Technology in Education

Technology is everywhere. We live in a global society dependent on technology. Everywhere you look someone is using technology. Cellular phones are turning in to mini computers; we have think pads, laptops, personal computers, Kindles and Nooks. I remember the days when research papers were done by spending hours or days in the library looking for information. Today we type words into a search engine and, depending on the computer speed, a million or more websites full of information appear on your computer screen. As a technology becomes a bigger part of our lives should we not be incorporating technology into our classrooms?

There are many opinions on incorporating technology into classrooms. We definitely must weigh the positives and negatives involved when integrating technology into the classroom. A few reasons technology in the classroom may be perceived as ineffective are cost, effectiveness and dependence. Technology has one major drawback, it is expensive. The cost could be justified but with technology there is always the possibility of newer versions or outdated software. The effectiveness of technology can be argued as well. Sometimes technology can actually distract a student from a specific task. Technology is a neat tool. New toys, such as a new technology, can take attention away from a lesson and place the focus on the technological tool being used. Dependence is another concern when using technology. Students can become too dependent on technology. A student in one of my classes noticed if her CT did not put the plan for the day on the computer, the students were lost. Teachers could also fall prey to becoming too reliant on technology. We have to make sure we can still teach if technology failed us otherwise we would be helpless during a power outage, virus attack or glitch were to happen.

Although there are reasons against using technology, there are many positive reasons for using technology in the classroom. I think a few good reasons for integrating technology in the classroom are research, lesson integration and for special needs students. Researching information on any subject imaginable can be found by just typing a keyword or two into the search engine. If a student has a question like why is grass green, why is the sky blue, we have that information available to us in almost an instant. Integrating technology into lessons can make learning more fun for some students. Technology is always going to be a source of interest for students and mixing it with any lesson can bring more interest from the student. Technology can make learning fun and interesting for special needs and ELL students too. Computers have programs that allow impaired students a way to learn and language barriers can be eased with the help of technology. There is an abundance of programs and software available to help slow, handicap or ELL learners succeed in school.

My CT's classroom has six computers, an active board and