Running Head: IT TRENDS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

What's happening in Instructional Technology in Schools?

Surprising trends and their Consequences
B. Hope Hauptman
California State University Monterey Bay

IT TRENDS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Introduction
Although the field of Instructional Design is constantly evolving as new technology is
developed and implemented, recently several trends have become discernable. This paper
explores three of those trends and their impact at the secondary school level. E-learning
management systems (LMS), electronic formative testing, and game based learning have been
widely touted to improve teaching and the quality of learning.
LMS
E-Learning Management Systems (LMS) are trending in both higher and lower
education. They act as a nexus for communication, enrichment, and peer-to-peer forums by
serving as a platform to turn in, post, deliver, and share everything from student quiz results to
research protocols. Although they have become almost ubiquitous in K-12 schools and colleges,
their consequences are only now being scrutinized. But as early as 2005 H. Coates, et al saw that
while LMS make the Internet a more seductive and accessible tool for teaching, they may
homogenize the creation, style and ownership of pedagogical knowledge (p. 32).
The authors argue that because of their potential for deep and lasting effects, management
systems (or platforms) need a thorough examination by all stakeholders (administrators, teachers,
students, and parents) before their wide-scale adoption. Although Coates, et al write about the
effects on LMS at the college level in 2005, it is being applied in high schools in virtually the
same waywith little forethought and even less oversight.
Coates, et al suggest that LMS will have a profound effect on teachers since they are
expected to make learning happen and therefore will have to master the system and optimize
its use (p.29). LMS will change the way teachers work not only because it requires time to learn
the intricacies of a system guaranteed to keep changing, but also because it may change they way

IT TRENDS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

they develop materials. LMS will be particularly challenging for the most senior teachers, whose
limited experience with technology might inhibit their easy adaption. Moreover, pedagogically,
LMS may not be the neutral platforms that they are advertised as being. No matter how much
they are personalized, LMS may restrain teachers, especially new teachers who are still
formulating a formal pedagogy and limit imaginations, expectations and behaviors. New teachers
may begin to regard online learning as normal and necessary rather than optional (p.27).
Jason Frand, Professor of Communications at UCLA argues that in order for technology
to be meaningful to the information-age learner there must be a substantial shift in the studentteacher-institution relationship (p. 24). He argues that for schools to experience the full
experience of new technology they must radically change their institutional design.
Communication between students and teachers will change as they exchange information
increasingly via electronic messages. As face-to-face communication decreases, students will
have less chance to practice communicating orally. This will create new challenges for teaching
English Language Learners and special needs students struggling to improve their verbal skills.
Schools must also be physically altered to accommodate LMS, which require high-speed Internet
connections, cables and sophisticated servers to run smoothly. As a result, staffing needs will
change as schools becomes more dependent on wireless networks and require network
specialists, technology support staff and trainers.
Some theorists believe that LMS may enrich learning by allowing students to access a
greater range of resources and materials. They argue that internet technologies can make course
content more cognitively accessible to individual learners by allowing them to interact with
diverse, dynamic, associative and pre-packaged knowledge networks (Dobson, 2008). Ultimately
teaching materials may be purchased directly from publishers and delivered on LMS. Such uses

IT TRENDS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

might lead to the creation of franchise schools and the acceleration of commercialization
(Coates, 2005). Student populations grow along with demands for better education yet funding
fails to keep pace as taxpayers, politicians and school boards refuse to spend more while a
growing army of consultants and edu-tech companies promise the extraordinarymore
education and learning for less cost.
Electronic Formative Testing
The use of electronic formative assessment is another educational trend that increasingly
is appearing in credential programs and available for professional development. Often delivered
via LMS (but not necessarily), formative testing guides instruction. The experimental results
show that the proposed approach not only promotes the students learning interest and attitude,
but also improves their learning achievement (Hwang, 2011).
Since formative testing is electronic, it can give teachers and students immediate access
to measures of the learners competency. However, it is probably premature to say that these
measures reveal how well students assimilate any single concept. Nevertheless, formative testing
helps guide planning and provides teachers with a barometer of what their students understand.
For students, formative feedback is relatively risk free since these measurements are not grades
but only a means of highlighting the need for additional preparation and reinforcement.
John L. Dobson of the Department of Physiology at the University of Florida attempted
to determine if using online formative quizzes before a summative exam improved summative
exam scores. Dobson analyzed three different groups in an exercise physiology course. The first
group took a traditional course, a second group took a modernized version of the course and the
third group took the modernized course with the addition of ten online formative quizzes. At the
end of the course, Dobson associated formative online quizzes with improved summative

