Barriers to the Effective Use of Technology in Education- The Winds of Change.

With the use of technology in education increasing exponentially, there is a real need for educators and learners to appreciate that with the integration of technology into the learning encounter, there will be barriers to its efficacious use.  According to the literature, the barriers of education technology can be split into categories, namely, student barriers and educator barriers (Joseph, 2012).  This blog will look to the academic research in an attempt to tap into some of the issues with technology in the classroom from both categories.

The educator barriers associated with technology in learning include how responsive the system is toward academic input, the availability of support should there be a technological issue, the potential impact access to online learning may have upon the attendance of the learner in class, as well as the very real issue of the digital divide.  Unlike Prensky (2001), we cannot all assume to possess the same levels of digital literacy.  That said, Lee et al., (2005) advocate the use of technology in education, pointing out that teachers would have more time to plan classes, feedback based on their work and better leading and guiding with the use of technology.  For a review of the value of mobile technology in education, take a look at my blog.

In terms of the academic literature, barriers to education technology are widely debated.  Bingimlas (2009) holds the view that change, particularly such major change may meet with some degree of resistance and thus teachers must be convinced of the benefits of the use of technology and incentivised for its adoption in the classroom. Catherall (2005) alludes to the major barrier to technology in education as stemming from a lack of motivation due to poor social and computer skill, a lack of availability of access (I've experienced that one) and a lack of contact time with the student in which to experiment.  Indeed, a major barrier from an administrative perspective is the high set up cost of implementing such equipment when usage yields little evidence in the form of proven results or credibility (Joseph, 2012).  Koller et al., (2001) point to the challenges of IT support, infrastructure and ongoing training for academic staff.

Student barriers are in some ways similar to those of the educator, with the addition of issues of individual competency, increased printing costs and the need for more self-discipline needed by students in order to stay on task.  Certainly, if one considers the price of a years undergraduate study equates to £9,000, that is very expensive time spent using social media during class as opposed to engaging with the learning.

There needs to be a consideration by both teacher and learner in terms of what can work optimally for their teaching and learning experience in a progressive way in which the future of teaching and learning can be decided collectively. Some participation from the public in the identification of the need of educators and learners to engage with technology will also assist with the acceptance of this change in the educational system (Jaffer et al., 2007).  The barriers to the effective use of technology in education may only be broken down when there is a common understanding and agreement by all stakeholders.  It will take time and significant research to validate why technology is important, but in the meantime, we can attempt to embrace the winds of change.  

References

Bingimlas, K. (2009).  'The barriers to the successful integration of ICT in teaching and learning environments: A review of the literature.' Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 5 (3), pp. 25-29.

Catherall, P. (2005).  'Skills exchange experience by students in the use of education technology/e-learning.' Computers and Learning, 25, pp. 78-84.

 Jaffer, S., et al. (2007). 'Using information and communication technology'. International Journal of Education and Development, 5,  pp. 190-196.

Joseph, J. (2012). 'The barriers of using education technology for optimizing the educational experience of learners.'  Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, 64, pp. 427-436.

Koller, V., et al. (2001). Technology-based Teaching Strategies. New York: Social Policy Public Research Association.

Lee, M., et al. (2005). 'Examining the challenge encountered when implementing problem-based learning in middle school class room'.  International Journal of  Education and Development Using Information and Communication Technology, 3, pp. 131-142.

Prensky, M. (2001)' Digital natives, digital immigrants.'  On the Horizon, 9, 1-6.