User:SociologicalSense/sandbox

Wikipedia Laboratory Assessment

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_and_technology

Evaluation of a Wikipedia Article

Wikipedia quality - bad
Rate from 1/10 - Explain your rating
Has a warning banner on top -1/10. Has banner explaining article is not in encyclopedic style
Language Problems in Lead section - 3/10. Language is vague and doesn't really relate the topics
Unsourced opinion & value statements- 4/10. There are a few links to external sources but appear to only be on a very small part of technology use within education.
Too general statements -3/10. As above, the article appears to be broad but is focused mainly on tech use in poorer countries. Title isn't accurate or narrow enough.
Aspects of the topic are missing - 3/10. Heavily focuses on a few areas of access to technology, rather than the overall picture.
Overly long relative to importance - 3/10. Article focusing on areas not relevent to title. Not concise nor easy to understand.
Few references or lacks footnotes - 4/10. A few footnotes from mostly peer-reviewed sources, last paragraph missing references entirely.
Hostile dialogue in talk page- 10/10. No apparent disputes in edit history.

Other relevant comments in regard to equity and balance.
Overall, the article needs quite a bit of editing. The style of writing is not suitable to a Wiki article and reads more like a persuasive essay. A lot of the content is vague and doesn't really address what technology use within an educational setting is or means.

Step 4

Controversy
Advances in technology are being made to address different challenges in topics such as education, health and global poverty, but we can still identify cases in which this is not working or the results achieved are not meeting expectations. Kentaro Toyama, in his book Geek Heresy, mentions examples in which this happens. He highlights the cases of computers in Bangalore that are locked away because teachers don't know what to do with them and mobile phone apps meant to spread hygiene practices fail to improve health in Africa. Moreover, these past decades huge improvements were achieved in technology which have done little to turn rising poverty and inequalities, even in developed countries like United States. In addition to this, an interesting example is the one found by the economist Ana Santiago and her colleagues at the Inter-American Development Bank which conclude no educational advantage in a One Laptop per Child program in Peru. Another team of researchers found similar results in Uruguay, and concluded: "Our findings confirm that the technology alone cannot impact learning".
I'd actually remove this paragraph all together as it reads like an essay rather than encyclopedic knowledge.

Technology Use in Education [There are two existing articles on Education and Technology; and Educational Technology - how does your article relate to them? you need links to these pages]

Definition

Technology in Education refers to the use of a multitude of technologies which enhance the learning experience of the student through the use of such equipment, most commonly the use of computers, iPads, SmartBoards or other personal devices. Technology has always been used as a tool for learning, from its humble beginnings in early societies to modern forms which are used extensively in classrooms today. Since the digital revolution, the expectation for students to be capable and fluent in the use of technology in the classroom has increased and digital literacy is an important part of many curriculums today.

NEED LINKS HERE

History

In the early 1800’s portable sandboxes were used as a writing tool. Students would write letters into the sand as practice and then it would be ‘erased’ or smoothed over to begin again . The introduction of pencils, chalk and chalkboards into the classroom provided students with even more opportunity to enhance their writing skills and aid visual learners. From the conception of the early ‘modern’ classroom, education technology progressed quite rapidly in the 1900’s with the introduction of radio, overhead projectors, television and eventually computers. In the 1970’s Apple donated Apple 1 computers to schools and by the 1980’s up the 25% schools had adopted the use of Macintosh computers within their fleet. By the 2000’s college classes were able to be offered online, with over 2 million college students taking at least one online class by 2004. In Western cultures, it was expected that in the 2010’s that at least some study will occur online and most students will need to have access to laptops or PCs in order to undertake some learning tasks. Interactive Whiteboards are also used extensively in classrooms, as well as previously used technology such as TV’s and projectors. These have replaced traditional blackboards and whiteboards as they are able to act as both a whiteboard and computer. In the early 2020’s, universities are relying on online-only courses during the midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic, completely changing the way that education is taught. There is an expectation that students are in a position to make themselves available for online learning and be able to learn effectively using this medium.

Implications for Teachers

As with all areas of a curriculum, teachers are expected to keep up to date and utilise the technology available to them and their students. There is more emphasis than ever to ensure that the use of digital technologies is included in almost every lesson and this means all teachers need to be thoroughly trained in the use of technology and ICT, not just specialist teachers of those areas. As well as the added need for teachers to be trained in using the technology, there is also the expectation that teachers ensure their students are using it safely, ethically and appropriately, an added area of the curriculum needed to support students in their online worlds.

The realm of online teaching, whilst helpful in many ways, can make the task of engaging students more difficult, especially if learning is occurring only externally. A large part of a successful and positive learning environment is the classroom culture, climate and physical environment, which is almost impossible to recreate in an online-only learning environment, particularly for Primary School aged students who are less able to self-regulate their learning .

Geographical location also impacts the access teachers have to digital technologies. In the Western World, there is more emphasis on using these technologies in an educational setting, particularly in comparison to areas of the world where access to technology is limited. For teachers in areas where technology is limited, whether that be due to funding, location or another factor, the ability to teach using current technology-driven methods may not be feasible.

Controversy

In many Western society schools, programs such as Class Dojo and Vivo are used in the class to promote on-task behaviour and encourage teamwork, good sportsmanship and to discourage unwanted behaviour. These programs work on a points system and offer rewards for various good behaviours. They also allow parents of students to view their progress, check attendance and see how their students are progressing. This also leads to a highly invaded teaching space where every aspect of the classroom is monitored and allows for potential security risks associated with having young children present in an online community, even if it is only accessible by the class, school and parents. There is also an emphasis on outdated behaviourism practises which encourage good behaviour only through a rewards system, as well as encouraging a competitiveness between students.

Consumerism and capitalism encompass the education system by needing parents and schools to keep up to date with modern forms of digital technology, something which not all families can afford, causing a widening in educational standards and added pressure on families who want to ensure their children’s learning needs are met. Feeding the capitalist agenda is the rewards systems of Class Dojo and Vivo which encourage the early use of points in exchange for rewards, monetising learning and making school transactional rather than a place for learning for the betterment of future generations.

A divide in technological education is also present between regions of countries, such as rural vs metro regions of Australia. Access due to internet issues is limited in rural areas of countries, so even though schools over a country may be getting access to new technologies, there may not be the ability to be able to use it. At-home access to these technologies also depend on a lot of external factors which parents and teachers have no control over.

Conclusion

Technology in education can be a wonderful tool for bettering the educational standards of many students across the globe, however, issues are present in relation to the implications it can have on teachers, privacy issues, affordability issues and access. Technology (particularly digital technology) is here to stay, for better or worse, and is changing rapidly so it is important that it is something available to students, particularly in this digital era, but the risk factors do need to be considered moving forward.