IT TRENDS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

assessment scores and student learning and concluded they are valid predictors of summative
exam performance. (p. 1) As the use of electronic formative testing becomes the new normal,
other technology trends such as Game Based Learning have embedded formative assessment in
their design.
Game Based Learning
A 2013 study by Takeuchi, et al. claims that the games movement in education is now
mainstream and that games are increasingly played on students personal mobile devices (p. 4).
Teachers report that using games to deliver standards based content results in clear
improvements in students learning, primarily because games offer an environment where
students can role-play free from the judgment of peers and teachers see nearly immediate
feedback.
Mobile gaming combines several teaching methods in a single activity that can be
accessed anywhere. Cost effective and popular with students, electronic games can assist with
planning activities that engage individuals in a crowded classroom. Games motivate students by
encouraging the acquisition of points, foster learning as users draw on prior knowledge to
graduate from one level to the next, and inspire motivation through competition. They can also
stimulate situational learning and memory recall through special effects and repetition.
The Pentagon has taken a game based approach to training new recruits and experienced
soldiers. In his 2001 book on Game Based Learning, Marc Prensky says that Business people
are slowly getting it. Schools get it here and there. But the U.S. Military gets it big time.
The Military has embraced Digital Game-Based Learning with all the fervor of true believers.
Why? Because it works for them. And trust me, the guys in charge of training at the Pentagon are
a very sharp group. They have seen and evaluated everything (Prensky, 2001).

IT TRENDS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

In a 2010 article in the journal Computers & Education, Juan Burguillo contends that the
combination of game theory with the use of friendly competitions provides a strong motivation
for students; helping to increase their performance (p. 1). Game theory is a strategy for
analyzing decision-making and other aspects of human behavior. Integrating games into the
classroom introduces students to strategic decision-making and, according to its proponents, can
motivate students, support English language learners and students with special needs. If gaming
is paired with conversation and discussion it can be a powerful tool to motivate ELL students
those who struggle with more traditional modes of education (Schwartz, 2014).
The Common Core, English and Math guidelines that indicate what students should know
at the end of each grade level, instructs teachers to stress critical-thinking, problem-solving, and
analytical skills that are required for success in college, career, and life (ELA, 2014). Teachers
already using game based learning in their classrooms may already be doing just that.
Conclusion
Funding for education is not expected to keep pace with the growing numbers of students
on college campuses and in the class rooms of public schools. School districts will have to do
more with less. Therefore, technology that improves communication, disseminates information
faster, and collects student data more rapidly and accurately fills a near universal need and, if the
money is there, is sure to be nearly universally adopted. As a result, what are merely trends today
will soon become the new normal. Learning management systems, electronic formative testing
and game based learning do more than just improve budgets; they can make learning more
enjoyable and teaching more efficient. But success will require a high level of commitment to the
training of teachers and support staff and a willingness to engage students, parents, and
communities in unprecedented ways.

IT TRENDS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

References
Burguillo, J. C. (2010). Using game theory and competition-based learning to stimulate
student motivation and performance. Computers & Education, 55(2), 566-575.

Coates, H., James, R., & Baldwin, G. (2005). A critical examination of the effects of
learning management systems on university teaching and learning. Tertiary Education and
Management, 11(1) , 19-36.

Dobson, J. L. (2008). The use of formative online quizzes to enhance class preparation
and scores on summative exams. Advances in Physiology Education, 32(4), 297-302.

ELA Standards. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2014, from Common Core State Standards
Initiative website: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/

Hwang, G. J., & Chang, H. F. (2011). A formative assessment-based mobile learning

approach to improving the learning attitudes and achievements of students. Computers &
Education, 56(4), 1023-1031.

Prensky, M. (2001). True believers: Digital game-based learning in the military. Digital
game-based learning. Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20%20Digital%20Game-Based%20Learning-Ch10-Military.pdf

Schwartz, K. (2014, November 24). Some Struggles Teachers Face Using Games in the
Classroom [Blog post]. Retrieved from KQED Mindshift website:

IT TRENDS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/11/some-struggles-teachers-face-using-games-in-theclassroom/

Takeuchi, L. M., & Vaala, S. (2014). Level up learning: A national survey on teaching
with digital games. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Retrieved
December 2, 2014, from: http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/10/jgcc_leveluplearning_final.pdf