Running head: GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 1

Global Issues Report

Access to Technology

Edgar Orozco

The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1301

Dr. Vierra

November 2018
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Abstract

The overall idea of access to technology is the fact that not all students around the world

have the same advantages as other students do. As the world may know not all students come

from the same equal background. However, most share a common goal in life, to be able to study

and make something out of their lives in the future. In order to achieve this goal, they must

determine the problem in order to get some help and turn their lives completely around. Many

problems present themselves to certain students, as the student may be financially unstable, have

some type of disability, or any type of problem that may prevent students from obtaining the

amount of technology that is necessary to their education. All of these problems can be avoided

by simply implementing educational technology around the world. Although technology in

education can have some negative views, it is evident that technology can be a lot more

beneficial to students than it is expected. By implementing technology into the classroom,

students will be able to have more in-depth learning experiences as well as access to multiple

databases and communication resources that will help them stay a lot more connected and

focused with their overall education. As proven by experts, a student will be able to locate

nearby labs or technology provided to them by the school and be able to enhance their learning

capabilities no matter the circumstances or student backgrounds.

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Introduction

As struggles to understand the idea of technology in an educational continue, many may

argue about the lack of importance and impact it will have on student’s education. However,

research shows how not only does technology help in various amount of ways, it also includes

many benefits that can have a long-lasting impact in students’ lives. Technology can be a useful

tool to provide students with impactful strategies that enhance students learning capabilities and

communication with any desirable source. Although many argue technology integration in

education is pointless, technology has been able to prove how it can be beneficial to all students

and aspects in education.

Discussion

Educational technology is necessary for education, as it’s beneficial to students all over

the world, on ensuring the best possible method of learning up to date. According to Lawless

(2007), implementing the use of technology will leave students with a long-lasting set of

knowledge for future reference. Along the same lines, research conducted by Fabry and Higgs

(1997), introduced the idea that educational technology is only beneficial if teachers are aware of

what type of technology is needed to help students understand the material being presented, and

not provide unnecessary technology methods that will hurt their learning capabilities. This

evidence suggests that when implementing the use of technology to education, the way it is used

in the classroom is crucial to whether students learn effectively or not at all.

Educational technology should be taken seriously since generations now depend highly

on it and so will generations to come. According to Baek, Jung, and Kim (2008), day by day

technology has shown to enhance in every aspect that it provides. Technology has become the

basis and focus of teaching in the classroom, as it makes the classroom environment run a lot
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more efficiently and productive when it comes to assignments. However, Earle (2002) states that

although technology is enhancing in many ways, it will not be as easy as it may sound to

integrate technology into education. It can be achieved, but along the way, many bits of

challenges will present themselves which will determine if an educational technology is worth

the risk for a new learning experience or not. This evidence suggests, that no matter how

challenging the project may be to achieve, it is important we implement it to society as

technology by itself is the future of the world alone.

Technology in the classroom should be implemented, since technology is enhancing even

more, and it is just a matter of time before all that society relies on, is technology. According to

Youngkyoun, Jaeyeob, and Bokyeong (2008), the idea of having technology in the classroom has

proven to be effective as it will become a lot easier for the students to take what was learned in

the classroom, to other places as well as study and get a better understanding of the topic.

However, research explained by Rowntree (1982), talks about the fact that educational

technology, can be viewed as the form or way of working with the community to learn new

knowledge by having a talk and interact with each other to understand a common goal a lot

better than alone with pure technology. This highlights the difference between just using

technology and using technology to interact and communicate with the community, to gain a

better learning experience overall.

Students everywhere can be impacted by using technology in the classroom, as students

can go even further into the studies and curriculum as far as learning and comprehension.

According to Thomas and Kobayashi (1987), the idea of having the technology in the classroom

will greatly impact the way students view the topics and the course overall. As well as students

learning on a personal level as technology will work to find the best method available for the
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student to learn at its ultimate potential. However, further research done by Aguilera (2003), has

proven to students and faculty that with the idea of technology being pushed around campus,

students will soon obtain their own forms of accessing technology outside of the classroom. This

might even come to be a positive change for students, as they will understand better with outside

resources. This suggests that students will not need to rely on classroom technology in the future,

the reason being the fact that they will have their own devices to depend on.

