CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY

By

Scott Gibbs

Classroom Technology

Do we need it? Are we using it? Is it available for students? Are the teachers trained for

implementing technology into their classrooms?

What are the benefits of using it?

Ahead of The Curve

Eighty-percent of classrooms are equipped with technology with the intentions of enhancing or improving our current methods of teaching. However, they are seldom used for these reasons. Four in ten teachers said their student don’t use computers at all during the typical week. Some technology experts say teachers need to wake up to the learning potential of computers. They should stop wondering whether to use computer-based resources and figure out how to best use them. Respondents to the Education Week survey also indicated that they would increase their use of digital content in the classroom if they had more time to try out software and received training on integrating technology in the curriculum. (Trotter, 1999) Also in the survey, 97% of respondents said they use a computer at home and school for professional activities. But only 53% said they use software for classrooms instruction, and 61% use the internet for instruction.

 

Students at a school in New Jersey examine artistic creativity in literary works, including Oedipus Rex and the stories of Henry James. But the 11th and 12th graders’ own creative projects, poems, and “free writes” are a key element of the course. A simple matter of putting pen to paper? Not in this classroom. Students in “Cyberlit,” as the class is informally called, often create elaborate presentations around their writings with software design for Literature. They add their best work to class Web site, creating a permanent Internet resource available to absent students, parents, or anyone else

The promise is that technology can make reading and learning to read easier for these children. For example, computers can support reading by pronouncing words highlighted by the reader and by providing immediate access to explanations and elaborations of the information presented on the screen. (Reinking, 1994) These tools can increase motivation and time spent reading, as computers and reading software have been shown to hold the attention of struggling readers (Cosden, Gerber, Semmel, Goldman, & Semmel, 1987). They can further provide private instruction, where weaker readers learn and practice critical reading skills, such as phonological awareness, word recognition skills, and comprehensive skills.

The benefits of technology are not just limited to computers. Other technology such as televisions and recording devices can stimulate literacy development. These new technologies also present a challenge, as struggling readers and their teachers often require instruction and assistance to learn how to use these tools fully and effectively. (Pressley, 1998)

The hypothesis for this research is simple: technology will enhance students’ efforts to successfully read, write, and learn on their grade level and beyond. The conclusions: One of the most pressing questions in reading instruction is what can schools do to reduce the number of children experiencing reading difficulties and to help all students become engaged and skilled readers.

Are teachers train and using technology for instruction?

For the last twenty years, many educators, public officials, and business leaders have argued that to keep ahead, American children need to be computer-savvy from early childhood onward. Using computers and the internet in school will give kids a huge academic advantage and, in the long term, prepare them to be winners in an ever more competitive workplace.

One of the most respected voices in American education argues that when teachers are not trained to use new technology, or given a chance to develop creative uses for it in schools, computers end up being just souped-up typewriters. Synthesizing all the research now available, and drawing on his own studies of early childhood, high school, and university classrooms, Larry Cuban found that students and teachers use the new technologies far less in the classroom than they do at home and that most classrooms use is unimaginative.

Conclusions/Outcomes: After twenty years of heavy promotion, serious investment of funds, and unswerving support from a disparate coalition of parents, corporate executives, public officials, and educators, computers are ubiquitous in schools. The link between test score improvements and computer availability and use is contested. Teachers have been infrequent and limited users of the new technologies for classroom instruction. The use of technology is far from the project-based teaching and learning that some techno-promoters have sought. Teachers at all levels of schooling have used the new technology basically to continue what they have always done: communicate with parents, administrators, prepare syllabi and lectures, grade-recording. Disappointing to tech-advocates. ( Cuban, 2001)

The Dark Side of the Internet As with everything in life, when there’s something

good, there’s also something bad lurking in its shadows. The book, The Dark Side of the Internet, is a primary research designed to bring awareness to the dangers of using the internet. “Using the internet in school makes the students vulnerable to different kinds of criminals and deviants who populate the internet. There are many different kinds of internet predators that we should be aware of. With regard to the seriousness of their behaviors, we can think of these people as being on a continuum. At one end are the people who simply want to cause a little mischief. At the other end are the most serious criminals in society, such as sexual deviants and serial killers.” (Bocij, 2006)

We’ve tried to make every classroom equipped with technology, but now the quietly suppressed question of, “Is it safe,” remains. When giving our students access to such a wonderful concept of the information highway, we often disregard the dangers of what is lurking behind the blinking cursor on the computer. This information is valuable for schools, teachers, law enforcement, and etc. However, anyone reading research on the internet itself, is likely to gain the overwhelming impression that the internet is populated solely by blackmailers, perverts, thieves, and murderers. “Readers should keep in mind that the deviants described represent a minority, and that the majority of the internet is populated by normal, everyday people. The internet can be dangerous, but with a little caution, the benefits it brings easily outweigh the potential risks.” (Bocij, 2006)

Conclusions: We now have many new programs created to counter the attacks of those listed in the book. We now have filters that protect networks, thus protecting the students. Anti-virus, anti-phishing, anti-spam, anti-adware, anti-spyware, and anti-malware are just some of the latest measures taken to combat cyber crime. As stated above, the benefits heavily outweigh the risks.

One more negative twist. According to Stoll, “High Tech Heretic, (another

resource used in this research) punctures the exaggerated benefits of everything from foisting computers on preschoolers to “free” software to computer “help desks” that help no one at all.” He asks, “Why is there a relentless drumbeat for “computer literacy” by educators and

the high-tech industry when computer’s most common uses are for word processing and games. Is diverting scarce education resources from teachers and equipment in favor of computers in the classroom the best use of school money?” (Stoll, 1999)

Can computers take the place of real hands on subjects such as chemistry? “The days of test tubes and Bunsen burners are fast disappearing, as school districts get scared of students handling chemicals. Too easy to spill acid, burn a finger, or build a bomb. With safety concerns driving up the cost of real chem. Labs, schools naturally turn to high-tech solutions: computer simulations. School chemistry software comes complete with pretty images of thermometers, pipets, and condensers.” (Stoll, pp. 28)

Other concerns are educators using the money-for-technology scheme to the public for funding, but then sneak in problem-based learning, collaborative learning, or constructivist education. At worst, it’s outright fraud: selling a hidden agenda on the promise that technology will improve our schools. (pp. 28)

Conclusion: After reading this often critical book, I’ve formed my opinion that computers are a waste of money if they aren’t being used for what they are intended for and not just used for spread sheets, calendars, memos, emails, and games. I agree that practical uses (of computers) for safety can really benefit a chemistry class, virtual animals for dissecting, math diagramming for visual learners, reading, writing and of course, instruction.

Last Words…

Quote of syllogism from Silicon Valley: Changes make a better society. Technology brings about change. Therefore, technology makes a better society.