The Importance Of Technology In Education

Robert E. Kahn and Vint Cerf have changed the way people learn, work, and interact with each other through the invention of Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocols which were the main inventions that lead to the development of the internet. The internet has affected how we learn, how we communicate, how business works, and how our brain works.

The speed of technology is growing at an exponential rate. In this digital age, students have more opportunities through electronic products such as computers, tablets, and mobile devices.  The average student graduating from college in the United States has spent less than 5,000 hours on studying, but 10,000 hours on computer games or social networking. Moreover, since 2012, as many as sixty-three percent of universities offer online courses. Educational leaders throughout the U.S. are using electronic devices to try to engage students in a classroom setting through familiar technology. But are electronic devices good for the growth of education? Low standardized test scores show that students that use electronic devices for schoolwork

What once was a 4.0 student is now a person facing D’s and F’s on his next report card. Vishal Singh is a typical 17-year-old at Woodside High School, he was considered to be a motivated young student, until like most other kids in this century, he got increasingly captivated by the internet after getting his computer in sixth grade. Since then it's been late nights, and GPA downfalls (Richtel). The increasing screen time that teenagers are exposed to leads to distractions that often always lead to school becoming a their second priority. Students are constantly distracted by social media, when they should really be focusing on broadening their education, in order to create a better future for themselves, and to set better goals for the education systems we have today. Technology is controlling teenager’s education, but education is not controlling their technology, and this causing students to be encapsulated in the cyber world in the classrooms, and halls of almost every twenty first century high school. Knowing this, we need to limit electronic use and students must shut off their devices during studying hours and limit computer use to school related topics, in order to create a brighter future for our educational systems.

As technology continues to advance and take new heights in so many ways, we can think of many ways that this is helpful and how it makes our job easier. Technology within the school systems are starting to become the thing of the very near future. With many schools implementing "bring your device to school" days. You have to start to think how will this start to tie into the children's lives and how will this benefit them in the long run. According to Leys (n.d.), Technology has some great benefits to help our students further their education, it is also used in harmful ways that have no benefits on learning. All of the technology and gadgets are great, think of the problems and/or barriers that are brought forth. There are learning processes in each. What has to be looked at from a parenting stand point, is how do our children continue to implement better writing skills with new technology? With our children being more into technology, and being taught with technology, we must see the decline in the writing skills of our children and how dependent they will become when leaving the education realm and transitioning into the real world. Expecting technology to do more for them than ever before. Examination has to be taken into consideration on how are our teachers that teach our kids going to be supported, and the financial realm of resources that need to be given to give the correct support.

Today’s school systems show an increase towards technology enriched environments. From K-12 schools into college, students are relying on technology now more than ever. Classes, homework, in-class work, and the majority of the books are available in an online setting. I understand colleges using technology to help keep the class connected and for a learn at your own pace setting, but in K-12 teachers are in the same building Monday through Friday and the school distributes books to students. Moreover, replacing textbooks and school work with laptops is unnecessary in the K-12 education system.

Technology involves using tools to solve problems. From the perspective of a teacher, technology helps present information to students. A smart board or a Promethean board is a form of technology that helps present materials during a lesson. Students with visual impairments and visual learners benefit from the usage of smart boards and Promethean boards. For example, while doing observations for a second-grade class I noticed a teacher using an electronic version of their math textbook. Students had their textbooks out and the teacher had it up on the smart board so that they could all work on problems together. When I was in elementary school there were only black boards. However, I did take computer classes all throughout elementary school and all my classrooms had computer centers. I was not exposed to a smartboard until I reached middle school. One goal of adding the smart boards was to make both students and students more technologically savvy. Another goal was to increase the interaction and interest of students within the classroom. Midway through the seventh-grade, the classrooms got Promethean boards. At first, they were confusing to use, but by the time the year ended I was able to use them, so I achieved the goal of being more technologically savvy. Despite the initial confusion, they were fun to use in the classroom. My reading teacher would get electronic books and put them on the board as we read a story. At the end of a unit, this teacher would create Jeopardy

Many are misled regarding technology in schools because they fail to realize the difference between technology usage and technology integration. Technology usage focuses on the physical device, delivering information, and majority conduct comes from the teacher; whereas, technology integration supports the physical device to promote learning objectives, constructs knowledge, and allows students to operate it themselves (Harris 7). This is what separates technology efficient schools from the rest, technology is not their goal, education is (Levin and Schrum 51-53). Instead of taking a “one size fits all approach”, schools are able to succeed because they make learning relevant, provide opportunities, and promote important skills by integrating technology with curriculum. After using that method, and providing a laptop for every student in the school district, Mooresville, North Carolina dramatically improved high school standardized test proficiency from 68% to 88.5% (Levin and Schrum 51-53). However, Robert Kozma argues, ‘“What are the actual and potential relationships between media and learning?”’ (qtd. in Harris 2). Other critics have also stated concerns that technology does not influence achievement, teachers need training to effectively administer usage, and making sure every student has access. On the other hand, proponents of classroom technology say it allows creativity and is better fit for today’s society. Public schools across the United States, from low to high

