Emerging Technology Within A Kindergarten Classroom Setting

Many schools have switched from using paper textbooks to iPads or chromebooks, which allow students to access online textbooks. But is this a good change? There are many factors that need to be put into consideration, including the age group of a kids receiving the technology, the classes this tool can be used for, and the children’s ability to interact with others.

The purpose of this proposal is to obtain and incorporate various technology tools at Crestview Elementary School through the use of laptops and Promethean board in the classrooms. Crestview Elementary is located in the City of Miami Gardens, Florida. Crestview Elementary School operates within the Dade School District. Crestview Elementary serves 438 students in grades pre-K through 5th. The student:teacher ratio is19:1. Minority enrollment is 100% of the student body (majority Black), which is more than the state average of 60%. The population of black students is 95% and Hispanic students 5%. Ninety-seven percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch. These statistics qualify Crestview Elementary as a title 1 and a low performing school.

Whilst investigating my literacy topic on placement I decided to not only interview my mentor teacher but also interview two students to gain their perspective on the use of technology. I believed their point of you view was valuable to my findings and wanted to discover firsthand if students are enjoying and finding the use of technology helpful in their literacy classes. Whilst assisting on placement I approached two children and interviewed them at different times, the two children in particular were very forward and honest when sharing their opinions with me. From their opinions they expressed in the short interview (refer to Appendix 1) it is evident the two students would rather read an eBook than a book and find it exciting and fun, this would cause more engagement and focus on the text. The two students also mentioned that pictures in the eBook are animated and this helps make sense of the story. It is clear that an interactive reading experience, acquires students with a greater comprehension of a text (Hutchison, Beschorner and Schmidt-Crawford 2012). These findings support my research question relating to the importance of learning literacy with the assistance of technology. Another artefact to support this matter (refer to Appendix 2) is a task students completed, which involved them writing up a draft of a poem and later they were to type up the final copy. A number of students were completing their draft on a laptop, I asked the teacher why they were not

Preview of Main Points: First, I’ll explain two ways in how convenient e-books are, and how they engage with a student while learning in an easier way. Second, having e-books you will be able save about half on e-books than print books, and how print textbooks are heavy and cause injuries, while tablets only weights 1-2 pounds. Introduction (Attention Getter) By a show of hands how many go online with their smart phones everyday? According to the article “Tablets vs. Textbook” found on ProCon.org, 2014, in 2012 it marked the first time that more people accessed the Internet via smartphones and tablets than desktop or laptops.

Small children appear to have a stronger connection with a tablet in front of them instead of a book. E-Books are also cheaper, especially when comparing to online sales like Amazon or Half.com. On the average, one would save at least $5.00 per book in Kindle form versus bound book. Some of the main suppliers of E-books, like Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Sony have each published studies on the environmental impact of using digital technology. E-Book sales have skyrocketed over the last ten years. In 2009, “sales of E-books totaled over 169.5 million.” (Greenpressinitiative.com) Steven Johnson who wrote in the Wall Street Journal states, “It will expand the universe of books at our fingertips, and transform the solitary act of reading into something far more social.” (WSJ) Online websites are vast for book clubs and social media promotes the sales of online books. She also eludes to the fact that online books “will also change how we find books – and talk about them.” Another advantage is if one does not like a book, just delete from your library. That is much simpler that returning a book to a

The learning abilities with technology may vary along users and students’ learning. Some students use tablets to take notes; the journal “Kindle in the Writing Classroom” stated Kindle was not often use by students to take notes and many students disagree with the fact the tablet can help change the way he or she to use in the class (Acheson 287). No matter which device people use for read or study today, tablets have advantages and disadvantages. Reading or working on tablets depends on what people prefer. The journal “The High School Book Club--Now With Kindles” by Editor Pam Harland explained the benefit of the tablets and letting anybody share the thoughts about kindle like. Jamie (one of the character in the journal) stated she likes to

E-textbooks provide new features not available in paper textbooks, which may significantly benefit to students. In the last decade, 3 studies had explored the positive effect on academic performance (David & William, 2013; Sally

“Ripe for digital destruction,” (A Textbook) were words of the late Steve Jobs referring to the enormous potential for the textbooks industry. He believed the textbook market to be worth an estimated 8 billion dollars in the U.S. alone. His vision was to lessen the burden of carrying heavy textbooks around, while also offering them as a free feature with the iPad. He wanted to change the culture of textbooks forever.

