Many school districts today are faced with the ever-growing challenge of inadequate funding for technology education; one school found an inventive way to meet this challenge. In Spokane, Washington, the Audubon Elementary Student Technology Cabinet was formed as an innovative way to assist the school with the essential technology support on a restricted budget. At the onset, students in the cabinet received training on how to clean the computers, load new programs and trouble shoot computer glitches. Moreover, students perform as mentors for other students assisting with computer-based homework and research projects. Club members spend approximately two hours a week going from class to class exposing children to the wonderful world of technology and it's many applications: surfing the web, and assistance when writing a report and fun and games.
Like the children described above, students anxiously desire the experience of working with computers and technology; since, they not only see computer knowledge as fun but as a necessary part of their education. According to Kyle Martin, a sixth grader at Audubon Elementary, "I use my computer and the Internet every night to finish my homework. It's a lot easier than going to the library and searching for the right book." In the past, information was treated as a scarce resource, and educators harnessed the task of imparting this information for the benefit of the learners. This is not true in the world today; as a matter of fact, students encounter a vast reservoir of information at their fingertips: the Internet, CD ROM Encyclopedias and computerized maps. Consequently, educators need to impart to all learners three new foundational skills: how to find information, how to determine if what is found is relevant to the task at hand, and how to determine if the relevant information is accurate.
While the importance of securing an adequate education for American's children has been long understood, this undertaking has, over the last fifteen years taken on a new sense of urgency. On the one hand, increasing international economic competitions and corporate restructuring brought attention to the necessity of preparing the next generation of Americans in the challenging world of high-tech and finance. Accordingly, the quality of education in the United States could determine whether our children achieve highly compensated jobs, compete for high-skilled jobs, or contend with workers from developing countries; hence, adequate technology training helps ensure our children's success as adults.
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Technology has become increasingly prevalent within our schools in the last decade. Teachers are now using computers and technology-based lessons in the classroom to pull students away from the normal paper-pencil technique. In an article by Linda Starr entitled “Integrating Technology in the Classroom: It Takes More Than Just Having Computers”, she describes how teachers need to be able to operate technology properly and be able to assist children with their technological needs. However, Mark Pullen writes in his article “Pros & Cons: Is Elementary Too Early for 1:1 Technology?”, that although exposing children to this amount of technology can be a good thing, there are qualities that children will not develop if they do not keep the technological lessons to a minimum. iPads and computers are taking away the place of textbooks and assignments which
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.
President Ronald Reagan once described America as, “A Nation at Risk,” He was addressing this statement to the education department thirty years ago and meant it as a wake-up call. He was aware that the United States was falling behind in education and needed to take action in order to prevent the demise of the country. Reagan correctly predicted the grim fate of America if education did not see improvement. Today, research finds that American education is failing to provide the necessary skills to succeed in college and various careers. The quality of education in America is a growing issue and every year graduate students are finding it more difficult to obtain high paying jobs and start his or her career. According to studies conducted globally, the curriculum in America is not as advanced and years behind international schools in countries such as China and Japan. There is much controversy in government over what can be done to reverse the situation in public schools but possible solutions that have been suggested are hiring more qualified teachers, more classroom time, and investing more money into education.
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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.
I want my students to have the full benefits of me as a teacher and I believe learning about different educational theories will help me be a better teacher. In particular from this article I will take away that teachers are needed to help rear students to the right information and help them focus on what information is reliable. I also will take in consideration my own techniques as a student. I am guilty of multitasking during assignments and even “googlification”. I think the internet has benefited my generation in many ways but has also done a disservice on real research. I hope as a future teacher to really teach my students to research and find valid, reliable, and understanding information of the internet. A teacher in this new generation must adapt to the technology available to students and realize they will be using these resources. I hope to find a balance in my classroom between technology, self-educating, and learning
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 only problem is that some of today's schools are hindered by an under-powered technology based curriculum and, in order to stay competitive, the American educational system must do a better job of integrating. Computers have made a fundamental change in most industries, providing a competitive advantage that has come to be essential to stay in business. Therefore, education must also use technology to improve the educational process instead of simply applying it to existing structures. School systems often consider acquiring an enterprise computer network, but justify its purchase by applying it to routine administrative tasks, or take period by period attendance.
Students do things like write papers, access test and quizzes, and even visit their teacher’s web page where they find information needed for the course. This may seem easy to students who have always had internet in their home with a computer they can work on, but what about the students who have no idea what the internet is, or don’t own a computer or device they can to practice on. This is one of the key reason digital literacy is important. Students no matter the age or background should feel comfortable using the internet at school. They should always feel caught up in classes because if they don’t know how to it will be taught to them. Schools should make sure students are up to speed and no child is left
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.
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).
There is no doubt that technology has changed the world in which we live. The world has been transformed with new advances in technology. This is why it is so important to educate elementary students on technology education. The use of technology in education provides students with technology literacy, information literacy, capacity for life-long learning and other skills necessary for the 21st century workplace. If students are taught how to use laptops to help them in their career now than it can increase productivity in the future. “America is falling from its once prominent position as the world’s leader in technology and science. Technology helps prepare students for a world where they will compete with the best and brightest individuals
Collis, B., Knezek, G., Kwok-Wing, L., Miyashita, K., Pelgrum, W., Plomp, T., & Sakamoto, T. (1996). Children and Computers in School. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.