Trends & Issues in IDT

Chapters in Section V identify trends and issues in IDT in various contexts: business & industry; military; health care education; P-12 education; and post-secondary education. Select at least 3 of these 5 contexts and compare/contrast the IDT trends and issues. Then explain how they are similar or different from the IDT trends and issues in the context in which you work.

Having been in the United States Military, the healthcare industry (a medic in the USAF), and in the education field (an elementary and secondary teacher), I chose to discuss the IDT trends and issues in these three fields.

Military

The military is exceptional when it comes to training.  Being focused on the security and safety of the American troops and those they serve and protect is the most essential mission.  Training is done early and often.  It is adapted to the changing environment and updated with new and important issues the military is facing.  While I was in the military we started training on day 1 with Basic Training.  Basic training was almost all classroom based with little to no technology.  As I progressed into my technical training to become a Medical Service Journeyman (Medic) the classroom based trainings started to incorporate a lot more technology.  We used medical dummies and computer programs to help us learn and practice our medical skills.  Once I was a permanent party Airman (meaning I was done with basic and tech school) our trainings were much more technology based.  Many of the training courses were done online via computer distance learning courses.  This tends to mirror what happens in my classroom.  At the beginning of a unit I am much more classroom/ lecture based.  I ensure the students understand the mini lessons and then I begin to incorporate technology.  By the end of the unit, my classroom and the students in it are 100% project based and are using classroom iPads, laptops, and personal devices to create and collaborate on real world problems and solutions.      

Health Care

When I was a permanent party Airman I was stationed at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.  I worked at the 375th Medical Group in the ER, Primary Care Clinic and later in a surgical ward.  I was in the Air Force when the military was beginning to move from paper medical records to electronic records that could follow a troop from one base to another.  This was an exciting time full of training and technology.  When working in the 375th Medical Group I was trained on new procedures often.  I learned how to start an IV, stitch up a patient, Help with surgical procedures, etc.  We were training on safety procedures such as blood borne pathogens, sharps safety, confidentiality, and HIPAA laws.  Training was non-stop.  Sometimes it was OJT (On the job training) and sometimes it was computer/ technology based. Training had to be up to date, cutting edge, and complete in order to be useful and successful.  This is common to what one would see in my classroom.  Training (learning) is non-stop and always cutting edge.  I have found it a personal goal to learn new technology programs and Web 2.0 resources for my students to use and I am always incorporating these into my classroom lessons.

P-12 Education

I have taught 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th grade.  Some believe this is too young to start students with technology.  They believe they will not have the personal responsibility to care for or use the devices correctly.  I have found this to be the exact opposite.  With the technology that our district provides, and what these students have available to them in the classroom (iPads, laptops, and desktop computers) I have been able to incorporate technology into my curriculum in all grade levels and i all lessons.   My students (even at this young age) have personal cell phones and with the personal device contract I developed are willing and able to use these for classroom based instruction.  I have found from researching in some of my other classes that the main obstacle for other teachers is lack of training on these web 2.0 tools and other technology resources.  It is essential if we want to help nurture and foster 21st century learners that districts fund excellent training for teachers and staff so they may also take advantage of technology in the classroom.  The professional development must be high quality and offer a form of feedback/ assessment so that teachers can voice their opinions and concerns.  However, as I say this, I also believe that it is important for teachers to take some personal responsibility for their learning.  I became an Apple Certified Teacher this last year- not because my school introduced me to the training or because they provided the training in a classroom environment for me.  I became an Apple Certified Teacher because I researched training and technology resources that were out there and completed this on my own time.  My constant desire to find new web 2.0 and technology resources has been beneficial for my classroom and students.  I have been able to be a project based classroom (especially when I was teaching GT) and scores on STAAR and district benchmarks soared.    

2. Chapters in Section VI discuss global trends and issues in IDT. As the world’s population grows exponentially, we face unprecedented challenges that have implications for learning. How and can we prepare our youth to address the problems of living in a world with 9 billion people when the earth’s resources cannot sustain that many? Does our current education system, curriculum, and instructional practices help learners foster the complex problem-solving skills necessary to tackle these issues? Are there methods and practices used in European and Asian countries that we should use here in the US? Why or why not?

I believe it is important to teach some of the skills we have stopped teaching over time.  It is important to learn the skills of farming, mechanics, and engineering such as plumbing, HVAC, etc. We used to have these programs in schools but it sees that we have forgotten how important those skills are and have stopped offering them.  We are having issues today not having enough skilled workers to work in these fields and this may be even more exponentially troublesome as the baby boomer generation retires and there are no more men and women with the skills needed to hold these fields afloat.  What happens when we have less workers available to clean the water or work on fire suppression systems?  Or workers to fix broken pipes and repair infrastructure? With 9 billion people on the planet, it seems necessary to all share in the responsibilities as well as reap the benefits. Asian countries accentuate the importance of education and their parents are a huge part of this.  I understand this because my husband is Asian and I see how they were raised.  Spending time in his home country opened my eyes to how different the education systems are here in the US.  I believe teachers can’t be the sole providers of a student’s educational upbringing.  We need to be partners with the parents and require them to participate in their child’s academic career.  It’s not all about money either- money does not equal success.  Asian countries are some of the poorest countries on Earth- and yet their student prevail and succeed in despite of that fact.  It’s not always about more money.

Students in this 21st Century need to understand the world’s problems and think critically to fix them.  This is why I choose to have a Project Based Learning classroom and I believe many others will begin to move in this direction.  “The consequences of a behavior then determine whether it is repeated and thus considered to be learned. For instance, a learner who is rewarded with a teacher’s smile for paying attention in class will be more likely to follow the teacher’s direction at a later time than one whose behavior goes unnoticed.” (Reiser & Dempsey, 2012). This theory can be acted upon to create students who will succeed in the 21st Century by solving problems and making this global community a stronger one.

Reiser, R., & Dempsey, J. Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (3rd ed.).