Since the introduction of e-readers/tablet over a decade ago, reading materials has become more easily accessible and new methods of content delivery have emerged. E-books (Electronic textbooks) provides immediate access to read or download new books/texts which really assisted in improving habits of students. In contrast, despite the impact of digital technologies, textbooks still have been retained as a popular choice for academic purposes. E-books tend to use the same presentation as textbooks and some are only a digital representation of the printed version, with the hope for users to achieve the same experience as traditional textbooks. On the other hand, despite the advantages that e-textbooks offer, several barriers exist regarding their use by school districts namely non-standardization of the e-textbooks, technological costs and accessibility beyond the classroom.

Secondly, e-books will enhancing the learning process effectiveness. The e-Book project of Clearwater High School (2010) describe that e-book provide different functions allow students and teachers to use rather than to scribble on a print book. Simultaneously, Grabe and Grabe (1996) find that larger font sizes and spacing allowing students to track reading more effectively and giving more processing time. The e-Book can provide reading support for students through their ability to change the displayed text size.

Tablets and computers are becoming more prevalent in classrooms. Many teachers incorporate technology in their lessons because they feel it is valuable for the majority of their students. A plethora of arguments have been made as to why tablets are more beneficial. Educators have stated they feel tablets are faster, more advanced, more interactive, and more current than textbooks. For example, websites such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing are valuable resources in research and education. A subject can be typed into a search engine and an answer pops up within milliseconds. In turn, it makes learning quicker. Students do not have to flip through multiple sections in lengthy textbooks to find an answer if the internet is readily available.

Our school has done a decent job of facilitating learning for all students, its staff could do a better job of identifying targeted subgroups to meet their needs more appropriately. Much of the organizational scheduling constraints and facilities have clouded the staff’s abilities to consider instructional options that would better meet the needs of all students, including our target population. While the English department has the virtual world at the fingertips of its students, it seems that very little is done to individualize for various subgroups within the classrooms. All students read the same works of literature, regardless of ability or interest. Moreover, while the school does not technically have a library to call its own, classroom libraries are also nonexistent. While a student may have the world at its fingertips, the reading is hard to come when such reading is “out of sight, out of mind.” Somewhere in our pursuit to digitalize learning, we lost the ability to motivate our students through the handheld resources available prior to the 21st century.

Many people appreciate “the smell of the paper and the feeling of holding it in our hands” (Marcovitz 55). Many people prefer the flipping of pages rather than the swipe of the screen. Some people still do not know how or why they should use electronic devices for reading. “It’s no wonder that a lot of the people I talk to are confused by ebooks. They don’t know which way to turn, which e-reader to use, or why they should even use them” (Merkoski 161). It is important for children to know what a real book is like. “Without the balance of children holding and touching and learning how to take care of a book, you run the risk of children losing a sense of what books are and how they feel… you lose the understanding on how they came to be (66-67). Only using electronic devices for reading loses a person’s touch with the past and with

Tablet purchases are similar to the purchase of digital textbooks by students. With the recent expansion and convenience of the Kindle, Nook, iPad, PocketReader, and similar E-book readers, more students have begun purchasing their textbooks via online versions and using them in their classes. The purchase of online textbooks, like other online purchases, can benefit from the tablets experience. Tablets provide the convenience of smart access, powerful screens,

Since the introduction of e-readers/tablet over a decade ago, reading materials have become more easily accessible and new methods of content delivery have emerged. Correspondingly, immediate access to read or download new books/texts has really assist in improve habits of learners. In contrast, Despite the impact of digital technologies, textbooks have still been retained as a popular choice academic purposes, E-books (Electronic textbooks) tends to use the same presentation of textbooks and some are only a digital representation of the printed version, with the hope for users to achieve the same experience as traditional text books. On the other hand, despite the advantages that e-textbooks offer, several barriers exist regarding their use by school districts namely non-standardization of the platform, Technological Investments, Limited access outside classroom by students.