The University of San Diego on Friday hosted its 10th annual Technology Showcase.
But educators did more than check out new technology for the classrooms — they also discussed where technology belongs in education.
Big questions about teaching and technology have been asked for a long time. Even Plato is said to have been openly suspicious of writing — the technology of his time.
The university's Shahra Meshkaty said we have to explore “what’s good, what’s bad, what’s hype, what’s there to stay.”
“But without investing time to explore what’s unknown is unknown,” Meshkaty said.
Technology is changing exponentially faster than any other time before and educators need to keep up, said Christopher Wessells, the university's chief information officer.
“The rapid change of technology is so great, we have to be vigilant in terms of staying up on what's emerging trends what actually works what doesn’t work,” Wessells said.
The old school model of a teacher as the "sage on the stage" delivering lectures is diminishing, Wessells said. With technology, teachers can make curriculum adjustments on fly.
“We can leverage those academic analytics and help faculty members understand what’s being understood — how they might adjust their presentation or adapt things to make students learn a little bit better," Wessells said.
Wessells looks to the future of education and technology with a great deal of hope and a bit of caution.
