Should Technology Be Taught 21st Century?

I would agree with this, as I have seen evidence within my setting, that when situations are presented, children can independently operate technology items used for a specific purpose. I see technology as being part of good practice within our planning to acknowledge the existence of modern technology and its part in children’s lives today, both at home and within my setting.

Another important benefit of implementing technology in the classroom is it can help teachers create personalize instruction and make it easier to provide accommodations. It can be very difficult and time consuming to differentiate instruction for a classroom of students. The use of technology can make this a much more workable task. By using technology, the teacher can differentiate instruction with just a few swipes per student. It also gives the teacher more options to work with depending on student need. For example, if a student has trouble writing, they can use an iPad with voice adaptive software to answer questions or complete assignments. This eliminates the stress they may feel being forced to write during an assignment or test situation.

iPads and tablets have become a popular choice of teachers in many classrooms worldwide due to the positive impact it has on the students. Tablets offer a wide variety of educational applications that have the ability to be downloaded onto the tablet for the students to use. The use of tablets in the classroom, “offer a unique home-school connection by providing students with a classroom experience that relates to the technology-saturated real world” (Blackwell, 2013, pg. 233) The use of iPads and tablets in the classroom provides students with a hands on learning approach to any

Since children today have become digital natives; they will never truly know a world that is not touched with technology. This means that the educational paradigm has to shift in order to keep up with the needs of our young learners (Jo, 2016). In the last thirty years, technological advances

This technology revolution sparked a debate on children’s use of technology. Children are constantly using iPads, iPhones, tablets, and other computerized devices. By over exposing children to technology, they are being robbed of the mental stimulation that comes from doing real, non computerized, activities. It has gotten to the point where one can see a two-year-old navigate an iPhone with ease but struggle to speak. Sixty-nine percent of children aged two to five can use a computer mouse, but only eleven percent can tie their own shoelaces (Generation Tech More Kids Can Play Computer Games than Ride a Bike). Also, children are at an all time low in the creativity department

Samantha Light, grade 1 teacher at St. Juans catholic elementary in Toronto, Ontario noticed that her students learn better when they use technology, such as iPads. Light wants to make learning more enjoyable not only for her students, but kids everywhere, as she thinks it will make students want to participate in their teachers lessons more.

Schools are also looking at new technologies that will not cost them a bunch of money but actually save them money, an example of this is schools are turning to the cloud for storing and sharing information, there is much smaller costs than operating a server and paying someone to make sure the equipment is running and updated as needed. I know that’s a little off point but just an example of other ways schools are using technology at a cheaper cost. I graduated with my BS in Criminal Justice and belonged to a fraternity, when we needed new technology for our program we would have fund raisers. Unfortunately, those can be difficult to find volunteers for running it, and you have to have several to make the money normally needed for new equipment.

Once upon a time, elementary level classrooms emphasized the importance of books. Children ventured into school libraries where colorful book covers peaked their interests. Some schools would host book fairs, promoting new literature with life-sized cutouts of the powerful protagonist and new supporting characters of that year’s most popular novel or children’s book. Today, school libraries seem vacant as opposed to how they appeared even ten years ago. The introduction of the iPad took the world by storm; instead of asking for a book or crayons, children present a greater attracted to new technology. From diapers to day school, children evidently hold mobile tablets in hand, whether out with their parents or in the privacy of their own home. Guy Merchant wrote the article, “Keep Taking the Tablets: iPads, story apps and early literacy” based on the behavioral observation of children, when

The current generation of children is completely different than the preceding ones. They are living in the digital age. “Technology has blended in with daily activity to become a way of life and children today take for granted all of which is automated. It is hard for kids nowadays to imagine a world that existed without all of the gadgets, electronics and seamless operations that computer technology provides.” (3) “Children in the United States devote some 40 hours a week to television, video games and the Internet.” (12) Many psychologists and researchers are concerned about the impact that technology has on children. Children, tomorrow’s future parents and leaders, are being consumed by the negative effects that technology had on their

Childhood is increasingly saturated by technology and the dominance of technological tools that are used to solve every day problems. Through the use of these technological tools, they enable and encourage preschool learning children aged one to five divergent thinking and team problem solving. For example, Lena Lee explored young preschool children’s learning with digital media including Ipad use. Her findings suggest that

For many teachers introducing iPads in a primary classroom is a daunting task. Many educators are hesitant to take the leap to using iPads for instruction in a primary classroom (Getting & Swainey, 2012). The research of Dhir, Gahwaji, & Nyman found it is not surprising, that eight and nine year old children are considered technologically savvy. Children learn differently with technology. Certain skills such as problem solving, exploratory learning, collaboration, and teamwork skills are enhanced through the use of technology (2013). Shifflet,Toledo, & Mattoon found in their research, preschoolers were quite successful with iPads and even at a young age, the use of technology enhances the educational experience. Mattoon discovered four surprises in introducing touch tablets (similar to an iPad) to her preschool class, collaborations, digital citizenship, cooperation, and connection to the real world (2012). iPads also increase engagement, support multiple means to access curriculum, and enhance assessment practices for all ages of students (Government of Alberta, 2011). Consequently, the benefits of incorporating an iPad into a primary classroom are evident, increasing engagement, cooperation, and enhancing students learning is supported through use of the iPad.

I agree with this, students need the support and the individual instruction that a teacher can provide in order to succeed. Using apps on iPads is a one size fits all model. In order to learn each student needs a program that can be modified on the spot to cater to their needs. In the article ‘What to expect in toddler years’, Eisnsberg, Murkoff and Hathaway write that while children learn while using iPads, the benefits are only temporary as they don’t retain the information. Anker in ‘The iPad isn’t you babysitter’ warns that learning with an iPad is not the same with using books to learn. When reading books children normally sit together and build a relationship with each other. They also develop a sense of self-worth. The problem with computer savvy kids is that they cannot interact in a healthy and meaningful way in

Omer Faruk Sozcu, Smail Ipek, Erkan Taskin all agreed that "The establishment of preschool children's classroom environmental setting needs to be able to guide children in to participating in active play, silent reading, music, drawing, blocks ...ECT. for motivating children's interests." Which brings up the impact of technology on teaching and learning; in my classroom we use an app on the ipad called speakazoo which is an interactive zoo experience; the friendly speakazoo animals will ask you questions and respond appropriately. Although I personally feel that, since we downloaded the app our children have increased the amount of talking they do, not only with the app animals but with their friends and teachers; There are others that feel using these electronic learning devices takes away from important human interaction that children need at that age.

Education has found its way into the loop of technology. Teachers are using ipads and laptops during class time to help conduct experiments, or share a presentation. This is allowing the students to gain instant access to the information they are seeking. Students also receive the opportunity to complete their homework online and print off their assignments instead of just using paper and pencil. Another pro for Technology in Education, there are countless sources out there which help enhance learning. In one research conducted, they compared the performance of teaching kids how to read a clock. One group was coached by an online app, another was shown by a toy clock, and the last group was trained by a drawing example. The results revealed that the children that were taught by the toy and app exceeded the paper drawing group (Galetzka).

Equipped with just one iPad® I worked one-on-one with each child participant, observing their interactions with the tool and recording their conversations. While this encouraged me to become fully immersed in every piece of data collected future investigations may tell a different story. Future studies might involve classrooms, specifically art classrooms, in which every child has access to a tablet computer. I would also be curious to see if providing paper copies of all drawings would alter children’s perceptions of their tablet renderings. One of the major findings from this study was that children held their traditional crayons drawings in higher regard than their digital counterparts. Future research, in which printed copies of each digital art piece were provided, might document different perceptions among children.