Integrating Technology in the Language Arts Classroom
School leaders today are under extreme pressure to improve student achievement levels. Yet, in the face of tight budgets, threats to cut extra-curricular activities, and an extensive shortage of textbooks in the schools, exactly what are teachers supposed to do to ensure that “no child is really left behind.” Despite what looks like a dead end, there is hope. By integrating the usage of technology in the Language Arts classroom, students are presented with a wide range of opportunities for improving in writing, literacy, and cultural awareness.
According to the article, “Are we there yet?” a survey issued by the National School Boards Foundation says that many schools
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There is still both enthusiasm for and doubts about the usage of educational technology in the classroom. However, the integration of technology in reading instruction has kept up with the movements and changes in the field of the reading and writing curriculum. While faced with many book shortages, this article also gives ideas for strengthening the skill of students in writing and reading instruction. It suggests that students participate in “invisible writing” as a sort of pre-writing activity. Through this, students will turn the monitor of the computer off for approximately one to three minutes, so that they cannot see what they are typing. Students have reported that this exercise has helped them develop fluency, has freed them from continuously checking their mistakes and losing their train of thought, and has also increased their interest in viewing what they had to say. Thus, students will have learned how to produce more thoughtfully enriched texts that teachers can build on through other types of instruction.
In addition to this, in the face of textbooks shortages, teachers have at hand a source for retrieving other forms of literature. On-line are numerous programs that encourage students to read along with it, while it reads aloud. There are also programs that allow students to retrieve definitions and illustrations of the words, and thus promoting students to interactions in literacy.
Lastly, in the article,
Technology of the past 20 years has become a focal point of teaching and learning. As a teacher, it is my job to facilitate the learning for an individual by creating an environment that not only conducive for learning, but also places the child in a position to discover and learn them for themselves. Technology has given teachers to opportunity to take learning beyond the classroom, and has begun to reshape their role in the learning process.
The intention of the Comprehensive Classroom Technology Plan is to enhance the use of technology in the classroom to improve the education that students receive in their learning and communicating. The detail found within the Comprehensive Classroom Technology Plan will describe the ability of the teacher to use technology in an effective manner within the classroom while providing a safe, secure, and educational environment for students to learn.
Introduction. New technologies in the classroom are a cutting-edge field of study in contemporary history. Education is now going digital. With the creation of online software for students, the lessons learned in the classroom have shown more efficiency and has made a big contribution to higher literacy rates for students. Not so many years ago, the internet was limited both in what it could do and in who used it. Today, most teachers have not only been exposed to the internet but also have access at home and at school. As we become increasingly more reliant and absorbed in technology, it is no surprise that today’s children have become avid users as well. Laptops are being developed for children as young as five. Smart phones are now in the hands of children as young as ten. In fact, a large number of schools are being retrofitted to place the internet in every classroom. Technology has become an integral part of the majority of Americans’ daily lives. We get our news through various websites and digital newspapers, pay bills, manage our love lives, send and receive mail, and find information all on the Internet. More than 500 million people communicate and keep in touch with friends through social networking. Our new technologically driven lives are thanks to the constantly developing and affordable technology available in the United States. I will discuss how new kinds of technology, active and passive learning roles, the sphere of Autism learning, learning styles and
Not So Fast,” Andrea Lunsford argues that rather than leading to a new illiteracy, the digital technologies in the modern world help students to develop their ability of writing. Not only that students are daferrors than 25 years ago, actually with less spelling errors. In order to help students with the challenges, the teacher should offer solid instructions and encouragement rather than derision.
Technology is a portion of everyday life. It affects how business is conducted, teaching, learning, and receiving information. Good or bad, everyone uses technology every day. There are many items people have on them on a daily basis, one would be hard pressed to be without. If you were to examine the effect of technology on teaching and learning and acquire an understanding of why technology should be a part of every classroom curriculum, what would the conclusion be? Technology is a great benefit to the classroom, it stimulates our digital generation and allows educators to be more creative with curriculum.
The article “The Writings on the Screen” by Tiffany O’Callaghan talks about how this generation reads more frequently, and the style of writing has changed immensely. Tiffany also talks about how taking notes by hand rather than a computer will help you understand the topics of the lecture, and also help you retain the information. She emphasizes on the fact that using a laptop for an educational purpose is problematic, and distracting, not only to yourself, but to others around you. This article also talks about how writing by hand forces your brain to process the information you heard.
