Blog Reflection Week Four (Chapter Three and Four)

3. How do increasing computer power, decreasing size, and wireless communications make technology-enhanced classrooms more flexible? What is a virtual environment? What potential does it hold for education?

In the past decade, a computer’s capabilities have increased exponentially. They are now more powerful and have much more extensive memory and storage space. All this has become possible while at the same time, the size of this technology has become smaller and more manageable. Smaller computers and devices have made their use in the classroom more efficient. Even now in my school the technology is replacing large CPU’s and monitors with smaller flat screen and laptops. Not only do these new versions take up less space, but they also are more energy efficient.

One way in which wireless communications make technology-enhanced classrooms more flexible is that it enables the teacher to organize the room with fewer constraints. For example, when wired connections are necessary, the teacher must place her teacher and student workstations in a location where they can be plugged in to the connection. In my third grade classroom, the student computers are not wireless. Therefore, when I was creating my educational environment before the year began, I had no freedom on where I could move the computer tables, because they had to be together by the connection portals. The advantage to wireless communications, however, is that the teacher has the freedom to move his or her classroom computers to other locations in the room, assuming that other power outlets are available.

The text describes a virtual environment as “a combination of hardware and software that together create a digital environment with which you can interact.” A virtual environment is often a three-dimensional world in which you can participate. Often, several pieces of hardware are necessary to successfully interact in a virtual environment, such as a headpiece and a glove. These virtual environments can be simple to complex and have a number of educational uses. The use that is most practical in my opinion is the virtual field trip. Suppose you are teaching a high school French class. You would like to expose your students to French history and culture, but a field trip to a French city would be costly and highly impractical. If the technology is available at your school, you could introduce your students to French history by allowing them to tour the Louvre Museum in Paris, France via a virtual field trip. Imagine the knowledge and understanding each student could gain from interacting with the various artifacts and displays at the Louvre without ever leaving the comfort of their classroom!

The educational implications of these advances in technology are only as restricted as the imaginations of the teachers and students who use them!