Technology to the Rescue. How it has changed education

         Technology has broadned the scope of education for better, but it can have its downsides.
computers have been a mainstay in modern education because they have let the learners take control.
   With processing power increasing in mobile technology, the way that students of all ages can browse the internet, word process and do all the things i mentioned in my " The Value of Mobile Technology in Education..."   post. with ease, in safety, and with speed.


    these methods also encourage independent learning/study. as the decades have moved on, the OU (Open University) has had masses of information passed through the internet, making enrolment and studying a lot easier.


    "Most of us carry more advanced technology in the smartphone in our pocket, than Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin used to reach the moon"  - Gove, Michael, education minister.

he also stated that although technology is entering the learning environment, a victorian teacher could enter 21st century classroom, and feel completely at home. This is because the model of education hasn't changed.

     Wherever a student is in the world, he or she is in the vicinity of technology. There are now aplications on phones and tablets which make research as simple as taking a photograph. Although mainly for tourists, school pupils can take photographs and as the picture is loaded on the screen, information is beamed onto the screen as well, showing off the history of the monument, building, point of interest.

However, technology must not be used as a crutch, it must be used in a way that can help, not hinder or be of harm. Luckily, Anti virus software and security can help avoid this.


One way Education has vastly improved with technology is via Skype. this way, absent students can tap into a lecture from home. Also having an online library of TED talks can aid any research 10 fold.


In short then, technology can and will continue to help the success rate of students/pupils and workmates alike.

Barriers to Learning

There are many reasons for the learning process to be restricted by technology. this post goes through the major ones in depth.

Firstly we see what holds the learner back from achieving goals.

Not being proficient in the technology that has to be implimented, meaning to say that they have not used the impliment before, or have not wished to until now. according to the inquirer.net,
   
         "17% of people dont have internet access, Most of those people don't want it"
                    ( Page, Carly. august 8th 2013)

This is  quite the setback in modern education as most students are now dependent on technology to survive, research and aquire the knowledge they need for decent assignments etc.

The next barrier, quite the major one is Copyright, Symbolised by:

©.

any form of written text, as soon as it is written or typed, is copyrighted, in theory anyway. also, as soon as a video clip is filmed or a piece of music is recorded, it is copyrighted. If a student then tries to pass it off as his or her own work, it is classed as copyrite violation, or plagiarism.

If a student wishes to quote something, another setback/barrier is reliabillity, ergo, the way to find out if the sourced text is genuine, the learner may wish to double check the information with another
trusted source. this way,  the learner will have more chance of getting a good grade.

Faculty Proficiency With Technology:
In a nutshell, Educause Quarterly tells us that one of the reasons people find it hard to learn with technology is that the staff in the particular institution have very limited knowledge of the technology needed, or they don't know what software is needed etc. 
                                                                                        -Buttler, D L. Sellbom M. (2002). Barriers to Adopting Technology for teaching and learning. Educause Quarterly. 2 (1), 22-28
  

The Value of Mobile Technology in Education...

As education has progressed throughout the centuries,students have always looked for new ways to communicate on the go.

1801: the chalkboard was invented By James Pilans, a geography teacher in a school in Edinburgh-Scotland- when he hung a slate slab in his classroom. you could use the slate slab multiple times, if washed.
         Concordia Online states that at the end of the 18th century, classroom students everywhere were using this innovation. more recently-in the 1960s-the Chalkboard was accompanied by a more up to date version now known as a whiteboard which is written on with markers. still used in some places.
      
the personal computer age had finaly come into education in in the early 80s when the Atari desktop computer used Floppy Drive disks with very minimalist software. this enabled students (primarily primary age) to work individually in thier own way.

when computers really found thier feet was when windows 3-95 came into the school computer suites. internet access was very minimal but enabled people to navigate for information easily.

The laptop is another breakthrough, the first really useful and portable invented in '92.

the Laptop becomes digital tablet

tablets such as the iPad, Archos, Galaxy tab , Blackberry, and many more besides have various apps which enhance learning in a plethora of ways. these apps include:

EXPLAIN EVERYTHING:



if you have seen the "changing the paradigm" video, chances are that the idea for explain everything came from this, but making it a lot simpler to use. basically, while you talk about your subject, you can take notes, type, jot down images and it is all recorded in real time. even your mistakes.
So, once you have finished your lesson, or have made notes on paper, you can transfer them to explain everything in terms of animation and recorded audio.



