The following article surveys 4 Educational Technology specialists to get their opinion of tend for 2015. The topics for each are listed below. Visit the article and summarize in 3 to 5 sentences what the panelist conclude and if they agree. (39 points)

What's Hot and What's Not in Ed Tech for 2015

 

BYOD: Panelists agreed that BYOD can be very useful in the classroom. By doing this, the schools can lower technology costs because students have to bring in their own devices. More schools are adopting this concept and teachers are learning how to work with a larger range of devices.

Social Media: For this topic, panelists were somewhat concerned about social media in the classroom. Some said that it would be hard to seperate personal and work life on the sites. Some said that there is no real way to use the sites such as facebook because the way they would use it for class would violate the terms of service. This is something that may work in the future but have some bugs to work out before it is used.

Digital Badges: Panelists agree that digital badges have great potential for use in the classroom. However, since it is still such a new concept, many people are not familiar with the way it works. Also, many websites and programs may not have a program or badges yet. This is definitely something that will be used in the future.

Open Education Resources: Panelists were not that enthusiastic about OER. They all agreed that they can be expensive and a lot of work, but will be something that more will use in the near future. For now though, it is not something that many people use.

Tablets and Desktops: Many of the panelists have agreed that tablets are the way of the future, and that many schools have already been successful in incorporating them into their classroom. Desktops, however, are being used less and less because they are expensive, and students must use them while they are in the classroom. Students are able to take tablets home with them which means more children have the opportunity to work on schoolwork at home.

E-Portfolios:Panelists had different opinions about ePortfolios. Some liked them because they can store digital badges, and other online projects. The others think that it could be difficult to use for younger grades because they wouldnt be able to easily manage them.

Learning Managements Systems: Everyone of the panelists agreed that LMS are complicated and boring. They take a long time for people to learn, and most don't want to sit in workshops to use them.The tool can be very useful, but is just too complicated for most people to learn.

Learning Analytics: Analytics, according to the panelists, can be a securtiy issue for many parents. Though the data can be useful for everyone, there is no safe way to do it without privacy being an issue.

Augmented Reality: This tool has a lot of potential for the future. There needs to be more educational ways to use it for many schools to adopt the concept. It would put the learning in the students hands and lets them be more creative.

Personalized Learning: There are so many benefits to this type of learning. It allows instruction to be more one on one, and teachers can make digital content to make learning more exciting. By learning what students enjoy, teachers can personalize all of the learning.

Game-based Learning: Panelists all agreed that this is not the way to go when it comes to learning. Many of the games designed for this take too long to complete in order for it to benefit the students. Many of the games aren't very authentic which makes it difficult for teachers to use based on the instruction.

Student Data Privacy Concerns: There seems to be a lot of political involvement in this issue, which some of the panelists did not like. Students logging into personal sites while on the school means that their information can be stolen while on the school server. I think this is an important issue that many schools should be making more of a priority.

Apps for Learning: Apps have so much potential to personalize students learning. The panelists agree that they can be great tools to use, as long as you can find the right one to work. Apps can be great tools for students to use inside and outside of the classroom.