Unless you have lived under a rock for the past 30 years, chances are that you own at least one personal computer or other electronic device. Everywhere you turn, you find an electronic device being used by someone. Technology has been so deeply integrated with our society; some even consider it "odd" to be without some kind of peronal electronic device. But computers aren't restricted to personal use; computers have also been laregly integrated into classrooms as well. So with the ever increasing use of technology, there begs the question: what is it all worth, is it even helpful or necessary? Does the use of computers within the school system effect students in a positive or a negative way? How much, exactly, has the use of technology increased? Technological advancements have increased at an explosive rate since the early 1990's. In 1984, only 8.2 percent of American households owned a personal computer. This has been increasing at a mind-blowing rate with 78.9 percent of households owning a personal computer in 2012 (U.S. Dept. of Commerce). With technology advancing by leaps and bounds, it would only make sense that computers be found more prevelant in classrooms as well. According to a survey conducted in 2006, out of 84 elementary schools surveyed, only 5 of them did not use any computers; this was 8 years ago (Razo 3). Out of the schools that had at least 1 computer, 65% of the classrooms had 1-3 computers and 35% of them had 4-8 computers. In addition, 91% of the schools had highspeed internet access (Razo 6). Since computers have become so prevalent in our homes and our schools, how much do we actually use them? According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 74.7% of people access the internet regularly from some lo... ... middle of paper ... ...an greatly improve a child's learning. So, embrace technological advancement as we move forward in an ever-advancing world. Works Cited "Computer and Internet Use." U.S. Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. "Gender: Grade Point Average." NAEP 2009 High School Transcript Study: Gender, Grade Point Average. Nations Report Card, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. "High School and Beyond." National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Educational Sciences, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. Plowman, Lydia, and Joanna McPake. "Seven Myths about Young Children and Technology." Acedemia. Acedemia.edu, 18 Dec. 2012. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. Razo, Felipe H., PhD. "A Survey of Computer Utilization in Elementary Classrooms." Thesis. California State University, East Bay, 2006. A Survey of Computer Utilization in Elementary Classrooms. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
Once teachers are secure with their knowledge of technology, children are susceptible to becoming addicted to technology and focusing less and less on what the teacher is trying to teach in the class if the devices are not well monitored. The National Center for Education Statistics ran a survey in 2009 to see how much technology is actually used within classrooms. The results were that “97 percent of teachers had one or more computers located in the classroom every day, while 54 percent could bring computers into the classroom” (“National Center for”). These numbers are increasing every year because of the higher demand for and usage of technology and the ever growing upgrades in education. The number of computer for instructional purposes have gone from 72 in 1995 to 189 in 2008 according to the National Center for Education Statistics chart. The number of computers in classrooms has increased drastically in such a short amount of time of just over 10
With the rapid growth of technology in America’s society today, the use of computers in school classrooms has increased tremendously—an action that certainly has become beneficial to students, educators, and parents. The use of computers has positively skyrocketed over the past ten years. Not only are computers utilized daily in large companies across the world, but the everyday use in classrooms has also become prevalent. Using modern technology to assist school instructors with his or her daily lessons should definitely be regarded as a positive, acceptable method of instruction and not definitely does not prohibit students from understanding or critical thinking.
Andrew Zucker examines computer use in the United States in both elementary and secondary education. It addresses issues such as teacher training, technology availability at home and in schools, and current technology projects that were ongoing at this time. The article ends by discussing computer usage in schools in a larger context, which provides a different perspective on educational technology.
The Texas Board of Education has attempted to provide 3.7 million students with a laptop. According to a study, schools in the U.S. spend more than 5 billion dollars a year on computers; all computers are meant to be provided to students and teachers. This study has also concluded that computers have no significant effect on student achievement (i.e. grades and outcomes) (Fairlie and Robinson 211-14). This is consistent with what is said in “Floppy Disk Fallacies”; there is no correlation between achievement and computer usage. Students may earn higher grades if they are effectively taught by a teacher. Regarding computer usage, students are using their computers to play games, watch television, and to do homework. Students use their computers less in the classrooms and more outside or at home (Aziz, Khan, and Singh 209). Using computers in a classroom will influence the behavior of most students by encouraging them to use their phones and laptops as a way to spend all of their
While admitting the power of technology, he also points out the adverse effects of excessive use of technology in the education system. He states, “Computers make our worst educational nightmare come true” (279). According to him, improper or overuse of computers hinders learning ability. He reports that over the past few years, computers have been assumed to be a necessity in America’s classrooms and introduced to children from elementary levels. However, technology can be addictive, and students may overuse it, leading to a drop in educational standards.
