besides being expensive.3 Changes in the methods of teaching and how students learn are therefore needed and the only solution is to make IT more central to teaching and learning processes. There are various IT technologies such as use of personal learning environments, tablet computing, use of mobile devices, game-based learning, online learning, user generated learning among others. The paper will concentrate on the five educational technologies that will hold the most influence on teaching, students and the classroom environment o ver the next ten years which comprise of: learning centered design, user generated content, mobile devices, tablet computing and game-based learning. Education in the United States is based on a comprehensive system of elementary, secondary and higher education. Children below five years are enrolled in preschools after which they proceed to elementary school at age 5-7 to age 11-13. Secondary education begins at age 9-12 after which those who graduate proceed to graduate schools. The education system is decentralized hence the schools have a greater role in decision making process rather than relying on the state. It also means that the service providers have to ensure high quality education as they are held accountable by the parents as well the government.4 The U.S education system is dependent on the economic resources hence in case of economic downturns the impact on education is great leading to low enrolment levels and increased drop out rates. This is especially so for racia l groups and the minority groups who have less chances of enrolling in secondary schools.5 The secondary schools are divided into parochial, private, and public schools. The parochial schools are owned and funded by religious entities while private schools are owned and funded by private individuals or organizations. The public schools on the other hand, are funded by