EDUC631 EducationalPhilosophy FinalExamPaper Wooten Lotsie

7/30/2019 EDUC631 EducationalPhilosophy FinalExamPaper Wooten Lotsie

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Running Head: EDUC 631 FINAL EXAM PAPER 1

EDUC 631 Final Exam Paper

Lotsie Dallas Wooten

Liberty University

July 6, 2012


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EDUC 631 FINAL EXAM PAPER 2

EDUC 631 Final Exam Paper

The public education system is facing the perfect storm. It is not perfect in the sense that it

is a nice storm, however; it is a storm where bad public perception, a depressed economy, and

online disruptive technology leave many to wonder if our current public education system will

survive. There are a good majority of Americans who believe that too many tax dollars are being

spent on a failing public education system and that online technology creates better choices for

their children. Online learning is not a new phenomenon, however; it is gaining momentum for

K-12 students. Learning online is a disruptive technology that has influenced public education in

ways that are positive and negative.

As a Christian Technology Director for a public school system, this author is specifically

interested in the factors that make students succeed in the classroom and in life. Christian

educators must remember that their main purpose is to always be obedient to Christ as His foot

soldier, in thoughts and actions, as they servant-lead students through their educational career

(Stowell,1996). Is technology the most important factor in assuring student success? The answer

is no. The teacher is still the most important factor in the classroom for student success.

Technology is a tool and when used correctly, it can help engage, encourage, and help students

actively learn or construct knowledge that will enable them to learn skills that are necessary in

the 21st century.

Is online learning the wave of the future for our students? Is technology the magic bullet

that will engage students to learn? It is this authors opinion that one of the reasons why parents


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are finding online learning more attractive is because of the lack of engagement that their

students have in a traditional classroom setting. The primary instructional strategy in the


classroom is still direct-instruction. Direct instruction does little to motivate students to learn or

apply 21st century skills. Because classrooms are not integrating different instructional strategies,

technology integration occurring in the classroom leads to technology substitution not

integration. An Example of substitution technology is the document camera, which replaces the

overhead projector. The document camera functions exactly like the overhead projector without

any change to pedagogical or learning strategies. True technology integration can only happen in

conjunction with either a change in pedagogy or the learning process.

Successful technology substitution or integration achieves technology transparency in the

classroom and supports the instructional and curricular goals of the classroom. Technology can

and should be used to support the integration of new constructive instructional strategies that

promote student-centered learning. Technology integrators should focus on teaching the

integration of student-centered instructional strategies such as project-based learning and the

flipped classroom and use technology as the tool to get us there. Furthermore, technology

integration should follow the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

framework if it is to be successful.


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Reference

S t owel l , J .M. ( 1996) . Fo l lo wi ng chr i s t. Gr and Rap i ds , MI : Zonder van .

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EDUC631 EducationalPhilosophy FinalExamPaper Wooten Lotsie