Abel,
There are many among us who can take online courses and do really well in them, but what what about those students who just can't adjust to this style of learning? The traditional classroom provides many students with the ability for continued success. I think that entirely online campuses may be throwing the baby out with the bath water. The reason for the existence of any college campus is it's students, not just a few but all of them. The institutions need to cater to all learning styles.

I feel pretty safe that the institution that I work at will be around...it is extremely hard to teach students to clean teeth from a computer!!! and none of us would want them to clean our teeth after being taught solely by technology with no hands on experience! Ouch!

Jose,

You are absolutely right about the med student. We have many programs that can not be taught without that face to face interaction and you as a consumer would not want them to be.

It is amazing how MOOC's or online learning have not deterred the freshman enrollment to universities. My son goes the Texas A & M and since 2010 when my other son graduated from there, freshman enrollment is beyond what the university ever imagined. We got the latest report on the freshman enrollment for next year, way over 10,000 compared to 8,271 in 2011 and so many more than that got turned down for admissions. So will the 10,000 plus that got turned away look for online learning as a solution to their enrollment problems or simply find another university?

Abel,

Below are two opposing views on the subject of Could the College Campus Go the Way of the Bookstore? Each of the articles bring out good pros and cons and logical support about their views.

https://chronicle.com/article/Why-Online-Education-Wont/133531/
http://www.cato-unbound.org/2012/11/12/alex-tabarrok/why-online-education-works

I think it can be a very powerful tool. It gives students and teachers instant feedback on comprehension. The teacher now can address every student at once instead of one at a time. All the information can be given to the teacher and can easily be placed in a spreadsheet to help identify students that need remedial work instantaneously.

With all the good I can see in the use of Google Play there could be a potential drawback. It could be used as a babysitter and not as a teaching tool. If teachers do not really learn how to integrate technology into the curriculum is just becomes a pacifier to those teachers who do not want to learn proper technology integration or simply just do not know how.

Abel and Daniel,
I agree with you both about teachers being thrown the technology and then learning to integrate it later. I think we are so ready to use the device we forget the real purpose of it. "It is what you are trying to do through the device that counts states S. Dallas Dance, a tech-savvy superintendent who is immersed in the digital world and wants make sure teachers are ready to meet students in it." The article below gives a look into what less than tech-savvy teachers go through. Also check out some of the comments on how districts get their teachers focused on what they can accomplish through the device.

http://hechingerreport.org/content/teachers-want-even-new-technology-training-use_15154/

Rene,
It is funny how you said a tool for other "stuff." Some of the technology that is being used in "integrated" classrooms, I feel are being presented as the other"stuff." It is very difficult to get teachers thinking about true integration. I have a hard enough time with some of my coworkers to use our own LMS or put grades online, much less integrate a whole semester worth of curriculum with technology. Why are teachers so reluctant to change? Do they feel threatened by technology or is it that that it how it is always been and it works, so why change it? For example we have Tech Byte meetings to learn more about how to use technology, what's new for educational technology and how to fully integrate it into curriculum. The same people come over and over.Hardly ever do you see new faces eager to confront the challenges of educational technology. I think until administrators make it mandatory for all teachers to learn how to integrate and use technology, we are going to be faced with these same questions.

Jaime,
I really enjoyed listening to Sir Ken Robinson. He is a very inspiring speaker.

I agree that educational reform does not work. They have been reforming educational…well for a very long time. Have we really seen anything that indicates that it works? Sir Ken Robinson is correct, that it has to be an educational revolution! Educational reform has put educators through irrelevant theories, test-preps that are a substitute for curriculum, and so called reformers that have gotten rich off our children's future.

If you look at our universities to set the standard of our educational system, you see that most still teach in the same method of rote learning and that is also how they educate their future teachers. I really believe that educational revolution will occur when educators understand that you can't fit a round peg in a square hole. Education should not be one size fits all. Learning should be tailored to fit the learner's individual needs. It should be learner-centered.

