New+Technologies+for+Students+and+Teachers

[] = The Ideal Technology Device for Students and Teachers  = By  Patrick Ledesma   on   February 7, 2011   10:40 PM   blogs.edweek.org This article by Patrick Ledesma is entitled “The Ideal Technology Device for Students and Teachers”. And although it does not address Wikis in particular, it does touch on the need for educational technologies to catch up with the social and business technologies of today. "The world of technology is rapidly changing the way that we live our lives. Yet I see a distinct divide between the technology we use at school and the technology we use everywhere else, and I can only imagine how much more students like myself could learn at school if we were able to utilize the technology that's available to us outside of school. How can we bridge the divide between technology used in schools and out of schools? This is the question I'll aim to answer within this series." (Ledesma, 2011) A compelling exchange between student and teacher takes place discussing the ideal technology to use as a 21st century student and the necessity to monitor and prepare for this technology in a school setting. The student points out that a device such as an iPad has certain advantages even over the fairly modern technology of the laptop and certainly more over dated materials such as pen, paper and textbooks. “My ideal device would be fast, always-on, Internet-connected, and easy to use. It would replace pen and paper, my heavy textbooks, and the endless stream of worksheets I get from my teachers. While right now I can only dream of this ideal device, my iPad's and smartphone's features give a glimpse of what my ideal student device could look and work like. My old desktop and laptop don't cut it." (Ledesma, 2011)   Ledesma points out that although the perfect device may not yet exist, we shouldn’t wait for it to arrive, but begin using what is available and let the technology adapt to the needs of education. (Ledesma, 2011) He also brings up the fact that many applications are available to translate terms for ELL students and apply text to read software and the ability to enlarge text for those with visual disabilities.