Technology in the classroom, serves no other purpose than to enhance a lesson plan, increase student engagement, and provide students with access to additional resources. Anytime, technology is a distraction or fails to fulfill its purpose set out in the sentence above, it is not being utilized correctly. The effects of misusing technology in a classroom setting can be detrimental to the educative process of the students it is intending to aid. Implementing a set of guidelines or standards that applies to the technology usage in schools will help alleviate the concern of the possible misuse of technology in instruction.
A standards based curriculum that is consistent across all states will eradicate the inequalities that plague the United States education system. The integration of technology into classroom instruction will act as a facilitator for this transformation. The purpose of implementing technology into classroom instruction is to ensure that students are able to be successful and competitive in the flourishing information age. Furthermore, if technology standards are developed the gap in the digital divide will decrease.[1] There is correlation between a student’s higher order thinking and problem solving abilities and their technology usage. Technology improves a student’s achievement, but if and only if, during the process of its implementation the education is thought of first and the technology is thought of second. Simply just introducing technology into the classroom does automatically mean that student’s achievement will increase, for it is not a matter of whether or not a student has access to technology, but a matter of how the technology is utilized in the classroom.[2] In order to ensure technology is used appropriately, in a way that ensures the student gains maximum benefit from it, it is essential that the instructor contain a breadth of knowledge surrounding Learning Activity Types.[3] The possession of this knowledge will afford the instructor with the ability, when lesson planning, to more effectively choose activities that are congruent with the supposed purpose of technology in the classroom. Moreover, this knowledge will provide instructors with information about which classroom activities, as well as the technology that accompanies them, will aid in the assurance that the students have effectively met the goals assigned to that specific lesson. In addition to having an advanced understanding of LATs, the must be familiar with TPACK and its implications.[4] It is crucial that an instructor have this knowledge, so they are aware of how to best combine their strengths as a teacher with technology. It is imperative that we teach our students how to interact with the ever-evolving technological world. Incorporating technology into the classroom not only assists in accomplishing this goal, but it also causes their academics to collide with real world examples. It helps to relate the subject matter to the child’s experience. As John Dewey says, in his essay, The Child and The Curriculum, it is essential that the child’s educative process be psychologized. Psychologized is defined as the need of restating into experience the subject matter of the studies. However, it is also important to note that while it is important that subject matter is related back to the experience of the child it is equally as important that the curriculum remain knowledge based. However, before this environment is created with technology integrated into it we must create this kind of learning environment absent of it, or else the integration of technology into the space will have no effect.[5] Sources: [1][2] Swain, C., & Pearson, T. (2002). Educators and Technology Standards: Influencing the Digital Divide. Journal of Research on Technology in Education , 34 (3). [3] Harris, J., & Hofer, M. J. (2009). Instructional Planning Activity Types as Vehicles for Curriculum-Based TPACK Development. In C. D. Maddux, Research Highlights in Technology and Teacher Education 2009. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. [4] Koehler, M. J., & Punya, M. (2009). What Is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge? . Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education , 9 (1), 60-70. [5] Marshall, G. (n.d.). New Halls of Knowledge: Modern Learning Environments Accomodate Time, Space and Place .
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