David Gelernter author of the essay, “Unplugged: The Myth of Computers in the Classroom,” used some rhetorical appeals but not many in his essay, whilst trying to logically persuade his audience that computers could be utilized in the classroom, but under certain stipulations. Gelernter has great credibility for speaking on education and technology, as he is a professor of computer science at Yale University, so he more than anyone should know the outcomes of using a computer as a tool while teaching. However, when it comes to technology a lot of older generations usually are pretty biased when discussing technologies advancements, Gelernter still had some very good points! Using computers while teaching our young children can be useful but with strict moderations; when, where, and why, because if not heavily monitored, computers could be extremely detrimental to the learning experience and processes for many students.
Almost everyone attends a school at one time in their life, whether the classroom includes technology or not. Research shows that technology isn’t used as often as one might think. The article, “High Access and Low Use of Technology in High School Classrooms” illustrates the use of technology by stating that only one in ten elementary and middle school teachers are daily users of computers (Cuban, Kirkpatrick, Peck). Most schools now have classrooms that use technology throughout the entire class time and even at home to do homework. Although some people might agree with the use of technology in class, it is more harmful to the students than useful.
In schools around the world, technology is growing at an alarming rate. This brings up one question though, is technology becoming overused in schools? There are many reasons pointing to the claim that technology is being used too much, but there are many bigger reasons pointing the other direction, that it isn’t.
Technology forms the most vital element of life in the world today. Every aspect of our lives is dominated by technology and its importance in our lives is indispensable. One of the outstanding facts about technology use in schools is its controversial nature. There is no common agreement by stakeholders in technology and educations sectors about the use of technology in schools. There are two different factions, one supporting use of technology as a positive aspect, while the other faction disagrees, citing the detrimental effects of technology in students. However, the use of technology in classrooms catering for children continues to increase, as education develops more interesting ways of enhan...
Education always tries to be as efficient as possible, and so the combination with technology, was inevitable. From the blackboard to the whiteboard and from the overhead projector to the computer projector, there has always been gradual up-scaling of technology in the classroom. Information technologies are keeping suit, and are being adopted into schools with open arms. Some schools, especially colleges, even go so far as to require computers (McCune pg. 3). Well over half of the schools in the United States today have been upgraded to include
Technology is becoming more and more dominant in our society.Everyday upgrades are being made and new innovations are being discovered. Technology is all around us whether we want it to be or not: it is the vehicles we drive, it can be found in our homes, and can even be found in the grocery store.Every place we look there is some type of technology.I believe technology has had a major impact on our school systems and is still impacting it today.There are those who do not agree, though, that technology has impacted our schools.Eric Gormly writes, “In fact, many theorists point out the overall impact of technology on education has been quite small, manifesting little discernible change in the classroom.” [1]Yes, there are some schools that are not as advanced as others, but many of them do have a significant amount of technology in them.I find it fascinating that so much technology has been incorporated into our classrooms, but I believe that, even with all of the positive aspects that are associated with technology, there are some negative and even dangerous aspects that should be taken into account.I will be sharing some of the equipment that has been used in the schools, how both the students and the teachers use the equipment, and also the positive and negative effects that technology has had on our schools.
The role of technology throughout my life has been up and down to say the least. While technology has aided my dysgraphia by helping teachers read my essays and papers, it has also played the part of being not only a distraction during my school work, but a distraction in my life as a whole. Yet technology is not bad or good in and of itself, the positives and negatives of technology truly depends on or are relative to the user and how they utilize the technology given to them.
Does technology changes the way society functions? In the society we live in today, technology is used for everything. No matter if we are checking our e-mail or checking the weather. Computers are the most used technology. Many people use computers for work or school. Some seem to think that computers can be a huge distraction at either work or school. Like everything else there are pros and cons when it comes to using computers in class. There can be a lot of pros when using computers in class it just depends on if a teacher or student knows how to use it. Although many people believe that using computers in class is a huge distraction, there are many positive outcome of using computers in school. Using
Computers have had a large impact in education. There are many things that are done differently in schools now and that goes for all age groups. Computers can really help a teacher in many positive ways. If it were not for computers, there would be many helpful things that would not be in school, for example if it were not for computers we would not have calculators, we also would not have electronic overheads. Schools would not have been really updated what so ever if it were not for computers. Computers help children in many different ways. They can increase motivation and self esteem, they can help with technical skills, they can help complete more complex tasks, and they can help with many other great things. Computers are what make students of 2002’s education different from the education of students of 1955. We learn all that they learned but more thanks to computers. We are allowed to dig deeper into the source and find more information on what we are learning because of the internet. Computers are changing lives of students more and more everyday, and this will keep happening until the end of time.
As time goes by, advances in technology will provide more and more avenues for learning by way of the computer. The Internet has opened the doors of the world and unleashed limitless possibilities in research and education. It may be only a matter of time when the classroom is brought online to all children and attending a school classroom outside the home is a thing of the past. Looking back over the last 20 years, I never would have imagined that computers would come this far and impact our lives so much. Just imagine where they will be 20 years from now.