Thursday, July 15, 2010
The Importance of Technology in the English Classroom
This podcast provides information about why we should incorporate technology into English classrooms as well as those in other areas.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Educational Technology
Educational technology
View more presentations from LMBaker12.
Slide show retrieved from: www.teachertube.com/files/articles/b51a15f382ac914.pptx
The Impact of Technology in the Classroom
Every high school student in the state of Texas is expected to complete a research paper. Though every teacher may choose a different format and expectations, the idea is the same. Students are to research a specified topic and answer certain questions pertaining to said topic. They must then communicate the information to the reader in a manner that is easy to understand. Technology provides a quick and easy means of conducting research, organizing data, and communicating information. Incorporating technology into the classroom requires some effort to set up, but long-term goals are much more easily accessible as continuous changes and updates become available.
Education is rooted in discovering problems or questions and working to find or develop answers. Research has been made simple by the addition of personal computers and the internet. In 1999, research conducted by Kent and McNergney indicated that computers were only useful if a teacher used them in the classroom. Fewer than 10% of the college professors interviewed by the pair utilized this technology, however, in 2004, an article in the New York Times discussed the use of weblogs created by second graders to report their findings about Native Americans. This demonstrates a vast change in the use of computers in the classroom. As second graders use blogs, college students are using interfaces such as Blackboard to communicate with classmates and complete distance learning courses from the comfort of their homes. The research and communication of information using technology continues to grow in popularity in the world of education in large part because it supports key elements of learning.
The article, “Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum?: The Reasons are Many,” written by the Edutopia staff discusses four major fundamentals active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts. These principles are the same that are taught to those seeking a career in any form of education. In any classroom there should be active engagement. Student should be involved in the learning for learning to occur. According to the Learning Pyramid, if a student teaches material to others, he or she has a 90% chance of knowing the information in the future compared to the less than10% from simply listening to a lecture. The incorporation of technology provides a means for even the shiest person to speak with others for clarification about a topic as well as to explain to those who have a less heightened sense of understanding. With the use of the internet, students can ask questions at any point in the day as well as read teacher and peer feedback at their own convenience. The Edutopia article also promotes the connection to experts in different fields via web sources. Students who would otherwise have no connection to much else other than dated textbooks can define answers and have a better grasp of a subject with a few clicks of the mouse. Articles, videos, audio podcasts, and computer based audio/visual communication programs allow students with a multitude of learning styles to have opportunities to absorb vital information.
Research occurs in many different ways and on many different levels. The internet provides students with a fast means of gathering information as well as an easy way to communicate the information to others. With the constant progress of technology, searching for answers is at the fingertips. Gone are the days of physically searching card catalogs and handwriting notes to save important ideas. In an ever-changing society, these are important improvements in ways to make learning more accessible for everyone.
Resources
Kalkowski, M. (2000, June). "diffusion of innovation: technology in the high school journalism classroom". Retrieved from http://marian.creighton.edu/~mascu/TECHlitrev.html
Selingo, J. (2004, August 19). "in the classroom, web logs are the new black boards". Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/technology/circuits/19blog
"why integrate technology into the curriculum?: the reasons are many . (2008 , March 17).
Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction
Retrieved from http://stephenslighthouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/learning_pyramid.jpg
Education is rooted in discovering problems or questions and working to find or develop answers. Research has been made simple by the addition of personal computers and the internet. In 1999, research conducted by Kent and McNergney indicated that computers were only useful if a teacher used them in the classroom. Fewer than 10% of the college professors interviewed by the pair utilized this technology, however, in 2004, an article in the New York Times discussed the use of weblogs created by second graders to report their findings about Native Americans. This demonstrates a vast change in the use of computers in the classroom. As second graders use blogs, college students are using interfaces such as Blackboard to communicate with classmates and complete distance learning courses from the comfort of their homes. The research and communication of information using technology continues to grow in popularity in the world of education in large part because it supports key elements of learning.
The article, “Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum?: The Reasons are Many,” written by the Edutopia staff discusses four major fundamentals active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts. These principles are the same that are taught to those seeking a career in any form of education. In any classroom there should be active engagement. Student should be involved in the learning for learning to occur. According to the Learning Pyramid, if a student teaches material to others, he or she has a 90% chance of knowing the information in the future compared to the less than10% from simply listening to a lecture. The incorporation of technology provides a means for even the shiest person to speak with others for clarification about a topic as well as to explain to those who have a less heightened sense of understanding. With the use of the internet, students can ask questions at any point in the day as well as read teacher and peer feedback at their own convenience. The Edutopia article also promotes the connection to experts in different fields via web sources. Students who would otherwise have no connection to much else other than dated textbooks can define answers and have a better grasp of a subject with a few clicks of the mouse. Articles, videos, audio podcasts, and computer based audio/visual communication programs allow students with a multitude of learning styles to have opportunities to absorb vital information.
Research occurs in many different ways and on many different levels. The internet provides students with a fast means of gathering information as well as an easy way to communicate the information to others. With the constant progress of technology, searching for answers is at the fingertips. Gone are the days of physically searching card catalogs and handwriting notes to save important ideas. In an ever-changing society, these are important improvements in ways to make learning more accessible for everyone.
Resources
Kalkowski, M. (2000, June). "diffusion of innovation: technology in the high school journalism classroom". Retrieved from http://marian.creighton.edu/~mascu/TECHlitrev.html
Selingo, J. (2004, August 19). "in the classroom, web logs are the new black boards". Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/technology/circuits/19blog
"why integrate technology into the curriculum?: the reasons are many . (2008 , March 17).
Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction
Retrieved from http://stephenslighthouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/learning_pyramid.jpg
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