Educational technology has accelerated in recent years, and it has had a profound impact on current teaching and learning in the Pre-K-12 environment. In future years, advancement and innovation in technology will continue to empower teachers to customize students' learning experiences. To accomplish this, teachers will need ongoing professional development, which includes engaging in learning activities associated with technology play theory that focuses on educational technology and technology integration involving the technology integration planning cycle. This article will discuss the impact of content neutral technologies on pre-K-12 grade levels and content areas, the use of educational technologies used in remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of TPACK, the importance of creating a sense of belonging in the online learning environment, the need for teachers to pursue micro-credentials related to digital learning, and the impact that virtual reality, augmented reality, the metaverse and artificial intelligence can have on teachers, administrators, and students.
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“More than 65% of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that do not yet exist” (World Economic Forum, 2016, p. 3). Today’s Pre-K-12 students need to develop the college and career readiness skills that will enable them to be successful in the technologically driven jobs of the future. “To be successful in their lives beyond school, students need to develop skills and abilities that enable them to become proficient creators, collaborators, communicators, and critical thinkers” (Grimes & Cohen, 2022, para. 3). The Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21) refers to these skills as the 4Cs: creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking (Battelle for Kids, n.d.). Additionally, Pre-K-12 students will need to have advanced technology skills to be problem solvers, content creators, and multi-taskers as they work on complex and multi-faceted projects. The best way that today’s students will be prepared for the jobs of tomorrow is if Pre-K-12 teachers engage in the use of digital learning tools across all content areas in the Pre-K-12 curriculum.
Technological innovation over the past two decades has forever altered today’s Pre-K-12 education landscape. “Revolutionary advances in information and communications technology (ICT)—particularly disciplines associated with computers, mobile phones, and the internet—have precipitated a renaissance in education technology (ed-tech), a term used here to refer to any ICT application that aims to improve education” (Escueta et al., 2017, p. 2). ICT and content-neutral technologies will empower Pre-K-12 teachers to change the way they teach their students throughout the 21st Century. Ed-tech tools range from the use of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, and apps to specific digital learning tools. Teachers and students in high-needs Pre-K-12 schools will require the greatest support to implement and use these existing ed-tech tools to foster digital equity in education. Additionally, schools and teachers will need support and innovative ideas for navigating remote instruction without universal internet access or devices for their students—particularly those in high-poverty schools in rural and urban school districts. The creation and use of ed-tech tools and apps that do not require internet access, or that could be downloaded while in a connected school environment, could be a start in creating more equity for all Pre-K-12 students attending schools in urban, suburban, and rural districts. States and individual school districts should seek out and review innovative ICT options and ed-tech tools to help teachers provide high-quality instruction even when internet access is not possible for students in their home environments.