Week One Reflection

Essential Question: How do we define Emerging Technologies?

After reading this week's question and before doing some research, I was under the impression that "emerging technologies" were the new and exciting technological advances that are occurring in the education world.  It turns out I was on the right track, but not quite correct. According to George Veletsianos, "Emerging technologies are tools, concepts, innovations, and advancements utilized in diverse educational settings to serve varied education-related purposes" (Veletsianos, 2010, p. 3).  

George Veletsianos set out to define emerging technologies and generated this mind map of
ideas that he received from other researchers and practitioners (Veletsianos, 2010, p. 12)

Furthermore, Veletsianos states that emerging technologies share these four characteristics:

1. Emerging Technologies and Emerging Practices are Not Defined by Newness
2. Emerging Technologies and Emerging Practices Are Evolving Organisms that Exist in a State of “Coming into Being”
3. Emerging Technologies and Emerging Practices Are Not Yet Fully Understood or Researched
4. Emerging Technologies and Emerging Practices Have Promising But as Yet Unfulfilled Potential (Veletsianos, 2015).

So, to me, emerging technologies are a little risky and perhaps scary because there isn't a whole lot of research about the outcomes of using them in the classroom. However, they can also allow us to enhance educational practices and increase student engagement and ultimately learning. We should remain open to the idea that existing ways of teaching may not be best suited for the twenty-first century purposes of education and be willing to step out of our comfort zones in order to do better for our students.

Resources:
Veletsianos, G. (2010). Emerging Technologies in Distance Education. Athabasca University Press.

Veletsianos, G. (2015, April 14). The Defining Characteristics of Emerging Technologies and Emerging Practices in Online Education. Retrieved January 19, 2020, from https://www.veletsianos.com/2015/04/14/the-defining-characteristics-of-emerging-technologies-and-emerging-practices-in-online-education/