The Use of Technology
in Education
Dr. H.E. (Buster) Dunsmore
dunsmore@cs.purdue.edu
Purdue University
Department of Computer Science
PowerPoint slides created by Paula Perkins
© 2005, Purdue University
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40th Anniversary
 Recently, Purdue’s Department of Computer Science
celebrated its 40th Anniversary
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Purdue Computer Science
began in 1962
 No computer on campus
 Programs were punched
into cards and driven to
Indianapolis
 End of each day programs came back to
campus on green bar
paper
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Purdue’s First Computer
Fall 1963, Purdue University
got its first computer on campus
 Enormous – size of this
room
 Vacuum Tubes
 Transistors
 Air Conditioning
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How Much has Technology
Changed in 40 Years?
 Computers are now
1000 times faster
 Computers now store
1000 times more
information
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Forty years….
 Forty years ago they could not have imagined
today’s handheld computers
 What will next forty years bring?
 Cannot even imagine…
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What is Technology?
1. Technology is Objects:
 Tools, machines, instruments, weapons, appliances - the
physical devices of technical performance
2. Technology is Knowledge:
 The know-how behind technological innovation
3. Technology is Activities:
 What people do - their skills, methods, procedures, routines
4. Technology is a Process:
 Begins with a need and ends with a solution
5. Technology is a Sociotechnical System:
 The manufacture and use of objects involving people and
other objects in combination
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Should We Use Technology
in Education?
 Plan should clearly identify learning goals to
be achieved through technology
 Technology should support instructional
learning goals -- integrated into instruction in
meaningful ways
 Technology should be used for challenging,
long-term projects that promote students'
higher-order thinking skills
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Technology In the
Classroom
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Re-inventing the Blackboard
 Blackboard was
technological breakthrough

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

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Greenboard
Whiteboard
Slides
Transparencies
Sound recordings
Video
Computer
Specialized software
Internet connection
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Reality Check…
 Not all classrooms have
needed equipment
 Some faculty fearful of
using such technology
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How can we make things better?
 Make Technology:
 Pervasive
 Natural to use
 Wireless
 Effortless
 Easy to use a little or a
lot
 Provide standard
desktop for instructors
 Make it easy to combine
methodologies

Blackboard,
transparencies, video..
 Provide technical staff
 “Security blanket”
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Ideal Situation
 Multiple computers
 Multiple screens
 Fast and reliable
Internet connections
 Technical Staff &
Software

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Create slides
Create demonstrations
Create animations
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Obtaining, Organizing, and Using New
Technology
 Classrooms, labs
 Wireless networks
 Technology vendors
 Partnerships with the private sector
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Student Technology
 Laptops
 PDA’s
 Wireless system
connections
 Digitized video
 Cell Phones
 Text Messaging
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Technology Outside
the Classroom
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Technology Outside the Classroom
 Concept is relatively
new idea
 Forerunners:
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Library
Telephone
Collections of reserved
materials
Tutors
Help desks
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Current & Future Technology
 Current Technology
 Class Website
 Description
 Syllabus
 Reading Material
 In-class presentation
material
 Assignments
 Video
 Grades
 FAQ’s
 Future Technology
 Digitized lecture video
 Video Conferencing for
“office hours”
 Beyond imagination
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Technical Staff & Software
 Make the use of
technology outside the
classroom easier

Create and administer:
 Websites
 Video
 Grades
 FAQ’s
 Electronic bulletin
boards
 Chat rooms
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Online Student Service Websites
 Register for classes
 Pay tuition
 Research term papers
 Take Internet classes
 Check grades
 Email friends
 Build own website
 Much much more…
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Distance Education
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New Concepts…
 “Distance Education”
“Distance Learning”
“E-Learning”
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Trends in Distance Education
 More people interested
in:

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Supplementing
education
Getting degree
Non-credit education
 Industry and Military
interested in costeffective ways to train
 Becoming more
expensive to provide
traditional classrooms
and labs
 Technology available in
homes, libraries,
community centers
becoming very
sophisticated
Trends would all seem to converge with
Distance Education – people taking
classes without going to class
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Overcoming Problems
 Problems:
 Delivering information
 Controlling progress
through class
 Conducting labs
 Helping students with
projects & papers
 Testing
 Making it possible thru:
 Internet
 Web
 DSL/Cable access
 Desktops, laptops,
PDA’s
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Value added by Instructor
 Providing websites, slides, demos,
animations is not enough

Most critical component - Instructor
 No technology will replace human interaction

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Instructors can “read” students in classroom
Instructors can provide further explanation
Instructors can guide discussion in a different
direction
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How can we make progress?
 Deliver instructor via digitized video (but live is best)
 Synchronous – Provide interaction via
communication devices
 Asynchronous – Archived video, video FAQ’s,
occasional access to Instructor
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Administration Problems
 Situation
100 students taking class…
 All beginning on different day…
working at different rates of speed…
ending on different day…
 Suicide!
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Making it Work
 Multiple entry and exit points
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(course modules)
Technology in the classroom
will adapt easily to Distance
Learning
Websites, digitized video,
FAQ’s etc. viewable
anywhere ... not just in
classroom
Need technical staff help
Use common format/structure
for web-delivered courses
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Student Technology on Campus
 What students have:
 Laptops
 PDA’s
 Cell Phones
 Much more advanced
technology
 They want to be able to
link into system to get
this information
 What campuses need
to provide:

Common areas with
wireless hook-ups
 Upload/download
 Check calendars
 Email
 Virtual Library
 Internet
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Blurring of Administrative and
Instructional Support
 History – separate computers in separate
buildings
 Because of networks and remote access, no
longer reason to keep separate
 Barriers to integration:



Inertia
Security concerns
Some degree of different functionality
(administrative still has some large data
processing applications)
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BREAK
BREAK (15 MIN)
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Technology Problem Solving (30 min)
 Prof. Dunsmore will present several
Technology scenarios.
 Participants will suggest concerns, problems,
difficult issues, easy-to-solve issues, and
potential solutions.
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Technology Problem Solving
University is planning a new building for
Horticulture - to be used in part for faculty
offices, student study areas, and classrooms.
University has no computer network backbone just a single Internet connection in the
administration building.
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What technology should be included in the
new building?
How can it be supported?
How can it be used?
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Technology Problem Solving
Technology may not always be appropriate in
every educational setting.
 What limits should be placed on its use?
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Technology Problem Solving
What partnerships with the private sector could
best help develop education technology?
 What about hardware and software
companies?
 What about other "high tech" companies?
 What about more traditional "low tech"
companies?
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Technology Problem Solving
 How can administrators get the most out of
education technology?
 How can faculty get the most out of education
technology?
 How can students get the most out of
education technology?
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