Sunday, March 7, 2010

Disrupting Class

I have long thought that teaching with technology can and should be transformative. As the authors of a new book about technology in education point out, however, it is difficult for schools to incorporate new systems in truly transformative ways.

Using industry as a guide, they examine and explain how two main categories of innovation-- sustaining innovation and disruptive innovation-- have defined the the lay of the of those industries' landscape.

An example cited is the personal computer, which disrupted an industry previously the domain of manufacturers of hugh mainframes and only slightly smaller "minicomputers," none of which were designed for home use. Instead of trying to compete against established companies, Apple introduced it's IIe as something of a toy-- to users who were not in the market before. In this way, Apple made a new market out of the disruptive innovation.

Disrupting Class obviously praises American school systems for how they have responded to their customers' needs and the market's demands, but offer some guidance as to how it could incorporate disruptive innovation better.

Instead of applying a new technology into existing systems, as have done businesses to no great success, they argue that schools must find "new markets" for technology, taking on a role that nobody currently has.
For instance, instead of installing class computers to supplements what the teacher normally does, and has done for decades, a new set of computers could be used to teach a class that has never been taught, or tutor kids in a way that a teacher never could.

Given that an individual teacher has little impact on the way a school system, much less an individual school, is organized, I wonder how a teacher could use technology innovation in a disruptive way.

What are some ways we can use innovations in our own classrooms that serve "markets" that never existed before? That is, how can we use technology to fill roles that have never been filled before?

14 comments:

Ali McMahon said...

Technology is an amazing tool that can be used in many ways. Especially in ways through teaching and education. Technology has become a major part of our lives today and continues to increase each day. Throughout the years technology has become more and more revised to where it takes over the rolls of different things that normally it would not. For example it has began to take over the roll of text books and history books for school. Students are now using the internet to use text instead of having to carry around text books. Another thing technology has taken over is taking roll in class. Now with just a click of a button you can take roll on the computer and document it, intsead of having to write it down and have someone walk it to the administration office. Technology enhances more and more each day and we will probably eventually have robot teachers teaching the classes.
Ali McMahon

Heather J said...

Technology has a great possibility of eliminating paper waste from classrooms as never before. As the "green" movement picks up speed and the economy stays in peril computerized assigments instead of printed onee, using powerpoints for lessons instead of paper, having online textbooks instead of printed ones and doing research on the internet instead of in books will save the school and students money on expensive books along with saving paper. These are some examples on how we can use technology as never before. It can help with social change and economic stability along with aiding students in new ways to learn.

Unknown said...

Technology is starting to eliminate the need for papers and pens, as well as textbooks, as we read in the article from last week. With an increase in technological availability, more and more students have internet access. They can use the internet to do activities and lessons online instead of turning in a worksheet.
Additionally, it would be great if there was an 'Ask the Teacher' site, where students could IM and ask questions about concepts they needed more clarification about.

Brittany Motodani said...

Some ways to use technology to fill roles is by using the resources around us. Such as using blogs to talk about what the class has read and have other classmates comment about each others thoughts. Another way is to use technology is to use the computer to construct graphs for math and make them different colors so that each graph will be different. Instead of just graphing it on paper it would have to be done on the computer and the students must have a table with all the points using excel.

Unknown said...

Technology has ushered in a new role of education. Intelligence is no longer measured by the amount of "stuff" we know because everyone can access all information. So what we need to learn is how to process this mass quantity of information. The internet is opening up mountains of facts that give any Joe Schmo a reason to feel smart. If we use technology appropriately, use that information to head us in a knowledgeable direction, we have the potential to produce very wise students. The access to it all gives a means to the end of knowledge but can be used incorrectly and leave students beyond baffeled

Taylor Louise Garry said...

Technology has become so powerful that the students will be able to eliminate the use of tangible textbooks in the classroom. If given the chance to have enough computers in the classroom for each student, there would be no need for textbooks. The students could simply find the lessons on the internet. The teacher could assign specific websites per lesson or subscribe to an online textbook type of site. Also, notebooks could be eliminated at an earlier age by students using word processors to take notes on rather than writing them down.

pixie said...

technology is a tool that is being uses more and more in schools but at the moment it is primly used to mimic what was already being done in the classroom. I hope to use technology in my classroom not only to supplement my stander teaching but also in ways I could never teach. like having tutoring centers that can give kids the individual attention that I can not give each student as much as I would like. I also want to bring in assistive technology that can give extra support to kids who learn differently. like using text to speech programs for slow or late readers and speech to text programs for slow types.

Jannea said...

Technology can fill in the gaps between teachers and parents that have long been an issue. With the two more conveiniently connected, the students will receive a much more closely monitored education, with unprecedented parental involvement. Technology can also help support a more sustainable way to educate, meaning that you can cut down on paper use, in textbooks and other materials/

Michelle Abuyaghi said...

Technology plays a major role in education. Textbooks are starting to be more and more common on the internet. This helps students who have a hard time reading books. For example, in highschool it was hard for me to read a book or an article on paper but when I found the document online it would make it much easier to read. Technology is constantly developing which leads to the growth and development of education and knowledge.

Unknown said...

One way we can use technology to fill roles that have never been filled before is by using online videos to relate lessons to real life situations. I think one of the hardest tasks for a teacher is to show the students that what they are learning is actually relatable to life and society today. For example, if the lesson is about American history, the teacher can find a video about presidents throughout time. This is actually more entertaining and gets the students more interested, as opposed to listening to the teacher lecturing from a book. Before, teachers were limited to simple classroom objects like books, posters, and maybe historical documentaries. Now, teachers can select from a wide range of interesting and youth-oriented videos, whether they are made by professionals or ordinary people.

Unknown said...

Technology is emerging as a greater force in academic use. Blogs, which are obviously more of an entertaining technological tool, have become useful in the online world of academia. Students can read online blogs about a specific book or paper topic they are researching for class. Also, senior year of high-school, my teacher had the class set up a blog account through wiki-blog so we could hold discussions about the literature book we were reading over our 2-week break. This allowed students to review their work even outside of class, and have in-depth notes and multiple viewpoints to study for the literature test. Additionally, the teacher signed onto the blog and contributed notes online for the class. The classroom is truly becoming technologically savvy, with more benefits than not, with easier communication and additional study tools.

Amelia said...

In the classroom I feel as though there is a lot of room to reach new markets. Technology it seems is still realtively new in the classroom so teachers have a great opportunity to start implementing it in new ways. Technology has rarely been used in the classroom to facilitate learning. For example literary books and text books can be found on the internet, smart boards in classroms create an interactive teaching experience, and powerpoints make lessons more enjoyable. I think that so much had yet to be done with technology to inspire students.

Amelia said...

I think a lot can still be done to implement techonology in the classroom in new and exciting ways. Teachers have so much room to grow with techonology and it is always changing. I think right now powerpoints help to make classes and lessons more exciting, smart boards make lessons interactive, and litterature and text books are more accesible online. I can see things growing and changing even more. I am excited to be a part of it!

Anonymous said...

I think the roles technology has yet to fill (because it hasn't yet taken off) is making lectures or lessons completely available over the internet. In one of my classes recently, the professor was unable to meet because of an emergency, so she posted a Voicethread online for the class to follow. It was basically a power point presentation with the professor's voice on each slide. Although I don't suggest professors doe this for every class, if students are absent or want to review the lecture, they can use the online Voicethread to do just that.