As a teacher, we must learn how to achieve academic success in the classroom and with our students. The educator philosophers Borich and Wong have different points of view of how learning should be taught. Borich focuses on how technology integrates in the classroom, also on how questioning strategies help with targeting inquiry, and how teacher directed strategies help improve learners to actively respond. On the other hand, Wong focuses on everything you need to prepare for when you as the teacher have your own classroom such as: having a well-managed classroom, how to introduce yourself to your class, seating arrangements, grading systems, discipline plans, and how to achieve opportunities to learn. Consequently, the teacher should be able to balance the way the classroom acts expressively, and the same time encourage them to be culturally responsive to learning.

Despite its importance, writing is not given enough attention in schools compare to reading. Since the turn of the 21st century, “there have been a number of significant changes in the contexts in which we teach and in which our students learn to write”. Our culture has taken a digital shift in all aspects of life, including schooling and the way students are exposed to writing curriculum. Robinson, McKenna and Conradi state that “The context of schooling has also changed, with programs and practices affected most directly by an emphasis on standards and assessments as a part of a growing concern with accountability. Given a focus on reading, rather than writing or literacy more generally…this movement has had an impact on teaching and learning at all levels of public education” (Robinson, McKenna & Conradi, 2012, p. 243).

As a student in the modern era, where technology is at an all-time high everywhere I look technology is being introduced into a teacher's curriculum. Technology in school, although once banned it is now being praised to have technology intertwined with a school lesson. Everywhere I look people give up old habits such as keeping a planner because your phone now offers a new way to be organized in an easier and faster manner. One habit that students are giving up with this technological surge is taking notes by hand. Personally, I at one point tried to take notes on my laptop or even study pre-written notes, found myself distracted with such easy access to the internet. Consequently, I found my grades had become lower due to me not paying attention and not being able to truly grasp the lesson being taught. Eventually, I discovered that writing notes by hand benefited me immensely more and allowed me to try process the information being taught. In the article “Attention, Students: Put Your Laptops Away” written by NPR staff member James Doubek, he illustrates why my grades had decreased during my time of writing notes on my laptop.

In education today there is new in sight to link educational strategies, programs, initiatives, or technology so students can achieve there goals of passing their classes. There are many groups and organizations that are trying to advance technology literacy for students. In all aspects of our society, technology has revolutionized in so many ways ,plus enhancing our way of life. It’s no surprise that the public,researchers and others have the question on why hasn’t technology affect education yet?. But over the past 20 years there have been so many advancements in information and new tools that are being used to increase human knowledge. With all of the available technology and information researchers showed that integration of 21st Century technology increases student achievement and some college students shown a huge advancement in test and exam results.

More often than not, technology is criticized for doing simply what it was created to do: create forums of discussion, provide platforms for entertainment, and generally provide our modern society with a new way to express our thoughts, beliefs, etc. What is not typically acknowledged, however, is how much these gadgets have advanced us as a species, and what it can help us accomplish as a people, despite how it can be abused. One of these crucial endeavors that are made easier, if not simply better quality, is educating the population. When it comes to our youth, it is vital that each child has an equal opportunity to pursue success and the necessary skills to function out in the world. With technology, these academic playing fields are leveled out. This alone can contribute to the discourse about how "good" or "bad" technology is, and hopefully get others to see the topic in a newer, more positive light, rather than continually absorb all the negative connotations that are being piled onto a smartphone or laptop.

The amount of technology on the shelves at ROWVA community School District 208 is very impressive for such a small, rural district. While looking at the vast opportunities available for learning, one may assume that technology is the focus of education, that is not the case. It is time to teach technology - not for technology's sake but to ignite a spark of creativity and logical problem solving that is sometimes lost in the “old factory” ways of education. Educators should integrate technology into the classroom through various techniques to enhance student collaboration, problem solving skills as well as provide the student a platform to document their learning progress and process. Implementing the technological devices

Technology has been evolving over thousands of years and it has provided humans with education, better health care, and communication that is the key to making our world a better place for future generations to come. Technology is a field of knowledge having to do with the practical applications of science and industry or the inventions and methods of solving problems that are produced through research in these areas. It has helped the school system, the medical field, and provided us with communication that can connect us to everything across the globe. These systems are the keys that make our world work in an efficient way, maybe not all the time, but enough so the world doesn’t just fall apart. In our society, technology has evolved the

Our world is going through a great change. For preparing students for the demands of today’s world, education has to be delivered in a vastly different way. A real 21st century education must involve something more than information literacy alone. Besides the 3 R’s of education (reading, writing and arithmetic); a new “4 Cs” - Creativity and innovation, Critical thinking and problem solving, Collaboration and Communication are also required for our students to be able to compete in this new world, Sherrelle Walker, M.A. (2012). As a result of ICT integration in education, information sharing is happening more rapidly and more easily than we could carry that information into the classrooms.