Counting on the Future

Nicole GrahamEDU505

Dr. Kaiser

Educational Organization

Focus: 7-12 mathematics classrooms in the ER9 school district Consists of 2 middle schools in Easton & Redding, Connecticut and 1 regional high school High socio-economic status within community Contains 3 Boards of Education with 3 budgets

o Poses problems for maintaining consistent technology

Mission Statement & Performance

“To nurture and inspire all students to realize their potential and to become self-sustaining, contributing members of a diverse, continuously changing society” (Maintain Excellence, Manage Costs, 2009) State standardized test results:

o Middle school scores are at 94th percentile o Decrease in high school scores to 85th percentile

(Connecticut State Department of Education, 2011)

Educational Technology Trends

Young people’s incorporations of Web 2.0 technologies into their lives

o Schools are responsible for bringing outside technology into the classroom

Challenges to the pedagogical role and professional development of teachers and other enablers of learning

o Has the ability to “ignite student passions” (Iiyoshi & Kumar, 2008)o Without professional development, teachers will use new technology with older teaching styles (Becta, 2008)

Economic, Budgetary & Public Policy Trends

Pattern Recognition o Schools create “educational ecosystems”o Students create “learning footprints”o Collaboration abounds (World of Learning, 2012)

Sequestration of Federal Education Programso 1.2 Trillion dollars cut in the next 10 years (National Education Association, 2012)o History shows no improvement in funds once cut (Betts, Hartman & Oxholm, 2009)

Demographic Trends

Increase in elderly populationo Population of those over age 65 rose from 8.1%in 1950 to 12.8% by 2009o The elderly population is forecasted to reach 20.2% by the year 2050 (Shrestha & Heisler, 2011)

Increased demand for post-secondary education o By 2015, 2 million more students will be attending college by 2015o Many students are non-traditionalo Competitiveness of college will increase (Ross-Gordon, 2011)

Futuring Techniques

Futuring can help to overcome education’s lag behind technology Scenarios provide the opportunity to brainstorm situations and practice responses (Mietzner & Reger, 2005)

o Pros: ability to visualize and adapt to many possible futures, promotes collaboration o Cons: requires breadth of knowledge on topic, task is time consuming, tends to lack creativity

(Mietzner & Reger, 2005)

Scanning

• Review multiple sources for trends

• Observational and research-based

Scan

• Analyze results to monitor how trends relate to the future

Analyze• Develop

scenarios based on where change is likely to occur

Scenario

(Sobrero, 2004)

Vision 2017

Tablet computing and game-based learning will be fully implemented throughout all of ER9 by 2017

o At least one iPad cart for each grade level present in each school in the districto Math department will research and include at least one game-based learning system for the middle school level and one for the high school level

Tablets are ideal due to their versatility Game-based learning expands on the usefulness of tablets and promotes problem solving

Challenges & Opportunities

Challengeso Sequestering of federal funds will limit technology budgeto Growing elderly population will not be supportive of educationo Teachers do not know how to use technologyo Need to share technology fairlyo Need to upkeep and maintain technology & software

Opportunities o Build a technology networko Continuity of technology within districto Ability to reimage conceptso devise innovative and transformative actions (Danaher et al., 2010). o Increased opportunity to attend college

In Preparation

Develop technology budget Math specialists attend workshops and report discoveries Create community awareness regarding changes and needs Professional development to educate staff Form technology department

Call to Action

Professional development for the staff must come first o Teachers must understand the current state of the district and where it intends to go in the future

Form technology committee with representatives from each school in the district as well as math department heads and at least one technology department member

o Group in charge of: • Designing staff professional development days• Organizing feedback from staff members regarding on-going progress throughout the school year• Monitoring how teachers are implementing the technology in their own classrooms

References

Becta. (2008). Analysis of emerging trends affecting the use of technology in education. Retrieved from

http://post.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-1079948-dt-content-rid8669098_1/courses/EDU505.901162015661/EDU505.901162015661_ImportedContent_20121008082035/MasterCourseEDU505_ImportedContent_20120929035056/MasterCourseEDU505_ImportedContent_20120413093916/MasterCourseEDU505_ImportedContent_20111014102022/Unit%204/Unit%204%20%20%20Trends%20%26%20Forecasts/embedded%281%29%281%29/Analysis%20of%20Emerging%20Trends%20Research%20Report.pdf Betts, K., Hartman, K., & Oxholm, C. (2009). Re-examining & repositioning higher education: Twenty economic and demographic factors driving online and blended program enrollments. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 13(4), 6.

References

Connecticut State Department of Education. (2011). Strategic school profile 2010-11: Regional school district 09. Retrieved from http://er9.org/homepagefiles/ Region9-SSP-2010-2011.pdfDanaher, P.A., Yi, R., Parry, L., & Harreveld, R.E. (2010). Futuring sustainable Australian teacher education through recent doctoral dissertations: A thematic analysis of alternative scenarios. ATEA 2010 Australian Teacher Education Association Conference, 1-8.Iiyoshi, T, & Kumar, V. (2008). Opening up education: The collective

advancement of education through open technology, open content, and open knowledge. Cambridge, MA: The MIT

Press.

References

Maintain excellence, manage costs. (2009). Retrieved from http://er9.org/boe/ReddingBOE/PowerPoints/PresentationToReddingBOF3-5-2009.swf

Mietzner, D., & Reger, G. (2005). Advantages and disadvantagesof scenario approaches for strategic foresight. Int. J. Technology Intelligence and Planning, 1(2), 220-239.

Ross-Gordon, J. M. (2011). Research on adult learners: Supporting the needs of a student population that is no longer nontraditional. Peer Review, 13(1), 26-29.

References

Shrestha, L.B. & Heisler, E.J. (2011). The changing demographic profile of the United States. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace/825/ Sobrero, P. M. (2004). The steps for futuring. Journal of

Extension, 42(3). Retrieved from http://www.joe.org/joe/2004june/comm2.php

References

World of Learning (2012). The 2020 Forecast: Creating the Future of Learning. Retrieved from

http://futureofed.org/2020forecast/