In today’s
day and age more and more people are realizing the many benefits of integrating
technology into the classroom. “Students
across the United States now enjoy an average student-computer ratio 4:1, with
98% of schools and 77% of classrooms connected to the Internet.” (Market Data
Retrieval, 2002) Teachers are slowly
feeling more comfortable with using technology in their classrooms. The more comfortable teachers feel with using
technology the more likely they are to use it.
My vision
for technology would be to be able to work in a school that has the ability to
provide either an IPad or laptop to each student. I think this is important for the students
that cannot afford the luxury of having their own. If this is not feasible for schools then they
should have a program, where students can sign them out for a certain amount of
time. This can help students review a
lesson or complete an assignment. “Kindergarten
students are learning to practice letter, number and reading skills through
interactive computer games as well as more traditional applications.” (Buban, Post University)
I
would like to use these different games and applications to help the students
reinforce the lesson. This is a great
advantage because students can learn at there own pace, and reach students with
different learning styles.
Currently
not being a teacher, I am learning more and more ways to implement
technology. I have learned there are
several methods that help save on time. Such
as practice tests that increase in difficulty as a student answers questions
correct. This will save time by
automatically scoring and assessing the students learning level. I would also use technology to create student portfolios
and create lesson plans. It is no secret
that young children have short attention spans and using technology would keep these
students involved. There are some games
that can help students with different activities like letter sounds. Activities like this would make learning fun
for the students. There are a wide variety of activities that a teacher or student can choose from.
Overall, I hope to be able to use
technology in a variety of ways to help kids learn, problem solve and be an
active participate in their education. I believe it is crucial to include interactive lesson plans to keep the children engaged. The technology makes it easy for teachers to try using different applications. Most of the applications are free, so if it is not successful, the school is not loosing any money. It is important to lay a strong technological foundation down now so every student can be
prepared to enter the work force in the future.
Hi Terry,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. It would be so great if all school districts could provide each student with an iPad or some sort of up to date technology. All kids deserve to experience what technology has to offer especially if they are not exposed to it outside school. The school I work in is dealing with 10+ year old computers which are quite unreliable. We did receive a cart of Chromebooks just this year which have been great for the students...technology has so much to offer to this generation of students!
I agree that every student should have the opportunity to experience the use of technology in education. Actually, I believe that students who are not exposed to technology will be at a disadvantage later in life. What can we do to help facilitate this in public education? I also agree that the use of technology can be a huge help to educators. There is so much information currently available that no one should have to start from scratch. Through connected learning and collaboration I believe we can transform public education.
ReplyDeleteI also will agree with the other comments that every student should have the chance to experience the technology which you are describing. You also brought up a few good points that I never really thought about for how we can use this to influence student learning. The practice tests and quizzes that can be set up online can be a great tool because it can adjust the type of questions to different learning styles. This is important to the 21st Century because of student centered teaching.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a laptop or computer for every child would be beneficial. I know last year when I worked with kindergartners, the classroom cart of iPads allowed the teacher to make a station where the children could independently practice a skill at their ability level. The students were also very engaged which lead to better classroom management during small group times. I also like the idea of assessments that get harder or easier depending on how the student answers. This allows the teacher to get accurate information on the student's current ability level without hitting the student's frustration level.
ReplyDelete