Frasher 1st draft Feb. 4, 2014

Fatima Frasher

Feb.4, 2014

Advance Reporting

1^st draft

            Consumer electronics have been on the brink of expansion in the high-tech world, so much so that schools have decided to take part of the trend.

            Bring your own technology is a trending topic Richmond County Public Schools and local universities in Georgia embrace with open arms. The latest consumer gadgets for education are so vast that schools want to harness this once untapped medium bringing education to the forefront of the tech-savvy world.

This direction of educational freedom has many educators inspired in its direction, Veleeta Tanksley, the media specialist of two Richmond County Public School, said she is in support.

“It is bring technology that supports the curriculum,” the media specialist said.

            Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School is a school that thrives from new advancement in technology. The school curriculum is categorized into programs students are interested in. Certain programs require this great new teaching tool of electronics.

            “In the video classes they have everything,” Tanksley said. “MacBooks, MacPros, MacServers and recently new chrombooks.”

            Tanksley and many other educators at RCTCM use web-based programs such as Carnegie Learning Online, Galileo High School and Khan Academy to help show students different learning platforms. The latest computers and the best browser can come in handy for these young scholars and the ideal of bring their own technology is also a plus for them as well.

“So they are allowed to bring any type of device that they have at home,” Tanksley said.

Being able to save a specific lesson or favorite a new page could be the ultimate boost some students need to receive that  A or  B in a certain class.

“I haven’t seen any of the smart watches or Google Glasses yet,” Tanksley said. “But yeah who knows.”

Being able to record by command, take picture by command, text and share live feed Google Glass have become a must get for some students like Artez Habersham, a junior at RCTCM.

“I would use those Google Glasses to record my teacher going over class lessons and play them back to help me study,” Habersham said. “I heard those glass are more than a grand though.”

Mainly at RCTCM students come to school prepared with their laptop, tablets, cameras and phones.

“There may be some instances were we’ve seen different types of cameras, but mainly its different phones,” Tanksley said. “I don’t know if they have brought any kind of technology anybody else wouldn’t have.”

A good thing for students at the Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School is they do not have to pay out of pocket for this trending technology some of their courses might require them to use.

“Even though we are a BYOT school any technology that’s required must be supplied by the school,” Tanksley said. “We can’t say there is [a][specific] technology required.”

Over the next couple of years from the educational perspective, technology will taper off in the direction of six highly advanced technical avenues for education. Advances such as cloud computing, different mobile device some what like eReaders, open digital content free for all, game-based learning and learning analytics are what retailers are saying is the next big thing in educational technology. These six advancements are considered to be emerging in the next four to five years.

Cloud Computing gives schools a quick and easy way to access ready-made technology and different applications through the use of the internet. Mobile Devices are another tool that will help young consumers develop and define what it is to learn online. Open digital content free for all will be a teaching tool any college student could take advantage of, offering textbooks at a reduced price. Game-Base learning would be a fun and rewarding choice for educators to use for the younger students helping to encourage a vibrant learning style. Learning Analytics is another emerging tactic that could be used to help educators identify-at risk students struggling in their classes.

It seems as though high schools and colleges alike are already taking full advantage of the personal learning environments such as Desire 2 Learn and Khan Academy. While all technology is not wearable for education just yet, it leaves consumers guessing of the next big thing outside of iPads, iPhones and go-go gadget eye wear. Even with these new advances it still leaves consumers worrying about what type of effect this technology is going to have on the wallet.

“I’m looking forward to see[ing] affordable prices in technological advances that everyone can afford not just a select few,” Habersham said.