In this era where technology is a vital aspect of an American student's life, it is vital to utilize it as a means to enhance and facilitate learning. Teachers who have been working in the education field since before the Digital Age commenced, may feel certain reservations as to the effectiveness of technology usage for teaching and learning. However, if properly used, technology can be a very valuable asset in students' education.
When teachers plan their curriculum and instruction, they should always do so with their students in mind (Jacobs, 2010). We need to find the possible ways to meet our students' needs while also finding the best approaches to introduce and teach our students concepts that they should know about (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). When we prepare our units we should always do so keeping in mind what the end goal is (Jacobs, 2010). As we do this, we can incorporate higher order thinking skills into the activities the students will complete so that they can become more agile and be able to critically think in real world situations.
Creating a curriculum can be tedious as we are trying to differentiate and accommodate all of our students to help them attain optimal learning experiences. While many teachers focus on traditional ways of teaching- with pen and paper and strategies that involve no technology, others are integrating technology into their daily lessons. When technology is used appropriately, it can help students accomplish amazing tasks and develop their critical thinking skills which one of the ultimate goals of obtaining an education. It can be used across all content areas. Some of the the the positive effects of technology are noticed in language acquisition, test scores, motivation and self-esteem development (O'Hara & Pritchard, 2006).
Even though many teachers are including more technology into their classrooms, there are others who are set in their beliefs that it is actually detrimental to students. One of the reasons why some teachers may continue to have a negative view on technology is that they have not received the proper professional development training to understand how it can impact their students' learning (Kim, Kim, Lee, Spector, & Demeester, 2013). Even when attending these training sessions, some teachers cannot relate the technology to their classrooms as they are not given concrete examples of how to use it to enhance their content. They need to be given the time to experiment with it to understand the impact it will have on their students' education (An & Reigeluth, 2011).In other words, teachers need to be able to be able to see a connection between the technology, the pedagogy and the content they are teaching. Still, a major obstacle that prevents teachers from using technology more often and more effectively is lack of time and resources (An & Reigeluth, 2011). These impediments, however, can be overturned if only teachers changed their negative beliefs about technology, their behaviors toward using it in the classroom would be more positive. If they were willing to give technology a try in their own content area, they would see the benefits that it will bring to their students and they would even go as far as writing grants to ask for technology in their classroom.
I know how important technology is in the classroom as I use it daily and have seen how much my students have learned. They are able to research topics that support the projects they create. About a month ago, they were able to research the news to find factors that are negatively impacting our economy. Once they had found this, they proceeded to create a product that would boost our economy. They designed their products and presentations using various technological apps on their iPads and Chromebooks. My students and I are fortunate to be part of a school that is so supportive of technology in the classroom.
References
An, Y., & Reigeluth, C. (2011). Creating Technology-Enhanced, Learner-Centered Classrooms. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 54-62.
Jacobs, H. (2010). Curriculum 21 essential education for a changing world. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Kim, C., Kim, M., Lee, C., Spector, J., & Demeester, K. (2013). Teacher beliefs and technology integration. Teaching and Teacher Education, 76-85.
O'hara, S., & Pritchard, R. (2006). What is the impact of technology on learning. 1-4. Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/whatimpacttechnologylearning/
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (Expanded 2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
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