Emerging Realities and the Future of Technology in the Classroom

Book excerpt: The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on how much humans rely, more than ever before in our history, on technology. While technology in its simplest definition is the use of a tool for a practical purpose, in the last three decades, educators can confidently say it has revolutionized how information is communicated and accessed. Most importantly, educators who had to recently shift their classes online understood the important role of technology to stay connected and instruct students remotely. There are many different facets of technology in today's classrooms and ideas on where educators are headed in preparing their students for a technology-rich world. With new technologies being constantly developed and new scenarios rising to the surface in the educational environment, the future of technology in the classroom is widespread, consistently growing, and always advancing with more technological reliance. Emerging Realities and the Future of Technology in the Classroom provides an understanding on how technology is integrated into today's classroom and how institutions can be further informed of the importance of technology in today's world. This book examines a variety of pertinent topics that look at the present and future potential roles of technology in the classroom. While highlighting topics such as STEM in online education, leadership and technology, new instructional models in online learning, and gaming in education, this book is essential for teachers across all disciplines and in higher education and K-12, school administrators, principals, instructional designers, librarians, media specialists, educational software developers, educational technologists, IT specialists, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the current status of technology in the classroom and its potential role in education for the years ahead.