GLOGSTER:







glogster is in efect an animated poster with links to audio files, scrolling text, youtube and other video formats, a handy way of showing work in a nifty format. basically, you choose your desired theme, possibly you could add a title as a central point and put your media around it or whichever way you want to do it.



there are signs that the children/pupils/students are becoming thier own teachers/lecturers, to achieve this, the students or pupils will have access to QR coding and speciality software called aurasma.

 AURASMA
With this software, it is possible that they-the students- can film themselves explaining whats going on in a page of text, another pupil can scan the code on the page and befor they know it, the film jumps out of the book without blanking out the text.

it is believed that the majority of students who use technology to its full potential 

Placement: where is it, and my first week

although a while back now, my first week in my placement was somewhat eventful.

the placement itself is the Music Technology BSc course, situated in the BBC building and Dynevor building on Alexander Road.
in the BBC building, the top 3 floors are Dedicated to the UWTSD. the course leaders  are Dr Paul Hazel and Simon Killshaw.  the course itself consists of 3 modules, each catered for by the amazing facilities found in the building. amongst these are 3 recording studios, a main hall, seminar room and PC lab.

SpicyNodes: Ffestiniog Railway/north wales

SpicyNodes: Ffestiniog Railway/north wales 

here is a link to my spicy node  i made in september/october...finally!

STRESS

well...what an eventfull day,
             the first day back on placement, we had to clear up the mess from the people who had hired the bbc building for a fortnight. they left it in a right state. As if that weren't enough, in the presentations, one of the students went on a rant about how she felt left out and that she felt that everyone was against her...Right...! but i must keep a professional head, well, try and not get stressed. song of the day: JUMP-Van Halen.

Microteach 2

ok,
i am actually starting to FREAK OUT (chic,1978)  about this now, but im going to remain calm, as the subject matter is a calming one anyway.
i also look forward to the other microteaches throuhout the week

heres something to help us relax!!!!

over and out!!!
salut!!!

TED TALK

d


this TED talk, although not much talking is done, is more of a demonstration of the power of music.
 Daria shows that she is a very accomplished musician, so to do what she did would, although seem rather extreme, wouls be the whackiest way of bringing music to the masses.
2 customised rigs were designed so she could carry her piano around, one is a kind of trap (if you will) and the other is a frame wth an attached seat for ease of positioning. rather nifty!
this has inspired me for designing other ways of playing instruments...one day eh?

observation week

everything has gone hunkydory so far, the staff are amazing, like they always were. the students are awesome!! and they are all engaged in the learning process. look out BBC, you are about to get 2 really great people joining the ranks

useful music tech resource

I recently got into watching the Rig Rundown section of premier guitar magazine on youtube, one of the best ones i have seen so far is the Late Show With David Letterman orchestra, there is a link below, but i also suggest checking out the brian may ones and the australian pink floyd band!

 enjoy!

as the crow flies, my review of "music technology at Simon Balle"

well, this has to be one of the greatest, if not, the greatest Music tech blogs i have seen to date. It encompasses all forms of music technology info: -Core documents -past papers -reviews of tech -recording -compsition -MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) -Lesson Plans  -portfolios and so on and so forth this gives the teacher or student equal opportunities to gather resources, this is handy for exam preperation and revision, downloading lesson content. if the students of Simon Balle follow him on Blogspot, he can see what exactly what has been seen, or downloaded. so in a way, this blog is the all in all most incredible blog i have come across. i would give 10/10 for this blog

Microsoft aplications,,,,FOR A MAC??????

yes, there are, mine is office for mac, cannot remember what year version, whatever it is though, i think it needs upgrading. i also use some other aplications which were oringinaly written for Windows, but adapted for mac. some of which are really hard to install as one has to turn off security...AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!

Todays Meet session

the tech of spare...ish time

About Me

what's there to know,
                           The Name's Croucher, A. E. Croucher. But you can call me Adam if you wish, Ad is fine too...i digress.
basically i am a post grad student studying  PCET course, hoping to teach Music Technology, putting my degree skills to good use.
   i really wanted to work in theatre, or live events, but then i realized, because those events (as a live musician) only happen once in a blue moon...i would want to let people know more about what i have learned in my education.
   being on this course will change my path in life, hopefully for the better, and then via netorking, any form of musical/technical/educational job is on the cards.