In today’s society implementing technology in the classroom has become the norm, even at the elementary level. According to Janelle Cox, as we sail through the 21st century, technology in the classroom is becoming more and more predominant. In many schools, tablets are replacing books which enable students to research just about anything. At first, I was reluctant to placing so much emphasis on incorporating technology into daily instruction as it is required at my school, but the results have been amazing. According to a study that was conducted by IT Trade Association, 75 percent of educators feel that technology has a positive impact on the learning process. The use of technology has caused teachers to change their teaching style. The adoption of technology has also changed the way in which students learn. This new method of education has created a learning environment that has allowed all involved to think outside of the box.
Students seem to enjoy the use of technology so much because it makes learning fun. My students are assigned a particular day of the week to work on the computers during independent work time. The use of technology has increased the reading levels of many of the majority of my students. The are excited to take a test on the computer after reading a book. Laptop cart day is one that they look forward to each week because this allows the entire class to work on the computers as a group.
A study conducted by Corp TIA’s showed that 9 out of 10 students believe that technology in the classroom would prepare them for the digital future. According to Janelle Cox, these 21st Century skills are essential to be successful in this day and age. The increased uses of technology in society mean that jobs that may not have had a digital component in the past may have one now. Students being familiar with the use of technology from a young age will prove beneficial in their future. Many of them are more technologically than their teachers, which is a plus.
Technology seems to be changing every minute. As educators, it is important that we keep up with the times to keep our students prepared for this ever-changing world that we live in. State Assessments are now being taken through the use of technology, each year the state has been adding a grade level. Last year school year the 4th-grade students had the experience of taking both the Reading and Math FSA on the computer. The year started out a little challenging but after working on the computers with fidelity through out the year, the result was positive. One benefit of using technology to assess the FSA was that the scores were back much sooner than they had been in previous years.
Integrating technology into the classroom has its benefits; I believe that traditional learning processes are just as essential and should be used as well.
Source: Benefits of Technology in the Classroom-TeachHUB. (n.d) Retrieved from http://www.teachhub.com/benefits-technology-classroom