10 Reasons Today's Students NEED Technology in the Classroom

https://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/10-reasons-today-s-students-need-technology-in-the-classroom


Why do students today NEED technology in the classroom?  Well to put it simply, they will miss out on many opportunities without it.  The problem is, some schools are very limited on what they can provide for their students, whether it's funding for computers or tablets, or access to WiFi.  Another problem is that some administrators and teachers are very much "old school" and don't believe that technology is needed in order for students to learn.  Although this is a true statement, what these people need to realize is that many of today's students have been using tablets and mobile devices since they could crawl.  It would be unreasonable to assume that they would not be able to thrive with the technology they have available. 

By giving students technology, you open a whole new realm of teaching!  Will it be different than the way you and I learned in school?  Absolutely!!  I can't even imagine what the world would be like today had we grown up with all of this information at our finger tips!  We have only just begun on the journey.  Technology is still very new and there is still so much that we don't know.  What we can do as educators is to guide them on how to use this technology safely and prepare them for the digital age.  For myself personally, it will mean learning right along with them.........and most likely, having my students teach me a thing or two, because let's face it, they have probably taught themselves how to do most everything anyway, right?

This article is 100% correct.  Children NEED technology in the classroom.  Whether today's society wants to accept it or not.  Technology is here and it's available.  Information is one click away, right at your finger tips.  Why make what used to take hours of us searching through microfish, or library cards to find what we need to write a paper?  Ok, maybe that's taking it a bit too far, but for these kids making them learn the same way we did, may not always be the best way and it's certainly not the quickest.  Technology not only gives us multiple ways to teach, but it also saves a lot of time.

When Classroom Technology Impedes Student Learning

https://www.aei.org/publication/when-classroom-technology-impedes-student-learning/

This article reflected on a study in which high school students were given three choices prior to taking a three and a half hour final exam. The first being that they could take the test without any technology. The second choice was "technology-at-will", which allowed students to freely use a tablet when they wanted. The last choice was for students who were restricted to taking the test using only a tablet.

The final results found that students who took the test without the use of a tablet, scored higher than the students who used any form of technology. This study took place over two terms and it analyzed 726 students in 50 different classrooms. The article said that technology can be a powerful tool to engage students, but what matters is how it is used. Many schools are concerned with keeping up on the newest hardware and software when implementing technology in the classroom. However, schools should be more concerned with giving students the attention and support needed when using these technology devices.

I would have to agree with that statement. I think that technology allows me to engage students and facilitate learning in a different way. I think that most of us take our technology for granted sometimes. However, I think that instruction should be meaningful and intentional in nature. I feel that teachers sometimes implement technology games into instruction because it's "easier", but is it actually supporting student learning?