Not all educational technology is specific enough to help students learn in their most

productive way since not all students learn and think the same way as others do. According to

Lawless (2007), the idea to find the perfect type of learning method for students using

technology is a long way from being figured out. It is explained throughout the claim, that once

the correct method of technology is found, it will go on to benefit and enhance the learning

capabilities that an individual has. However, studies done by Thomas and Kobayashi (1987),

show how the push for specific technology that helps out certain individuals, is within our reach.

It has been said that by focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of certain students, more

narrow technology can be created to benefit those sections of students that learn in the same way

or almost exactly alike. This means that by the dedication of research and time into this idea,

society will soon be able to implement technology for students to learn to the best of their

abilities.

Students can only benefit from technology in the classroom since it will be easier for

students to engage in the class curriculum in their own personal level and acquire access to class

materials a lot quicker. According to Earle (2002), the benefit from technology in the classroom

is proven by a survey conducted on teachers that already use technology in their classrooms. It

was stated that students get the best possible experience in the classroom as every assignment is
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available and the help from the instructor can help them better their understanding. About 85%

of the personal agree or strongly agree, that technology improves student involvement in the

classroom (Figure 1). Whereas Concannon, Flynn, and Campbell (2005), argue that students

don’t just have their own personal smartphones to access their courses. UTEP offers many ways

of helping students by providing labs and libraries which all help to understand the materials as

well as one on one help from professionals at the locations. This implies that although students

have their own personal devices, research shows what truly is an effective method for student’s

motivation and involvement in the classroom.

Educational Technology can be a distracting piece to the learning experience of students

in the classrooms. Technology will lead students into other things they may see on the screen

that will not benefit the use of technology in the first place. According to Fabry and Higgs

(1997), the long-awaited idea of having implemented technology into the classrooms has stopped

being effective due to the many barriers that come into play. One of the problems including the

idea of knowing what part of the lecture to use technology for, as many teachers find themselves

using the incorrect technology type that does not benefit the students learning in any way.

Research conducted by Thomas and Kobayashi (1987), states that although some may use

technology in the wrong way, technology is meant to provide efficiency in the classroom. This

can allow teachers to really see what technology types are most beneficial to students and use all

types to their advantage to make students more knowledgeable and benefit their future in many

ways as shown in (Figure 2). This confirms that when technology is used correctly, it can have a

lasting impact in the student’s education rather than a meaningless one.

Technology will not be impactful towards the learning of students and neither will it

make the classroom environment engaging at all. According to Lawless (2007), the way
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technology impacts the students, is by having the necessary and accurate technology methods

that will help students achieve many more opportunities in life that they would not be able to

without the technology. This process must still undergo some tweaking in order to actually make

this technique effective. Although many people believe technology will not benefit students in

the future, Warschauer and Matuchniak (2010), have shown that educators, sociologists, and

communication scholars have been talking about the impact that technology has had on

education today. Technology has come to benefit the educational world as it helps not only

students, but teacher’s lectures are more understanding and impactful as well as allowing easy

course access and even communication wherever students may be towards their teachers without

having to worry about time or not fully understanding the materials being taught. Based on this

evidence, it can be said that technology can be impactful in many ways and no matter the flaws

that it may currently have, technology I am enhancing day by day and it is just a matter of time

until technology is able to successfully solve some if not all of society’s problems especially in

education.

Technology should be made available to the students and possibly maybe even faculty of

the school because not all students have the same advantage as others, as they have disabilities.

According to Lee (2008), the ability to obtain access to the necessary technology needed by the

course can be challenging for students with disabilities. This shall grant disabled students' special

types of technology services that will benefit them by being able to work and access the same

materials as other students, without the extra stress or effort. On the contrary, Ramirez (2004),

states that the University of UTEP has many services and labs that are available to every student

enrolled in the campus. This should give students with disabilities an equal access to technology,

as most of the labs and services offer personal help and are accessible in a variety of ways. This
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is important because students with disabilities will no longer have to feel left out since they have

the same equal access to technology as everybody else.

