Abstract:  New technologies are changing the ways in which we learn and are impacting education on a global scale.  Technological advances are increasing communication within educational communities (Goodrick, 2002, p. 4).  Such advances are aiding in the dissemination of information, creating greater opportunities for multisensory learning and global interaction for the promotion of learning.  Unfortunately, educational institutions have been unsuccessful in maintaining such a position and physical education departments have been even further behind the curve, creating health disparities and an enormous learning deficit that has deepened further with the widening of the digital divide (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Institute for Statistics, 2009, p. 7).  The result is an ultimatum for global educational institutions and local community education systems that must be addressed now to prevent an impending global health crisis (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2009), Health Working Papers: The Obesity Epidemic: Analysis of Past and Projected Future Trends in Selected OECD Countries, p.42).  With the prudent and collaborative efforts of stakeholders, the incorporation of new technology in physical education will yield positive gains for the future of global health.  The need for incorporation of new technology within the field of physical education is apparent but the reality of implementing changes on global scale is a daunting task.  There are great disparities between schools, school systems, and countries.  Physical education instructional practices, government policies, technology, available resources, and supports for change vary widely.   All obstacles aside, the movement toward solutions for incorporating technology into physical education should continue and can impart substantial impacts on learning, lifestyles, and the improvement of global health both now and in the future.

Fortunately, some physical educators are already using social media, and using it frequently.  But have we made a “landmark presence” yet?  I don’t think so.  Good news is that those that aren’t social media butterflies still have time to flutter onto the bandwagon.  Aside from some of the blog sites I’ve already alluded to in my Hot Blogs list, Facebook and Twitter are hopping with exchanges of best practices and advocacy efforts. 

I just became a fan of NCAAHPHERD on Facebook today and joined the group for AAHPERD, too.  Both are loaded with exciting new ideas for me to dig through as well as a new network of professionals for networking.  They’re on Twitter, too.  I wish I had joined sooner.  How about you?    

Gordon recently posted an article that referenced 100 Global Health Blogs That Will Open Your Eyes as noted by PharmD as well as a list of her own favorite international health blogs.  Each list is well worth checking out and using to bolster your favorites list.  Both are well labeled, and no worries, the 100 blogs are already separated into categories for easy access.  Bookmark these.

Thanks to improvements in knowledge management and the ease of knowlege exchange, more and more health information is becoming available online as public health professionals are becoming more impacted by communication afforded through new technology.  This fosters not only greater public awareness, but more collaborative efforts between public health professionals.  There’s room for physical educators within this circle.

Solution #1:  Improve Learning by Empowering to Students to Reach Educational Goals Through Interactive Collaboration Within the Global Learning Community 

Utilize the multi-sensory capabilities of technology to achieve educational goals and allows students to customize their educational experiences.  As Pamela Beers commented in her Vision of Secondary Education in 2015,  “With all the information on the Internet, [students] need to know how to define, access, manage, integrate, evaluate, create, and communicate information effectively.”

Empower students to develop lifelong learning skills by challenging them to solve problems and conduct investigations through online collaboration.  Here is a great example of what can be accomplished through such efforts. 

Solution #2:  Reduce global inequity and spotty implementation by effectively planning technological integration through data-driven fiscal decision-making.

Promote grass-roots efforts and partnerships between businesses, the developed communities, and developing communities.  Use community-based rather than classroom-based open-source learning whenever possible and employ programs like One Laptop Per Child and the Intel Teach and Intel Learn.  Such programs are designed to yield results such as drops in truancy, increases in student engagement, greater connections between teachers and students and parents.  Following this strategy serves not only to off-set school expenses and but also promotes the use of technological resources already integrated into student lifestyles for learning. 

By utilizing technology that is available outside the school setting to achieve educational goals, expenses at the school level can be reduced, supporting technology integration and application through building progressive lifestyles.  As stated by Nicholas Negroponte of One Laptop Per Child, our focus should be to “inoculate children against ignorance” by funding technological tools for use at home to promote a lifestyle of learning and the propensity for learning outside the classroom. 

Solution #3:  Provide Support for school staff, students, and the global community.

One of the best ways to learn is through teaching others.   Employ student technology leaders in a student technology support program.  In doing so, student leaders will not only help with the support and implementation of new technologies, but they also support their own learning goals and engagement in the education process. 

In addition to employing student technology leadership programs, create technology administration departments to support teachers and community leaders.  Utilize these departments to aid teachers in developing skills for using new software and provide strategies for implementing best practices and successful technological improvements within education systems.  Increase comfortability, decrease apprehensiveness.

1.  Always Learning is a fantastic resource written by an educator that has traveled and taught around the globe.  The philosophy of the site is to promote lifelong learning by ”teaching students how to learn.”  Links to other resources in global educational technology are listed as well.  This blog, based in Thailand, is a true treasure.

