Embracing Emerging Technologies: Why Others Should Do the Same?

  Learning about emergent technologies has been an overwhelming experience, but in the most amazing way possible. I compare the feeling to being a kid at a candy store and they have to try all these goodies, and see which ones they should keep eating and once they are done and feel full and sluggish, more candies pop up! This is very much how I feel, having all these tools to test and incorporate and just when I thought I had gotten I needed to know, there were more tools that came up and ways to layer them. I could not imagine being in a better position as a graduate student learning about these ongoing developments and at the same time, being in an organization that not only embraces these developments, but has found emerging tools of their own, but it is a matter of finding the right balance and comfort so that I could have the confidence to expand and put my learnings to use.  

    In my last blog entry, I had written about my self-realization on the Innovation Curve, reassessing myself from an Early Majority to an Innovator, attributing the former to being in an environment of Late Majority and Laggards. Upon learning about the rising influences and impact of emerging technologies, I realized that my philosophy and purpose has not only changed, they only felt more important. Interestingly enough, this determination was put to the test. 

    For the past couple weeks, prior to this blog post, I attended lectures, professional developments, coincidentally around the same time, focusing on the rise of Artificial Intelligence and how to begin incorporating them into our practice. Even though I was already aware of the power of AI, it was incredibly fascinating to learn more about its capabilities, so fascinating that I had shared the experience and resources with my former colleagues; late majority and laggards, or hidden Early Majority and Innovators stuck in the former’s realm. I talked about how AI could be used to improve student performances and experiences, and conveniently shave off time usually spent lesson planning (Pelletier et al., 2022). The reception was predictably mixed; some colleagues were open to incorporating AI into their practice and some dismissed with the usual “They are going to take our jobs away!”. I realized that pushing resources and my own views are not going to change them, and I have come to accept that. Does this mean I am giving up? No. It just means a different approach is needed. I tried this by giving colleagues a few sites to fiddle with, even sent them screen recordings demonstrating these sites; one example was a real-life scenario where I had to create a last minute spiral review for math so I went to Magic Schools AI, typed in the standards and types of questions I needed and in a few seconds, it generated questions for me. They were more fascinated, though I am not sure if that was just to appease my enthusiasm, and some still doubted the effectiveness of AI and if it can formulate deep thinking questions to ask students. Pelletier et al. (2022) suggested that leaders in higher education, along with faculty and students, might not be prepared to adopt AI-driven learning experiences and tools. They emphasized that the quest for solutions to address this readiness gap is an ongoing and evolving process and as the years go by and the next generation enters the career field, those who grew up with emerging technologies, the readiness gap will slowly close.  

    I believe that we play a vital role by embracing these emerging technologies; the good, the bad, and the potential ugly. Similar to life itself, these emergence presents so many possibilities, but also inevitably presents problems of its own, which makes it important to have people to anticipate them and eventually solve them. In order to do so, one must get into a more open mindset and try to see the benefits of emerging technologies in the long run  (Udell and Woodhill, 2019, p. 186). For someone like me, a millennial who grew up in the rise of the internet and smartphones, it is a great learning process and it is a matter of reminding those who may find it challenging, just how they felt during the rise of high tech devices and social media; it is a guarantee that are see the benefit of at least one of these things, so once they realize that, then the growth mindset begins.  

    That being said, I see emerging technologies in my future, especially in a professional setting and I intend to continue learning, even hopefully be in a position to explore them to help companies grow. I wish to pursue careers in learning design and content development and I have been fortunate enough to find startup companies looking for people to incorporate emerging technologies into existing practices and assessments. With my mindset, it would be amazing to be part of something innovative and help any of those companies grow into what I believe could be the next generation of learning and hopefully, even be a powerful influence in the traditional school districts that I so often ponder about. It would be a privilege to help them adopt emerging technologies to help the faculty and administration keep up with the latest trends, help teachers in their planning and improve their students’ experiences. 

References:

Pelletier et al.(2022). EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: 2022 Higher Education Edition. Retrieved from: https://library.educause.edu/resources/2022/4/2022-educause-horizon-report-teaching-and-learning-edition

Udell, C., & Woodill, G. (2019). Shock of the new: The challenge and promise of emerging technology. ATD Press.