ABSTRACT
Due to rapid changes in technologies, one might wonder what can be said with confidence about teaching with technology that will apply today and in the next few years. The short version of an answer that might be gathered from previous chapters in this volume is that (a) there will surely be new technologies and new teaching methods associated with those technologies; (b) these technologies will come with particular affordances that will shape how we think and talk about using them to support learning and instruction; and (c) to make effective use of new technologies we will probably need to facilitate changes in educational settings, in learners, and in ourselves. It is difficult to specify what those changes need to be without considering specific new and emerging educational technologies. So, in a concrete sense this is a disappointing response to an important question. This somewhat disappointing answer could be paraphrased as follows: “Be thoughtful and flexible and you will be fine.” This is just the sort of advice that can cause you to take 40 years to cross a desert that should be easily traversed in 40 days or less.
