Part A
C. change in form as they are used in all classrooms.
Part B
C. "However, it appears that the digital revolution cannot be stopped; it may simply change form."
Are There Drawbacks to Digital Learning?
1 As thousands of school districts across the country face steeper and steeper budget cuts, school officials are looking at digital learning systems to fill gaps and even to replace some traditional classroom settings.
2 For example, a state bill in Idaho proposed by school superintendent Tom Luna, required all students to take a minimum of four online classes. This bill, though, also eliminated teaching jobs. The bill, SB 1184, did not pass, but it does indicate that more schools across the country are considering similar measures. The goals of these schools are to provide the same level of education for their students while using a budget that is shrinking as each year passes.
3 There are several challenges that must be addressed or overcome, though, before a more widespread use of digital learning can be adopted in schools. First is the overwhelming number of technical challenges. As of 2010, most schools are connected with the Internet, but not every classroom has computers. Plus, even if a classroom does have computers, they might not have enough for every student to use at the same time. In addition to this obstacle, which in itself is big enough, there is still a large number of teachers who are opposed to using technology and the Internet as part of their day-to-day instruction. As digital learning is used more, it will also dramatically change the role of teachers in the classroom. Today, teachers introduce new information to their students, discuss it with them, and then help them apply and practice this information. In online or digital classrooms, each child will be able to complete lessons at his or her own pace, while the teacher is there to simply answer questions and provide additional support.
4 One of the concerns over digital learning that has been voiced is that the content can be too easy for some students, allowing them to pass a class while not gaining the knowledge they were intended to receive.
5 There is also the challenge of developing enough appropriate content and lesson plans in an interactive, digital format. Today’s educational publishers will need to adapt to a new format and model that includes many more visual elements and interactivity. A larger group of people will need to be involved in the process, from beginning to end, with a wider range of skills and abilities.
6 While all of these are serious issues to be contended with, they have not dampened the enthusiasm for digital learning among many educators. In fact, by the end of the 2000s, more than 1 million children in kindergarten through 12th grade will have taken an online learning class. But most educators prefer these classes to be used as a supplement to traditional classroom settings, not as a replacement for them. For example, students can retake a course that they failed over the summer through an online course, or take a class they couldn’t get in the classroom. In one school system, students are able to take Chinese, a foreign language that is not offered in the classroom due to the small number of students interested in taking it.
7 But the most important question concerning digital learning still needs to be answered: Is digital learning an effective teaching model? As of 2012, studies that could clearly answer that question have not been conducted. However, some studies that compared a traditional inperson classroom model with an online only classroom model (a class not combined with inperson instruction and assistance) found that students learned equally well in either model.
8 However, it appears that the digital revolution cannot be stopped; it may simply change form. If entire classes can’t be digital, then at least the textbooks will be, according to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. It has launched its Digital Textbook Initiative to ensure that all schools in the United States use digital textbooks by the year 2017.
Read a blog from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Then answer the questions that follow.
FCC Chairman Genachowski’s Push for Digital Textbooks
by Jordan Usdan and Josh Gottheimer
At the first-ever Digital Learning Day Town Hall in Washington, DC, FCC Chairman Genachowski and Secretary of Education Duncan challenged states and the education and technology industries to get digital textbooks into the hands of all students in five years. Barriers to adoption of digital textbooks include old state procurement rules, lack of device and content interoperability, and connectivity costs.
Six months ago, Genachowski and Duncan launched an effort with business and education leaders to help schools make the transition to digital textbooks. At yesterday’s event, this collaborative presented them with the “Digital Textbook Playbook,” a resource for schools making the move to digital learning. As a next step, Genachowski and Duncan announced a meeting in March 2012 with education CEOs, state officials, and nonprofit leaders to advance the national adoption of digital textbooks.
The FCC has been working since the 1990s, via its E-Rate program, to connect every library and classroom in America to the Internet. Now it is time for the next broadband-enabled learning revolution. Digital textbooks offer lessons personalized to students’ learning styles and aptitudes that enable real-time data and feedback to parents and teachers.
Key facts:
The U.S. spends more than $7 billion per year on K12 textbooks, but too many students are still using books that are seven to ten years old, with outdated material.
South Korea has announced that all students will be using digital textbooks beginning in 2015.
Technology-based teaching can reduce the time it takes to learn a lesson by up to 80 percent.
The FCC is the biggest funder of connectivity in K12 schools in the United States. It is helping connect America's schools to the networks of the future. The FCC's education agenda is focused on helping educators, students, and parents transform learning opportunities through the use of technology at school, in the community, and at home.
Two-Part Question
Part A
Multiple Choice Question
In "Are There Drawbacks to Digital Learning?" the author's purpose of the last two paragraphs is to state that the digital technologies will definitely
A.
improve teaching effectiveness in the classroom.
B.
be used in the near future in all classrooms.
C.
change in form as they are used in all classrooms.
D.
be researched before being used in classroom.
Part B
Multiple Choice Question
Which evidence supports the answer above?
A.
"But the most important question concerning digital learning still needs to be answered: Is digital learning an effective teaching model?"
B.
"However, some studies that compared a traditional in-person classroom model with an online-only classroom model . . . found that students learned equally well in either model."
C.
"However, it appears that the digital revolution cannot be stopped; it may simply change form."
D.
"It has launched its Digital Textbook Initiative to ensure that all schools in the United States use digital textbooks by the year 2017."
1 answer