Dr. Chavez EDTC 6341 always tells us, "Learn how to learn." Students don't want to be giving facts they want to experience learning at their own pace and through avenues that work for them.

So how I am bringing change into my classroom? That is a very question. It seems not enough to be totally honest with you. I think most educators who want to see education revolutionized feel just the same way I do, especially in higher ed. They just don't truly know where to start, where to ask for help or how far to go with the changes.

This educational revolution requires that everyone be on board and ready to change for the sake of our students. We can only hope the change does not take too long to make a difference.

I thought this article was interesting from the student's perspective of what they feel needs to change about school.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/24/high-school-changes_n_4844338.html?utm_hp_ref=education-reform

Amanda,
I like yourself and Jaime feel that developing individual talents and strengths and not the standard should actually be our "standard." Jaime's friend made me think about the educational system in Sweden and other similar countries. They have the students attend 9 years of mandatory primary school and then the students can choose to prepare for higher education or vocational education in a 3 year program. Over half of the students elect to prepare for a vocational education where they will receive real world work experience.

I teach at Texas State Technical College and I can assure you that many of our students have tied and failed traditional routes of higher education. They are here because they recognize their talents and strengths and want to use them for a better community. Is everyone 4 year college material? In my opinion no but should have many other options to fulfill their dreams and aspirations.

Daniel,

There was a study done in 2013 that researched why educators were so resistance to change and innovation. It also included ways to reduce resistance and develop solutions to educator resistance. Some of the reasons might surprise you but the ways to reduce resistance probably won't. It is sound advise and has been mentioned in this class and many of our other EDTC classes.

Here is the study:
http://linc.mit.edu/linc2013/proceedings/Session10/Session10Koksal.pdf

Maricela,
Thanks for the resource list. I use several Web 2.0 tools in my classroom, one of the tools that the students seems to enjoy is PollEverywhere. PollEverywhere allows students to answer questions by sending a SMS text message, using a Smartphone or send a text on Twitter or vote using a regular web browser with any other device. A question is posed by the instructor with a given code, the students then text the code and then their vote. Students watch as the results are being displayed in a graft. It works in PowerPoint using PollEv Presenter App. This will give the ability to customize the look and has the ability to embed it in the PowerPoint presentation.(if that is what you use) I teach face-to-face, so I really have not investigated the possibilities for online learning and PollEverywhere.

I think PollEverywhere is effective for me as an indicator of how well the class is going. I usually start the class off with a general question of well being, then periodically through out the class I will pose a question to see if:
1. students are engaged
2. students are learning
3. I need to focus my attention in a different place or have students repeat certain aspects of the class.

PollEverywhere allows to students to express their answers without feeling embarrassed or shy about wrong answers. It helps students also to check their understanding against others in the class. I find it a quick and effective way to check for comprehension among all my students. Here is the PollEverywhere How It Works website http://www.polleverywhere.com/how-it-works

Martin,
I totally agree with you about Wordpress in that "the blogs seem more personal and much easier to read than using the traditional Blackboard set up." The first time I ever posted to a discussion thread in Blackboard no one posted to me. I thought, "Ok I know the post wasn't that bad?" I found out later I had posted but not in the thread. It even took the instructor some time to find my post! Wordpress makes it so easy to see all the post and in a sequence that makes sense, but most importantly it allows the student to continually see the original question,article or post. This helps the student to be able to post without having to flip between pages which aids in contiguity.

Amanda,
I have also used SurveyMonkey in other classes and projects. Although I think it is a wonderful tool to get a comprehensive view of students/educators/participants view points, I think it takes some set up time and energy. For quick, easy and fun polls, PollEverywhere is a great choice. I taught high school before the college scene and our administrator would use it too get opinions in a meeting without anyone having to be the bad guy. You want to be negative about something but are hesitant to say anything in public, well you could and avoid the confrontation. Most of the time there were many others that felt the same way!

This article is on a research of how teachers began to use Web 2.0 tools in their classrooms.

This video and the article to follow show how a school can involve parents in getting involved in technology integration.