Using technology to facilitate instruction in the classroom.
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Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Using Technology to Facilitate Instruction K-12
We live in a fast paced world and as teacher s it is crucial that we keep up with the students and their interests. I believe technology plays a very important role in the classroom and can be used to teach important concepts in all subject areas. Therefore, it is important that teachers are comfortable with many forms of technology so that it can be used for learning and assessment to increase student knowledge and proficiency. According to Foltos (2009), American schools have increased spending on classroom technology to more than $5 billion annually.
Unfortunately, surveys suggest that fewer than 20% of teachers use technology several times a week, and up to half of all teachers didn’t use technology at all. Three years ago our school got Promethean Boards to replace the ancient overhead projectors. The first year I was a little hesitant about using the board and only used the basic functions on it. I am blessed to have a teacher on my team who is very comfortable and knowledgeable when it comes to technology. He has been very patient with me and has taught me how to use several of the interactive activities the board has to offer. Needless to say there isn’t a day that goes by now that I don’t use the board. The students and I are amazed by the amount of activities that can be performed on the board and we learn how to perform a new activity weekly. Unfortunately, I must agree with Foltos (2009), who stated that some teachers don’t use technology at all. Every teacher in our school has a board but there are several teachers who refuse to use them at all, which is unfortunate for those students in their classrooms.
I believe that as teachers we have a responsibility to our students to find ways that will keep them interested and involved in the lessons being taught. I have found interactive websites to be one of the best ways to captivate their attention and fuel their desire to learn more. Interactive websites help engage children visually and kinesthetically. Because television and video games have increased the speed at which children, obtain information, these types of websites help to engage them more easily than static text and build upon prior knowledge stores (McDaniel, 2009). Modern technologies are very powerful because they rely on the preference for visually presented information. The human brain has a tremendous bias for visually presented information. Television, movies, videos, and most computer programs are very visually oriented and therefore attract and maintain the attention of young children (Kneas & Perry, 2010). For example, there is a website that we visit frequently called Brain Pop Jr. The students love doing it together as a class and I love it because they are learning and loving it. The students are introduced to a new subject by first watching an animated video with characters they have come to love. After the short video we do activities that relate to the subject such as a word wall, pop a joke, and a game. The assessment is given at the end of the lesson and it can either be printed out or taken online which is what we do. The students are given five questions which we vote on as a class and a grade is provided at the end of each lesson. Of course, this is used as an addition to the curriculum set in place by the district not to replace traditional learning.
Teachers should embrace the era of technology we live in order to provide a better learning environment for their students. I also feel that the school districts should hold more professional developments geared toward the use of technology in the classrooms. I believe that technology, if used correctly can have a positive role enhancing academic achievement.
Technology Integration in an Elementary School Classroom
Unfortunately, surveys suggest that fewer than 20% of teachers use technology several times a week, and up to half of all teachers didn’t use technology at all. Three years ago our school got Promethean Boards to replace the ancient overhead projectors. The first year I was a little hesitant about using the board and only used the basic functions on it. I am blessed to have a teacher on my team who is very comfortable and knowledgeable when it comes to technology. He has been very patient with me and has taught me how to use several of the interactive activities the board has to offer. Needless to say there isn’t a day that goes by now that I don’t use the board. The students and I are amazed by the amount of activities that can be performed on the board and we learn how to perform a new activity weekly. Unfortunately, I must agree with Foltos (2009), who stated that some teachers don’t use technology at all. Every teacher in our school has a board but there are several teachers who refuse to use them at all, which is unfortunate for those students in their classrooms.
I believe that as teachers we have a responsibility to our students to find ways that will keep them interested and involved in the lessons being taught. I have found interactive websites to be one of the best ways to captivate their attention and fuel their desire to learn more. Interactive websites help engage children visually and kinesthetically. Because television and video games have increased the speed at which children, obtain information, these types of websites help to engage them more easily than static text and build upon prior knowledge stores (McDaniel, 2009). Modern technologies are very powerful because they rely on the preference for visually presented information. The human brain has a tremendous bias for visually presented information. Television, movies, videos, and most computer programs are very visually oriented and therefore attract and maintain the attention of young children (Kneas & Perry, 2010). For example, there is a website that we visit frequently called Brain Pop Jr. The students love doing it together as a class and I love it because they are learning and loving it. The students are introduced to a new subject by first watching an animated video with characters they have come to love. After the short video we do activities that relate to the subject such as a word wall, pop a joke, and a game. The assessment is given at the end of the lesson and it can either be printed out or taken online which is what we do. The students are given five questions which we vote on as a class and a grade is provided at the end of each lesson. Of course, this is used as an addition to the curriculum set in place by the district not to replace traditional learning.
Teachers should embrace the era of technology we live in order to provide a better learning environment for their students. I also feel that the school districts should hold more professional developments geared toward the use of technology in the classrooms. I believe that technology, if used correctly can have a positive role enhancing academic achievement.
References
Foltos, L. (n.d.). Technology and academic achievement. Retrieved from http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/technology/foltos.htm
McDaniel, R. (2009, September 18). How to use technology in the classroom. Retrieved from http://teachingtechnology.suite101.com/article.cfm/technology
Perry, B.D., & Kneas, K.M. (2010). Using technology in the early childhood classroom. Retrieved from http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/using_technology.htm
Technology Integration in an Elementary School Classroom
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