Incorporation of Technology into Modern Education
Education has long been a part of our society. In order to keep society progressing forward, education must also progress forward. Part of this forward progression is the incorporation of technology into modern education.
Technology has always been in schools. The development of things like the overhead projector, typewriter, and blackboards have all played key roles in education. However, the pinnacle of technological advances has been the introduction of the computer into the classroom. Since the computer first entered the classroom in the early 1980?s as more than just a tool for school officials, student?s exposure to the ever-changing world of technology has nearly quadrupled. Based on a study done by the National Center for Educational Statistics, between the years of 1984 to 1996, the percentage of 4th, 8th, and 11th graders who reported using a computer for activities at home and at school at least once a week increased substantially. Tables 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3, represent that data by grade level over a twelve-year period (table values are representative of percentages);
( Table 1.1 )
Grade 4
Reason for Use 1984 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996
To play games 71.8 79 84.5 82.8 87.4 89.7
To learn things 67.9 70.4 75.8 82.9 82.1 87.5
To write papers 23.4 39.6 48.6 56.9 68.3 79.2
( Table 1.2 )
Grade 8
Reason for Use 1984 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996
To play games 84.1 85.3 83.7 84.7 86.8 89.1
To learn things 58.2 73.7 70.5 72.8 76.4 82.6
To write papers 15.1 58.4 61.3 73.1 82.3 91.2
( Table 1.3 )
Grade 11
Reason for Use 1984 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 ...
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...ogies not only have the potential to transform education, but also will change society in ways that make educational reform all but inevitable.
References
Khouri-Daghner, Nadia. Computers in Schools, a Virtual Revolution? Unesco Sources, April 1998. http://www.britannica.com/education/technolgy. [ Online ] March 7th, 2001.
Stellin, Susan. Shift for Education Technology Policy. New York Times, 2001. http://www.notesy.com. [ Online ] March 5th, 2001.
Strommen, Erik F. Constructivism, Technology, and the Future of Classroom Learning. Childrens Television Workshop, 1992. http://www.ilt.columbia.edu. [ Online ] March 7th, 2001.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. National Assessment of Educational Progress.
http://www.UnitedStatesDepartmentofEducation.com Almanac: Writing 1984 to 1996, 1998. [ Online ] March 7th,2001.
In this text, the author explores the role that technology currently plays in schools and in education in general, as well as future consequences that will occur depending on whether society continues to insist on a type of education that is relatively lacking in technology or decides to embrace the options available whole-heartedly. There are both gains...
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.
Technology enables students and teachers to have a fast and easy way to acquire unlimited access to tons of information. With all of the useful technologies, the curriculum is bound to change in endless ways, creating more opportunity for learning.
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.
Image a school with laptops available to each student to complete their class notes, teachers who are able to help their students through the screens of their computer, children who are excited to learn about numbers with the help of cute, animated characters. With the endless advancement of today’s technology, schools across the world have begun integrating various technology into their curriculum. These devices have the potential to greatly impact students in their learning. When a school opts to use technology in a school setting, the most important factors they should take into consideration are the benefits of using technological devices, the effectiveness of technology used
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.
There is no doubt that computers are firmly implanted in our nation’s daily existence. Everyday I use a computer at least once, either writing a paper, surfing the Internet or checking my e-mail. On a recent trip to the library to do research I was quickly escorted by a librarian to the variety of computer databases, which are the fastest and most current source of information I found a survey in Statistical Abstracts of the United States comparing students use of computers in kindergarten through college from 1984 to 1993. A total of 27.3% of students used computers in schools in 1984, while a total of 59.0% used computers in 1993. This shows a steady rise in scholastic computer use and these figures are probably greatly inflated by now in 1997.
Not many people would argue that computer technology is bad for the K-12 classroom. There is, however, a serious and thought-provoking debate going on regarding computer technology in the classroom. At issue is to what extent and at what age should computers be integrated in American classrooms. There is no question that a certain level of technology will bring improvements in academic achievement. In one study on children of low socioeconomic status a definite improvement was seen. It was noted that, “Increasing the technology available to students encourages, facilitates, and supports student achievement – at the elementary level, the most profound effects were found in the area of mathematics” (Page 391). Page also states that, “numerous studies have demonstrated that young children’s self-esteem or self-concept directly affects their academic performance” (Page 391).
Technology is a key element in the world today. It plays an important role in almost everything. Education is no exception to this; technology has been present in education for many years now. The purpose of this paper is to discuss why education is better with the addition of technology. More importantly, I am talking about this so that my audience will become more aware of how technology supports what is being done in education.
John W. Gardner said, “Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.” Education today is very ineffective. It is in an in between phase of the ways of old and a time of complete reform. The main issue is that people often lose sight of why the education system should even be reformed. It shouldn’t be reformed because “that’s what everyone else is doing.” It needs to be reformed to bridge the gap for the students who have a different learning style. It should be reformed to expand knowledge for students. Education reform can have good and bad effects. Because the education system is very complex, educators are being faced with changes and they must decide what is best for students.
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.
The introduction of technology into education has revolutionized the teaching quality and learning outcome in the last ten years. The integration of technology into lectures by teachers in classroom has become so natural that both teachers and learners consider computers and their related applications for instruction are “a routine component of the classroom and educational processes in general” (Nuldén, 1999 cited in Buzzard et al., 2011, pp.131-139).
Technology affects every aspect of our lives. From romance to business, it has shown its presence everywhere. But technology has had a huge impact on education that cannot be denied, and has done nothing but improve the quality and quantity of education.
Andy Carvin states “ internet access in schools isn’t worth a hill of beans if teachers aren’t prepared to take full advantage of technology” (2000). Schools spend a lot of money on computer hardware and software as well as other technologies without realizing that many of their employees are unprepared to include them in their teaching and use them to their advantages. Educators often use technology as a classroom management tool rather than an educational one, allowing computer time as a reward for good behavior (Clark & Gorski, 2001). The problem with this is that students learn to use the computer for games and such because it is their reward instead of using it on their own time for educational purposes. This is teaching them the wrong idea. Margaret Honey, director of the Center for Children and Technology in NYC said it best, “The bottom line is, you don’t just put technology into schools or into homes and expect miracles to happen. The technology is only as good as the program that surrounds it” (Meyer, 2002, p.2).