The physical setting of a classroom is essential in evolving the literacy growth of students, and can increase the amount of time a student spends with books. This includes the variety of resources that will simplify language and literacy opportunities, the thought put into classroom design, as well as planned instruction by the teacher. The planned variety and utilization of materials is vital to the development of the literacy-rich environment and must be readily available for the student to utilize. Both fiction and nonfiction literature will be made available within the classroom, which includes assorted reading materials that are utilized in daily lives to nurture the student’s comprehension of how literacy is utilized. Examples of materials that will be made available are "phone directories, dictionaries, menus, recipes, signs, printed directions, student work, and alphabet displays” (The Access Center, n.
Using technology in the classroom is a sensitive issue. It is the teacher?s responsibility to
Technology is a helpful tool for teaching the writing process, and Marchisan and Alber (2001) concluded that writers can be taught to write using the writing process approach paired with tools of technology, direct instruction, and committed well-trained teachers. Graham, (2008), Graham & and Perin (2007a), and Rogers & and Graham, (2008), agreed that technology makes the process of writing easier and often provides very specific types of support. Word processing provides at least four advantages: (a) revisions are easily made, (b) publishing is professional-looking, (c) typing provides an easier means for children with fine motor skill challenges to produce text, and (d) word-processing programs have software programs, such as spell and stylistic checkers designed to reduce specific types of miscues. Other tools are speech synthesis (i.e., the writer’s spoken words are transcribed to electronic text) and word-prediction programs (i.e., the computer program reduces the key strokes by predicting the writer’s next word). This is helpful for students with difficulties with spelling and the mechanics of writing. In addition, outlining and semantic mapping software can aide with the planning process, and the use of computer networks and the Internet can help to promote communication and collaboration among writers.
This article attempts to enlighten educators to allow computers in the classroom as a workshop to help improve literacy. The computer allows for students to have both a visual and a verbal reference to a topic, thus, solidifying a concrete comprehension of the text, allowing the student to be further engaged and stimulated with the assignment. Over the years, educators have seen such a vast change in technology, especially in the classroom. It is time now, that educators embrace the change and use it to their advantage. “If students can be motivated and engaged when using technology, teachers should continue to support this type of learning when appropriate.”
Today’s education differs much from the education fifty years ago. One of the reasons they are so different is because of technology. In the past fifty years the world of technology has grown tremendously, affecting everything, including education. A few things that have been brought into the world of education are computers, video and digital equipment such as DVDs, digital cameras and recording devices. The technology also includes information presentation technologies which includes the Smart Board, and different interactive whiteboards. There are many more that schools did not have fifty years ago.
Most students today use technology throughout their school day. Uses for technology can be found for every subject matter a student has. Some of the most widely used tools are found in the English and Language Arts classes. Writing on word processors allows students to cut-and-paste, save their work, and use spell checkers and thesauruses. With technology students are also given advantages in learning how to read. Reading programs use
Nowadays, Digital literacy helps to understand and analyze information through digital technology. The use of technology plays an important role within the process of teaching and learning; it can be used to teach reading and writing skills by using digital devices such as laptops, iPads, Chromebooks, or desktops. However, within the context of the use of technology in the area of education, and specifically in the area of language, digital literacy would also encompass its application both in development of language skills and learning of languages (reading, writing, oral comprehension and oral production). Although there are many limitations to the technological advances of digital literacy I believe that the advantages are greater than
In a digital world, it is no secret that technology has influenced the way students learn in schools. As referenced by Robinson, McKenna and Conradi, in 2005 Leu, an educational psychologist and professor, “reflected that the internet as well as evolving technologies are not technological issues but literacy issues” (Robinson, McKenna & Conradi, 2012, p. 266). I agree with Leu since I believe technology is a positive tool for student learning if used correctly, however, there is a difference between using technology to support learning and using technology to do the learning. Digital versions of printed text included hypermedia which allows readers
There is a growing trend in the use of technology in the classroom. As a teacher, I am always looking for ways to use manipulatives in my lessons to increase meaning and authenticity for students. I would love to keep my students engaged, motivated and interactive in the classroom and still be able to get through the content each day. In order to achieve this, I need to have an arsenal of tools to draw from. That is why I agree with (Tataroglu & Erduran, 2010) as stated in the International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education (IEJEE) that “The use of technologies like IWBs in the classroom can provide teachers and students convenience and variety. “