Classrooms today have much more technology than it had even 10 years ago. Many students today have smart phones, tablets, and computers that they use not only for social actives and games but also for research and in class projects. Teachers have to be able to use technology in their classroom to keep students engaged and to ensure students are ready for the world outside of the classroom. Technology in the classroom is vital to a student’s success, growth, and enjoyment and should be utilized as a tool for all classrooms and age ranges. Using devices such as tablets, the internet, and smart boards are only a start to the world of technology that is available to them however these are the main tools I would use in my classroom.
Tablets Tablets are taking over basic computers because of how mobile they are, what they can do and how easy they are to use. Schools are starting to have these little devices available to students in class to create projects, do research, and play educational games. Tablets can be used in the classroom to enhance instruction if the teacher has found or made a simple app that helps enforce what is being taught or can have the students make an app that can be used to help their classmates study. I would use tablets in the classroom to encourage my students to research and add to instruction, to find real-world related issues, or historically relevant information. My goal is to be a history teacher, which means that using a tablet with internet access means my students and see things such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” Speech, and other aired events can help them connect and feel connected to the history that would be taught during different times of the year. The Internet The internet is basically a large data base that just about anyone can access and can offer new and exciting information for students to use on projects in the classroom. Using the internet for videos, games, and local news as a history teacher can enhance the classroom and bring it to life for students to feel engaged. Students not only have access to the internet from devices like tablet computers but also from their phones, traditional computers, and laptops. Being able to store their projects on web-tools like Google Docs means that their presentations are able to be accessed not just at school but at home as well giving them more chances to make their projects even better than before. Also it can also give me, as their teacher, a chance to give them feedback quickly that can help them make their project better than they had hoped. Students will be able to use the internet to do much more than what they would have done with just access to a library in their school. Smart Boards Smart boards are still new and use a projector and a special white board to act like a computer screen that is interactive. Smart Boards can be used by both the teachers and the students to engage the class in different actives such as spelling, making a time line, and playing a game or two. Smart boards are often used in younger classrooms and not so much at the high school and middle school level but could be set up to where students can access the program on the smart board with their tablets encouraging them to post their answers to any daily questions, comments on videos, and to ask the teacher questions. In my classroom, I would want to use a smart board as a tool for my students to explore on and share their ideas with timelines or other event lines that help put history in their hands. Pros and Cons of using Technology to Facilitate Learning Technology in the classroom is riddled with arguments that lean on both being good and bad for students and teachers. “Technology has made it easier for teachers to impart knowledge to the students and for students to acquire it (Sahakov, R., 2014)” Technology in the classroom can encourage students to use their critical thinking skills, collaborate with each other, and find their creative outlet with group projects. Students can access information in seconds thanks to the internet, however they must be careful on where the information they get comes from. For every primary source of information there are thousands of other not so reputable sources of information (Online Cultus, 2014) Technology can be distracting when students find something else to do on the devices that does not pertain to the classroom but if the teacher does get a message when a student goes off task they could redirect the student with a simple message to remind them what they should be doing. Regardless of what side of the debate a teacher falls on, it is clear that technology is going to stay and be used in the classroom. As teachers, it is our jobs to help our students to remember what they should be doing and make the classroom fun while using what we have available to us. Wired and Wireless Classrooms Wired or wireless? That is the question when talking about technology in general. A wired classroom is a classroom who’s computers and network is set up through a series of wires and modems that can only handle a small amount of devices and computers. Where as a wireless network is a network that requires no wires to connect to the modem or other computers that are logged onto the network. The pros of a wired network is that it is more reliable and does not disconnect as easily as a wireless network but cannot be mobile and moved around from classroom to classroom or room to room. For wireless, a pro would be that it does not require students to stay connected to one modem in the classroom and allow the students freedom of movement to move to where as a group they can concentrate better with less distractions from other students. Conclusion Technology is here to stay in the classroom and needs to be used to help students grow and become successful in classes that they will have in the future. Using tablets, the internet and smart boards are only a small part of the technology that is available to students and teachers to enhance the classroom and can be used for more than just presentations but student led projects. Showing students the fun and innovate ways that students can use technology can open students up for a new world that they can help control their learning. References: Sahakov, R. (2014, January 15). 2 Pros And 2 Cons To Education Technology. Retrieved November 30, 2014, from http://www.edudemic.com/education-technology-pros-cons/ The pros and cons of including technology in the classroom - Online Cultus. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://www.onlinecultus.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-including-technology-in-the-classroom/
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |