What is the meaning of technology "affordances" and "constraints" in terms of education?

The meaning of technology "affordances" and "constraints" is the advantages and disadvantages of using technology during everyday life and in the classroom. According to this article "The troublesome concept of “technological affordances”" a man by the name of Ian Hutchby was introduced to the notion of technology affordance.  Technology "affordance" was used to inform us about new technology would would soon come about. Affordance is used to expresses properties of an environment which interaction with a user can enhance the learning of potential of an individual. Technology “affordances” are the ways in which technology offers or supports certain things in relation to teaching and learning. With technology, teachers are no longer limited to the traditional lecture and instructional structure of teaching a lesson.




 Technology constraints is the limitation, repression educator feel about technology. The article Constraints tells us in more depth about those limitations. A major constraint in terms of education is for the educators knowing how and when to integrate the technology tool resources in the classrooms. Another constraint in technology is time and access issues could be some technology "constraints" in education because the teachers have to set time aside to incorporate the technology into their lesson plan and curriculum activities to utilize technology effectively in the classroom. Technology can be a complex teaching tool but teachers must remain vigilant and set the appropriate tasks for students to maximize the benefits of using the technology tool.
 

Flipped Classroom Concept.

Last week I discussed integrating technology into the classrooms and I think this topic goes perfect. The concept of a flipped classroom is a great idea. I say this because with children these days use technology for every why not use it for school as well. Having the students use their technology to get introduced to a lesson before actual class time will in a sense give them a heads up on what to look forward to the next day. 

 

I would use the flipped classroom concept in my teaching very often because I feel like it is something that my students will enjoy. Not only will my students enjoy it but I believe that the parents will enjoy it as well. The parents will enjoy it because they finally get to see exactly what their child is learning and not just what the child tells them they are learning. 

I could see myself using the flipped concept to send out the weeks lesson, test, or even project ideas. The reason why I would use the flipped classroom concept would be to send out all the book work that way we could do more hands on activities in class.  Keeping the students involved and engaged in every way possible and I believe that this is the best way. 

What Are Some Important Best Practices For Technology In Education?

Trying to integrate technology into your everyday life is difficult enough on it's own. But trying to integrate technology in a classroom is next level difficulty. Some teachers ma not be as computer savvy in comparison to other teachers whose entire life is based off technology. With those types of teachers they would be absolutely thrilled about integrating technology in their classrooms. So for the teachers not so thrilled about the entire technology in classroom idea there are five trends that should make that transition easier for the teachers, students, and parents. These five tends come from the article "Best Practices in Education Technology."    

The first trend is "New Structures and Funding Models." This trend introduces the use of leading-edge technology in education. It gives the teachers and students an opportunity to learn about the new technology before they even get a chance to see it. The second trend is "The Relationships Among Teachers, Students, and Parents." In order for development to happen the teachers and parents should both be on board for what is best for the students development. So collaborative approaches are in order for everyone to work together to grasp the understanding of technology in order to teach the students because parents are teachers to.

The third trend is "The Relationship Among Technology, Education, and Innovation." According to the article "innovation in education does not necessarily require high-tech and complex solutions." Technology is not meant to be complex and seem like a foreign language to people. To my understanding technology was created to make the difficult things very simple in everyday life. So it should have the affect in the classrooms. If you have a positive attitude about integrating technology into the classroom then learning how to use it will become enjoyable to you and the students. 

The fourth trend is "A More Sophisticated, Blended Approach to Learning." According to the article "learning can be formal and informal." Learning can be a difficult task for anyone to master without the proper teaching. Trend number four lists a few modes of learning that I feel might be helpful with best practices for technology in education. Just to list a few "ensuring that the digital divide does not exclude some learners from participation" and "assessing and accrediting such learning." Lastly trend number five is "More Sophisticated Assessment and Evaluation." Trend number five is an expansion to the fourth trend but with a little more information about assessment and evaluation. The assessment plays a very crucial role in every child's learning ability. We as teachers should be mindful of how we evaluate students as well. With trying to integrate technology into our classrooms we as teachers need to first gain all the knowledge we can about the technology that will be given to us then next find a way to implement the technology into our curriculum to benefit the students and I feel like the trends that I have listed here are some of the keys tools to getting the job done.