Access to technology in education should be a given, considering the amount of low-

income communities that struggle to obtain technology, as they have to worry about other

financial situations. According to Warschauer and Matuchniak (2010), the lower income

communities are proven to be financially unstable, which prohibits them from being able to have

access to their studies at any given point and time. Along the same lines Servon (2001), states

that no matter how financially unstable one may be, the University of UTEP has many research

and internet access facilities that come at no extra cost and can be beneficiary towards students'

assignments, courses, or any technology related work they may have to complete. This means

that no matter the financial or circumstances in general, all communities are able to benefit from

the services provided by the university completely for free.

Conclusion

Technology can either be beneficial or a complete waste of time. This is all left up to the

user to determine whether or not technology will be effective in the environment used in. In

conclusion technology shall we necessary to education, due to the fact that our world is

becoming more and more reliant to technology. This signifies that technology is the proper form

of materials needed to enhance the learning of students and how important it is to move along

with the advancements of technology. Furthering this step-in education will benefit all who have

access to it. There will be no more excuses or disadvantages towards anyone around the world,

as they will all have the necessary tools to be successful in life. No matter how financially

unstable or health-related issues one may have, everyone and anyone will have the same

opportunities to be able to make something out of themselves.

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References

Aguilera, M. (2003, May 14). Computers on campus. The Prospector, pp. 5. Retrieved from

https://theprospector.newspaperarchive.com/el-paso-prospector/2003-05-14/page-5/

Baek, Y., Jung, J., & Kim, B. (2008). What makes teachers use technology in the classroom?

exploring the factors affecting facilitation of technology with a korean sample

doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2006.05.002

Concannon, F., Flynn, A., & Campbell, M. (2005). What campus-based students think about the

quality and benefits of e-learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(3), 501-

512. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2005.00482.x

Earle, R. S. (2002). The integration of instructional technology into public education: Promises

and challenges. Educational Technology, 42(1), 5-13. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/44428716

Fabry, D. L., & Higgs, J. R. (1997). Barriers to the effective use of technology in education:

Current status. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 17(4), 385-395.

doi:10.2190/C770-AWA1-CMQR-YTYV

Lawless, K. A., & Pellegrino, J. W. (2007). Professional development in integrating technology

into teaching and learning: Knowns, unknowns, and ways to pursue better questions and

answers. Review of Educational Research, 77(4), 575-614.

doi:10.3102/0034654307309921

Lee, H., & Templeton, R. (2008). Ensuring equal access to technology: Providing assistive

technology for students with disabilities. Theory into Practice, 47(3), 212-219.

doi:10.1080/00405840802153874
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Ramirez, M., J. (2004, March 3). A guide to computer labs in campus. The Prospector, pp. 7.

Retrieved from https://theprospector.newspaperarchive.com/el-paso-prospector/2004-03-

03/page-7/

Rowntree, D. (1982) Educational Technology In Curriculum Development (2nd Ed). London:

Harper and Row Publishers.

Servon, L. J., & Nelson, M. K. (2001). Community technology centers: Narrowing the digital

divide in low-income, urban communities. Journal of Urban Affairs, 23(3), 279-290.

doi:10.1111/0735-2166.00089

Thomas, R.M. Kobayashi, V.N. (Ed). (1987). Educational Technology-Its Creation,

Development And Cross-Cultural Transfer (Vol. 4). Honolulu, Hawaii Santa Barbara,

California: Pergamon Press.

Warschauer, M., & Matuchniak, T. (2010). New technology and digital worlds: Analyzing

evidence of equity in access, use, and outcomes. Review of Research in Education, 34(1),

179-225. doi:10.3102/0091732X09349791
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Figures

Figure 1. The percentage of the amount of people that agree, that technology in the classroom is
impactful.
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Figure 2. Examples of the benefits that students will achieve by learning through educational
technology.