Tthazen's List: Technology in the Classroom

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• It's frustrating to be in a classroom where there are students at very different levels and needs to a degree where it's impossible for one teacher to cater to each student as they deserve. A teacher's job is just as much about knowing the students and understanding how to improve an individual's learning abilities as it is about teaching students about algebra, photosynthesis, or how to use a semicolon correctly. Studies have found that a technology rich classroom is the perfect place for that level of specialized learning. When teachers and students are trained to use the technology, there are many tools to help track growth, give extra resources, and accelerate learning based on each student's unique pace. The first step to improving education as a whole is realizing that there is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all education that will work for every student. From there, technology can offer tools for defining unique education.
• One of the major benefits of introducing technology into the classroom is the effect it has on the students. In traditional teaching (lecturing, working from a textbook, and taking notes, for example), it's easy for students to fall into a passive role. Even the best students who have a natural passion for learning can have trouble paying attention to a teacher's lecture. But when technology is involved, students are more likely to be engaged in learning. Students need to press buttons, think out problems, and manipulate the tools they have to achieve a goal. Educational technology can improve focus among students and it caters to students who learn independently and to those who are more collaborative.

• chnology has proven to accelerate struggling students close the learning gap between those at the back of the class and the A-students. In fact, 78 percent of Kindergarten through Middle School teachers agree that technology has had a positive impact on their classroom -- and that's just the start.

    

  Including technology in the classroom gives teachers more options and tools to cater to each student individually. Technology can improve focus and boost students' self-esteem, not to mention teach them valuable skills like fast, accurate typing and using online search engines to find trustworthy sources for research. It's difficult for under-funded schools to find the resources to bring technology into the classroom, but there are organizations and grants available to schools all over the world that are there for just that. With a supportive community and teachers who are willing to be trained and embrace technology in their
• classes, students of every age are sure to benefit from the many tools and skills technology can offer.

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• New Tools, New Opportunities

   

  All over the country, what is known as assistive technology is opening the way for disabled students to do what their counterparts of years gone by could not even have imagined. "We all know how technology has improved in the last few years," says Sheryl Burgstahler, director of DO-IT (2) (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology), an advocacy program for disabled students at the University of Washington. "What most people don't realize is that assistive technology has been progressing at the same rate."

    

  Susanna Sweeney-Martini, an outgoing, articulate University of Washington sophomore who wants to be a television news anchor, says she couldn't function like she does today without assistive technology. "Without a computer, I couldn't do my homework," she says. "Without my [wheel]chair, I couldn't get around. Without my cell phone, I couldn't call for help."

• No Limits

   

  DO-IT, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, and other widespread efforts and laws seem to have created a greater determination among students and parents to make sure disabled people are included in all activities. Kristy Bratcher, the mother of Lukas, a high school sophomore in Spokane, Washington, who has extremely limited use of his arms and legs as a result of a birth defect, didn't hesitate to encourage him when Lukas expressed an interest in playing a musical instrument.

• No More Excuses

   

  DO-IT's Burgstahler has little patience for school officials who don't think they have a responsibility to include those with disabilities in every school activity possible or who believe a full-time aide ca

• ubstitute for technology that gives the students more independence. "If they have access to their own computers, they can take their own notes, they can take their own tests, they can write their own papers, they can use the Internet and do their own research," she says.

    

  And as to concerns about the high cost of assistive technology, Burgstahler points to the benefits, and she wonders how schools can justify not investing in tools for disabled students.
• "Students can now use their brainpower instead of their physical capabilities to go to college and then on to careers so they can have the life all of us want to have," she says. "They can have the American dream."

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• These 21st century skills include

    
   
  • personal and social responsibility
   
  • planning, critical thinking, reasoning, and creativity
   
  • strong communication skills, both for interpersonal and presentation needs
   
  • cross-cultural understanding
   
  • visualizing and decision making
   
  • knowing how and when to use technology and choosing the most appropriate tool for the task
   
    

  A great starting point for more information about 21st century skills is the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website (8).
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  NatureMapping brings real science to the classroom with hand-held data collection devices.

    

  Another reason for technology integration is the necessity of today's students to have 21st century skills.

• The Edutopia article "Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum?: The Reasons Are Many" (9) offers this summary: "Integrating technology into classroom instruction means more than teaching basic computer skills and software programs in a separate computer class. Effective tech integration must happen across the curriculum in ways that research shows deepen and enhance the learning process. In particular, it must support four key components of learning: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts."

    

  Technology helps change the student/teacher roles and relationships: students take responsibility for their learning outcomes, while teachers become guides and facilitators. Technology lends itself as the multidimensional tool that assists that process. For economically disadvantaged students, the school may be the only place where they will have the opportunity to use a computer and integrate technology into their learning (for more about equity, access, and digital inclusion, check out our Digital Divide Resource Roundup (10).)
• There is a growing body of evidence that technology integration positively affects student achievement and academic performance. The Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET) (11) found that, when used in collaborative learning methods and leadership that is aimed at improving the school through technology planning, technology impacts achievement in content area learning, promotes higher-order thinking and problem solving skills, and prepares students for the workforce. Look at the research findings on student learning in CARET's Questions & Answers (12) for the question: "How can technology influence student academic performance?"

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