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Effects of technology in teaching
Effects of technology in early childhood education
Effects of technology in teaching
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1. Introduction
It is no surprise that technology is rapidly taking over the world, and defining the day to day lives we live. As humans we are constantly engaged in some form of technology. However, the role of technology in early childhood classroom is a growing and controversial topic. The bottom line question for most teachers is whether or not computer based technology is developmentally appropriate for early childhood students, and if they benefit from using computers as a primary learning tool. Technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment (Webster Dictionary). Technology has been present in the world for centuries, from cave men to the industrial revolution which brought on a whole new era of technology to the United States. The Department of Education is granting schools with seven million dollars to help fund technology based learning just this year (Luebbe, 2011). Schools are now starting to be judged by the student to computer ratio, to determine the schools ability to provide a “quality” education. It’s no wonder everywhere we look and everything we do is a counterpart to technology.
2. Review of Literature
As an emerging teacher, it has come to my concern the potential benefits and or harm technology has on young children. By the end of the 1980’s one out of every 4 preschool rooms had a computer, today almost every preschool is equipped with at least one computer. Children over the age of 3 are within Piaget’s preoperational stage. This states that they are concrete learners that are interest in and pick up on newly learned symbolic representation easily (Wardle, 2008). However children at this age ne...
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... Weighing the Pros and Cons. Huffington Post. Retrieved October 4, 2011, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/22/technology-in-schools-wei_n_772674.html
National Association for the Education of Young . (2006, April). Technology and Young Children—Ages 3 through 8. In National Association for the Education of Young Children Organization . Retrieved October 4, 2011, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSTECH98.PDF
Scoter, J. V. (2001). Technology in Early Childhood Education: Finding the Balance (Series 17th ed., pp. 5-21). Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved October 4, 2011, from http://www.netc.org/earlyconnections/byrequest.pdf
"Technology." 1a, 2. Merriam Webster. n.d. N. pag. Web. 4 Oct. 2011.
Wardle, F. (2008). The Role of Technology in Early Childhood Programs [Electronic version]. Early Childhood News.
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...
In today’s society, we are overwhelmed with technology. Technology is changing everyday, and will forever be a staple in our lives. The effect that technology has on our children has brought some concerns and some praise. Children these days have no choice but to somehow be influenced by the ever growing technology in our society. Our common concern has been that although digital technology has boosted children’s ability to multitask, their ability to process information deeply may be deteriorating (Carpenter, 2010).
There are a few components that go along with technology. There are a lot of pros to technology, but what else is it good for? Many people think that technology is bad, but at this time of life, the good always outweighs the bad.
The role of technology in early childhood education is a controversial topic to both teachers and parents. The main concerns of both teachers and parents is the potential benefits for young children’s learning and development.. Supporters and non-supporters agree on the importance of young children’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical development. Supporters feel children should have the opportunity to use the computer as another tool to aide in and encourage their development. Non-supporters agree the computer may be a useful tool for young children but feel many teachers may not be using the computers in the best way to promote a healthy development in the child. They also contend that introducing the computer takes away from important learning experiences such as play and art (NWREL, 2001). School programs are now working on ways to better integrate computers into the classrooms in order to offer the young children the opportunities to develop the necessary skills to grow as students (Gimbert, 2004). The purpose of this research paper is to examine the controversies that surround technology use in early childhood classrooms.
To begin with, before anyone can develop an opinion as to whether technology is a useful tool in the classroom, one needs to understand that technology plays an important role in today’s world. However, the use or over-use of technology in educating young children in teaching literacy to young children is a much debated theory. There are many opinions regarding the positive influence technology can have as a useful tool in the classroom, yet there are those, like myself, who also see the negative aspect of too much technology.
Technology is a recent development that has been widely used in many fields to enhance productivity and output. For instance, it has been incorporated in the education sector to allow easier access to information. Mostly, technology in education has taken the form of using computers and related accessories like software to enhance the learning capacity, information access, and development of students’ learning capabilities. In essence, extensive use of technology in classrooms has reduced the workload of tutors while enhancing the overall performance of students through employment of various programs aimed at developing the learning of students. Technology is used on all sorts of classroom scenarios including early childhood education. Some technologists and educations specialists, however, cite that use of technology in early childhood may be detrimental. This paper seeks to explore both the positive and negative attributes of use of technology in early childhood education.