2.  EdTechTalk is a multifaceted resource for technology and education.  Based upon ideals of global collaboration and teachers, it is a great site worth exploring, featuring podcasts, feeds, chat, and forums.  The site could be improved by more recent participation in the forums, but is well worth adding to the favorites list of any current educator.

3.  The Innovative Educator is chocked full of bottom-line advice on how to integrate technology into 21st century teaching and learning practices that promote practical applications for education.  It also includes audio options for each post with downloadability for iTunes and mp3s. 

4.  According to Wesley Fryer,  his blog, Moving at the Speed of Creativity, is based on a philosophy centered around ”engaged learning, digital storytelling, creativity, blended learning, appropriate uses of educational technologies, digital citizenship, and educational reform.”  Fryer addresses recent events and concerns around the globe by linking articles by various experts in the global education field.

5.  Although the Infinite Thinking Machine draws much from educational technology leaders from within the United States rather than from a more global variance, the wealth of information and resources presented make it a site not to overlook.  With timely and insightful blog posts and podcasts, it is one to frequent.

6.  Finally, every educator’s favorite four-letter word…”FREE!”  Free Technology for Teachers is an endless free shopping spree for technological teaching tools.  This blog, maintained by Richard Byrne, is well-organized and frequently updated.  The author’s enthusiasm and passion for teaching radiates from the site, along with a multitude of inexpensive and innovative concepts for educators to employ.

Here are my five biggest fears about the situation and possible consequences:

1. Technology and Education Inequity

As efforts to move toward technology-based education increase, are we narrowing or widening the global digital divide?  If support is not given to students in economically disadvantaged schools, homes, and communities, technological integration may do as much harm as good.  According to Diverse Education, the gap could be widening.  Students and even whole education systems and communities, and countries could be digitally doomed. 

2. Reductions in Learning

With the boundless potential of education through the global learning community, it may seem impossible for a reduction in learning to occur, but as Chris Dede mentioned in Six Challenges for Educational Technology, some popular opinions dangerously perceive the simple access to technology as a “silver bullet” for educational success.  Although the integration of technology has been proven to increase student achievement, teachers must be active participants in the learning process, rather than by-standers or simple monitors of technological tools.   To achieve educational goals, technology must be used as a teaching resource, not a teacher replacement.

3. Lack of Support for Students and School Staff

Too often, technological advancements are expected to be utilized by teachers with little training, resulting in partially implemented tools, partially reached educational goals, and apprehensiveness among staff and students. 

4. Spotty Implementation

Often the result of overdependence on funding through grants rather than budgeted funding, fiscal limitations, or community infrastructure, spotty implementation often results in pockets of technology-infused instruction that fail to promote the technology adoption and application neccessary to teach lifelong learning strategies.

5.  Trolls and Inaccurate Data 

Filtering and monitoring trolls and inaccurate, web-published information is an overwhelming task little ability for control.  The challenge of teaching students to apply advanced critical-thinking skills for filtering and monitoring information on their own is daunting and often beyond student capabilities.

For further information, check out this link from North Central Regional Educational Laboratory and Learning Point Associates as well as Six Challenges for Educational Technology by Chris Dede.

Although, most often the integration of technology and education brings to mind current times and recent decades, technology and education have been paired for at least 5000 years, dating back to  when the Chinese utilized the abacus.  In the 20th century, technological teaching tools progressed from the use of blackboards to white-boards, overhead projectors to data projectors, and from video cassettes to DVDs.  The past decade yielded another wave of change and the potential for fundamentally new approaches to education in the 21st century, including such teaching tools as “SMART boards,” mp3s, digital media, and global interactive multi-media communication.   As technology has developed, its integration with education has signficantly impacted learning experiences around the world. 

In the words of Nicholas Negroponte, ”the most important renewable resource in the world is children.”  To ensure a better tomorrow, we must collaborate in a global initiative to build successful education programs that integrate technology as a means of achieving greater outcomes and supporting lifelong learning for the leaders of tomorrow. 

So where are we going?  We are moving from teacher-centered instruction to student-centered instruction.  We are moving from individual education to interactive education.  We are moving from student memorization of ideas to student creation of ideas.  We are moving from the concept of classroom-based learning environments to global learning environments.  With the rapid progression of techology and technologically-integrated lifestyles, schools around the world must continue to shift their focus not only to increase student engagement, but to promote more meaningful and successful learning outcomes.  Successful implementation of educational technology makes these changes possible. 

Technology is ever evolving and lifestyles worldwide are constantly adapting to such changes.  The need for change is obvious and the answer sounds so easy, so plausible; but the reality of implementing changes on even a local, nevermind global, scale is a daunting task.  There are great disparities between schools, school systems, and countries.  Educational standards for instruction, teacher preparation, the availability of resources, and support for change varies widely.    All obstacles aside, the movement toward solutions for integrating technology into education must continue and will impart substantial impacts on learning both now and in the future.  Education systems around the globe will be forced to adapt.