Running head: Emerging Technologies

Emerging Technologies
Kassandra G. Hernandez
Corrine Blake
EDU 214: Preparing Teachers to Use Technology
04 November 2016

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Abstract
My research topic is emerging technologies. I have chosen three emerging technologies, which
are virtual and remote laboratories, game based technology, and cloud computing. All three
technologies are essential to the classroom and have many benefits. Virtual and remote
laboratories have many benefits and have impacted both teaching and learning. Virtual and
remote laboratories have been integrated to elementary, middle, and high school in various ways.
Game based technology is very useful in the classroom. Game based technology has had an
impact on the teaching and learning process and it offers many benefits. Game based has also
been integrated into all grade levels and works very easily. Cloud computing has been integrated
to elementary school, middle school, and high school. Just like all other emerging technologies,
game based technology has had an impact of the teaching and learning process. Each and every
emerging technology benefits the classroom and facilitates both teaching and learning.
Technology is a great way to keep students involved with the subjects being taught.

Keywords: Elementary school, middle school, high school, emerging technology, cloud
computing, virtual and remote labs, game based technology, integration,

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Without a doubt, emerging technologies are a big part of the 21st century education. Some
emerging technologies that are soon to become crucial in the classroom are virtual and remote
laboratories, cloud computing, and game based technology. All of these technologies have had a
major impact in both the learning process and the teaching process. All emerging technologies
have been integrated into elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. Each and
every emerging technology has slowly been integrated into the classrooms and will sure be
integrated completely in the future. Not only have emerging technologies had an impact on
learning and teaching but they provide a wide variety of benefits in the classroom. Emerging
technologies provide immense benefits to all grade levels.
To begin with, one of the current emerging technologies in education is cloud computing.
According to Eric Griffiths article, cloud computing means to store and access data over the
internet instead of storing it in a computers hard drive. This is essential in the classroom because
it helps students save their work over the internet, and then access that data at home or anywhere
else. Cloud computing is very useful and easy to access because you can access it anywhere and
anytime by just being connected to the internet. It has had an impact on teaching because now
teachers can give out lessons that can be stored in the cloud and that way students can access
them later. Another way it has positively impacted teaching is by making grading easier because
teachers no longer have to go over a stack of student work. When it comes to the learning
process, cloud computing has had a positive impact on students. With cloud computing, students
can work on schoolwork at home and have a greater possibility of finishing up schoolwork and
getting good grades. Cloud computing has been integrated to elementary school, middle school,
high school, and college. Cloud computing has served in the same way for middle school, high

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school, and college students, like myself. Cloud computing has many benefits. First, you can
access it anywhere and anytime so you never have to worry about losing work or not being able
to do it at a certain time. It also offers a lot of storage and that is beneficial to both students and
teachers, because all the work that is worked on throughout the year can be saved for later
reference. It is also easy to save things on the cloud and there are many websites and programs
that offer cloud storage. According to the Teaching and Learning with Technology textbook, the
Google app is the most used. The Google applications are free, and therefore that is another
benefit. The Google applications offer emails, docs, PowerPoints, and many other things that are
saved on the cloud. Cloud computing definitely offers a lot of opportunities to both educators
and students in any grade level.
Secondly, another emerging technology is game based technology. Game based
technology has had an impact on learning, because it offers students visuals that can facilitate
their learning or make it much more simple. Not only has game based technology impacted
learning, but it has also impacted the teaching process. Some ways that game based technology
has impacted teaching is by making it easier for teachers to teach and explain. Taking into
consideration that I want to teach preschool in the future, I think that game based technology
makes learning a lot more fun, especially for the younger kids. Game based technology has been
integrated to elementary school, middle school, high school, and sometimes even in college.
Game based technology is more often used in elementary school because younger kids have a
shorter attention span and this technology makes it easy to keep them focused. In middle school
and high school game based technology is not used as often but it is incorporated enough. One
website that is used a lot when in high school and college is Kahoot and I personally enjoy using

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it because it makes learning fun. Game based technology has many benefits including it being an
attention getter, fun, easy, and interesting. How does game based technology work? Online
educational games are incorporated with certain lesson plans to help students understand certain
things in an easier form. With the availability of computer labs and computers in the classroom
teachers can easily incorporate educational games with their lesson plans. For younger kids
educational games such as Funbrain can be very fun and useful. According to the article GameBased Learning: What it is, Why it Works, and Where it's Going by Jessica Trybus game based
learning is extremely beneficial to students learning.
Lastly, virtual and remote laboratories form part of the emerging technologies. According
to the Virtual and Remote article online, virtual and remote laboratories are web applications
where students can conduct experiments through the internet. Virtual and remote laboratories
have had an impact on the teaching and learning process. They have had an impact on teaching,
because they make it easier for educators to teach their students and requires less instruction.
They have had an impact on the learning process because they offer access anywhere and
anytime so students have more opportunities of looking into the labs deeply and learning more.
Most importantly, virtual labs is safer than actually conducting a lab in the classroom. The
slightest thing can provoke an accident in the classroom, which can lead to an accident. Virtual
and remote laboratories work via web, through webcams, and through educational websites for
labs. Virtual and remote laboratories definitely have benefits which include safety, convenience,
and no pressure. Often times students have to rush through a lab because there is not sufficient
time to conduct the lab because it can interfere with valuable class time. It is important for
students to full grasp things and giving them that extra chance to work on things at their own

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pace can really help. Throughout my high school career virtual and remote laboratories were
widely used in my science classes and they helped me learn a lot. Doing online labs was a lot
easier than actually doing and I never had t worry about something wrong in the experiment
because I could simply just start all over. Virtual and remote laboratories made it easy for me to
catch up with other students because on the days I was absent I could simple email my teacher on
what I had missed and I could conduct the experiment online. Virtual and remote laboratories
make it simple for students to be caught up with work, unlike actual labs. During my first year in
high school if I was absent and I was to miss a lab I would lose the points for it because we were
not allowed to make it up. In my last year of high school, as technology advanced I had the
opportunity to still receive the credit for doing the lab without having to have my grade suffer.
In conclusion, cloud computing, virtual and remote laboratories, and game based
technology have had a positive impact on education. They offer both students and educators
many opportunities and they make our lives a lot simpler. Technology is a big part of our
everyday life and it will continue to be.

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References
Alaswad, Z., & Nadolny, L. (2015). Designing for Game-Based Learning: The Effective
Integration of Technology to Support Learning. Journal Of Educational Technology
Systems, 43(4), 389-402.

Briggs, S. (2013, July 16). 10 Emerging Educational Technologies and How They Are
Being Used Across the Globe - InformED. Retrieved November 04, 2016, from
http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/the-ten-emerging-technologies-ineducation-and-how-they-are-being-used-across-the-globe/

Isaila, N. (2014). CLOUD COMPUTING IN EDUCATION. Knowledge

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. B. (2015). Teaching and learning with technology
(Fifth;Loose-leaf version; ed.). Boston: Pearson.

L. (2012, February 08). Virtual and Remote Laboratories. Retrieved November 04, 2016,
from http://k12.wiki.nmc.org/Virtual and Remote Laboratories

Mehdi, W. (2015). A Proposed Architecture of Cloud Computing for Teaching and

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Shin, N., Sutherland, L. M., Norris, C. A., & Soloway, E. (2012). Effects of game
technology on elementary student learning in mathematics. British Journal Of
Educational Technology, 43(4), 540-560. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01197.x

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