The essential goal of our technological issues within the classroom should be to prepare our students mindset to improve their standardize test scores. We ask ourselves if the current resources we have regarding technology use is effective or ineffective when it comes to student achievement. So, I researched an article on “Educational Technology Research Past and Present: Balancing Rigor and Relevance to Impact School Learning”. The overview of this article grasps our attention in regard to the analytical perspective of how students lag in classroom achievement, learning and memory strategies that affect their cognitive academic learning abilities. Thus, the concern is the decline in the quantity of the usage of computer base tools that draws the student interest to specific context and descriptive approaches to learning. When we immerse this point it precludes that there is a gap in the trends of educational technology. Therefore, the question we must answer is how are we going to keep up with the future direction of technology in our classrooms? The only people that can really answer this question is administrator(s), teacher(s), along with parent(s) engagement.
Ross & Lowther (2009) states, “Educational technology is an intervention strategy that has a variety of modalities, tools and effectiveness that depends on how well teachers apply curriculum strategies to instructional goals” (Morrison 2001; Ross &Lowther 2005, p. 19). Listen technology is a not a fade that changes each generation it is a tool that provides digital quality that most of our students consider it as an adaptable environment that makes them digital natives. So, it is our responsibility as administrators and teachers to assist our students and equip them with resources that are comparable with Computer Assisted Instruction. You may ask how is this method implemented from a teacher standpoint? This program provides tutorial lessons that assist the student with adapting to material that brings life back to academic organizational planning. Teachers we can remember when there were no technical resources for students to visually see how the lessons were being taught. Then interactive whiteboards became part of preloaded lessons that made students more engaged by seeing videos, images, and words through a computer.
However, the present use of the integration of technology can improve student learning by the following:
- Teachers can generate test that has more complex models and study guides that student can refine their homework resources by using resources such as improved apps and programs that increase academic learning.
- Classroom time can be remarkably improved by blending online learning with face-to face instructional deliberation in which today we utilize such as Zoom and Google classrooms.
Here are some few examples of effective technology that focus on how teachers can stay engaged to teach. In addition, teachers need to increase their engagement when it comes to cyber safety and the students appropriate use of technology. Brian Host (2019) author of “Does Using Technology in the Classroom Improves Student Outcomes” states, “Integration of technology is achieved when transparency supports curricular goals”. To engage parents along with academic strategies teachers will be able to receive personalize feedback in a timely manner. This feedback can be received by social media messages allowing students to exchange ideas about their academic learning experiences. Since there is so much cyber invasions within our communities it is our responsibility as leaders to allow our students to feel safe. This action can also allow parents to stay connected regarding their children grades, attendance, and classroom behavior. As administrators we do realize that parents struggle to access their children homework by technology use, but we can keep our students motivated about learning through personalize sites such a Khan Academy, Quizlet that entails immediate feedback for statistical data reporting. Therefore, we must adopt the improvement of technology by allowing teachers, students and parents to make a sound investment in virtual academic achievement.
References:
Ross, S., Morrison, G., & Lowther, D. (2010). Educational Technology Research Past and Present: Balancing Rigor and Relevance to Impact School Learning. Contemporary Educational Technology.
Host, B. (2019). Does Using Technology in the Classroom Improves Student Outcomes. www.educationtechnologysolutions.com