Technology in the Classroom

Technology in the Classroom

Technology is fantastic nowadays. It is like a Tsunami in slow motion, little by little it is affecting more and more areas of our lives. In the kitchen with microwave ovens. in the workplace with computers, mail, faxes. In our daily routines, using our infamous cellular phones. My cell phone is very underutilized; there are so many things it can do that I don’t know how to use. Of course technology has made it to the schools and as a consequence to the classroom.
There are so many kinds of software we can use in the class to obtain data, and make data driven decisions. We can have wonderful presentations with color and sounds. We can test and also grade our students’ performance.
Many times as teachers we complaint that our students spend too much time in front of the TV playing video games, pushing those buttons until their fingers hurt. We say they have very short concentration spans, yet they can play video games for 6-7 hours uninterrupted. We need to get that kind of motivation into some learning games. We need to have Instructional video game "Motivation can be a challenge for students," Marc Prensky, CEO of the firm Games2Train, told TechNewsWorld. "Video games come with a clear set of motivation tools, such as scores, moving to higher levels and reaping various rewards when a player performs well," Mr. Prensky is not the only one "Many students are now underserved by the public school system, and video games offer educators a potential way to reach them," Liz Simpson, founder of the Learning Research Institute, a consulting firm specializing in this area, told TechNewsWorld. Today there are still 2 currents among teachers, the first one is that playing games in the classroom is not so useful and it creates many discipline problems, and the other current that says playing games not only makes it fun but students also learn.
There has been a triangle in education, Politicians, educators and in between both of them money. We may have the situation in which we have politicians and educators that may agree on having more technology in the classroom, yet there is not enough money to get the technology that is required or that we want. “Former president Clinton declared to Al tec that he had a vision that actually became a challenge. He wanted to train teachrs so they could teach children, they also needed the computers, connect the computers to the information highway and having the right software”.
Motivation is probably one of the most important subproducts of using technology along with a generalized boost of self esteem. It is very common to hear stories from teachers stating that such and such studetns have improved tremendously using technology and the way they conduct themselves has also changed because they have a higher self esteem “The computer has been an empowering tool to the students. They have a voice and it's not in any way secondary to anybody else's voice. It's an equal voice. So that's incredibly positive. Motivation to use technology is very high. --Elementary school teacher”
“Technology is the ultimate carrot for students. It's something they want to master. Learning to use it enhances their self-esteem and makes them excited about coming to school. --Fifth grade teacher “
Today’s students grew up with technology and expect to use it to get information, solve problems and communicate. These are the very skills they need now and in the future. When classrooms are equipped with the right combination of technology tools, students can learn all the skills they need to prepare.
It is clear at least for me, that the way to go in education is technology, technology in its various forms and shapes. We the older generation have no excuse we need to at least try to be updated with the use of technology, we cannot afforsd to be technology alliens. The younger generations are born with a technological chip and they have no problem adapting and using technology, we as educators need to take advantage of that and teach them in the way they learn.


http://www.technewsworld.com/story/56516.html