The world is constantly moving forward. Our societies are in search for the newest advancement, and our children are drawn to the latest technology. It seems as though our current technology could replace our fundamental education, such as the power of a calculator. The answer is just a click away. Not to mention our daily reliance on computers. I wonder sometimes how the world operated a couple of decades ago when computers and cell phones weren’t commonly used. I have to admit technology has truly made our lives easier and saved tremendous amount of our time by its efficiency. However, technology should never substitute the fundamental learning in our educational systems. Specifically in the primary school, building a firm fundamental education is crucial. Seeing children still using fingers to do simple math in second grade is not a good sign of academic improvement. Though the students may easily figure out the answers by ...
There are many tracking technologies that law enforcement are using in this day and age. Using newly developed technology may help law enforcement capture criminals much faster. Also, this enables officers to respond more quickly to a crime scene. Using some of these equipment can save a person’s life with a quick response.
Computers can also capture and hold a child’s interest like no other learning tool. Consider, for example, NASA’s recent Mars landing and exploration. It is now possible for an elementary classroom to log on and follow events like these as they unfold - they are witnessing and experiencing a national event as it is occurring. There is no doubt that without technology, an event such as this would not be nearly as interesting or appealing as say, following it in the newspaper.
Drenoyianni, Helen, and Ian D. Selwood. "Conception or Misconceptions? Primary Teachers' Perceptions and Use of Computers in the Classroom." Education and Information Technologies 3.2 (1998): 87-99. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
Perhaps you are skeptical as to the benefits of using technology with young children and you’re not unsure about using computer technology for your own purpose. Some questions frequently asked are, Does using computers in the primary grades stifle young children’s natural inclination to experiment and explore and hamper the development of independent thought? Will hardware turn primary classrooms from environments that nurture young minds to labs that merely mesmerize them? I will answer these questions in my paper. My opinion on the topic, at hand, is that I think there should be computers in Kindergarten rooms but students wouldn’t benefit very much from them. Students in Kindergarten rooms don’t have enough time to really get into a program and benefit from it.
Technology is important in our world today. Terry Tempest William’s “The Clan of One-breasted Women” is about women having breast cancer because of bomb testing from 1952- 1961 in Utah. In this case technology has a negative effect on the human race. On the other hand, “The Technology of Medicine” by Lewis Thomas is about money and the technology of medicine. There are three different levels of technology in medicine according to Thomas and they are “nontechnology,” “halfway technology” (582), and “technology of modern medicine” (583). It is obvious that technology benefits humankind with cures for diseases and prevention of sickness. Without technology, medicine would not be as advanced and there would not be as many medical procedures as there are today. By using technology, doctors have found out how to prevent certain diseases or viruses by immunizations. In fact, the human race needs to have technology to advance the medical field, as disclosed in Richard Selzer’s “Sarcophagus” about surgery, from the doctor’s point of view, showing all of the technology he uses during procedure. All these essays have examples on how technology benefits human kind. Therefore, technology is a friend of humankind, when used with restrictions, because it has made improvements in medicine and has proved its usefulness in hospitals.
The use of computers in school classrooms has evolved throughout the years, and has become revolutionary in changing the way we teach and learn. Our classrooms should no longer be confined to four walls and a few teachers who are considered to be experts in knowledge. Our classrooms need to keep up with a changing society and a new world that is dependent on technology. As students graduate, they need the technological skills needed to thrive in a world in which technology sets the pace. Society expects the school system to produce functional citizens who have the skills to gain profitable employment, and not be a drain on the system.
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).
Technology in education is a touchy subject in the United States. Many parents believe that technology will only hurt their child in future, while some believe that technology will help their child. Parents have to be open and must allow themselves, to see what is happening before they make their decision.