The Importance Of Technology In Education

Jenny Arledge, a first grade teacher in Valparaiso, Indiana states, “Technology can become the ‘wings’ that will allow the educational world to fly farther and faster than ever before—if we will allow it.” In today’s society, technology is all around us and ever changing, especially in schools. Technology can help give students a better education by allowing more opportunities for learning. Some people claim that technology is a distraction from learning and that it is more negative than beneficial, but this is not true because technology helps students learn more than they would ever be able to. Without technology students would not have the opportunity to learn to their potential. Although technology has its drawbacks, schools should consider how technology helps schools change in preparation for the future, allows students to retain new information, and increases interaction and communication.

Technology is everywhere, it is involved in almost every part of our culture. It affects how we live, work, play, and most importantly learn. With technology being such a fundamental part of our lives and growing each day, it only makes sense that schools incorporate technology in the classrooms. Even though many people support the use of technology in schools, there are those that have concerns about the effectiveness of technology and whether or not it undermines education to solely prepare students for the workforce. Despite the concerns, technology is being integrated with classroom lessons daily, and proving how beneficial it is for student success.

As technology becomes more and more prevalent in classrooms everywhere, questions arise regarding the benefits and drawbacks on introducing technology to students at a young age. Technology is a key component in many of today’s educational settings; however, there are concerns as to whether technology is being used as an aid and resource or as a crutch and whether or not technology is replacing teachers. Despite these concerns, according to Barron, Harms, and Kalaydjian (2003) the use of technology is increasing in classrooms across America. Teachers are using technology to perform low-level tasks, but not high level tasks. This could possibly be because many teachers are not comfortable with the skills required to integrate

As teachers strive to reinforce 21st century skills in today’s classrooms, successful technology integration has become an area of increasing interest in educational research (Beech, VanOverbeke, & Bonnstetter, 2009; Carter, 2008).While external first-order barriers such as availability of computers and access to the Internet are no longer common obstacles as compared to previous decades, internal second-order barriers including teacher anxiety and teacher self-efficacy still present a major area of concern for successful technology integration in the

Technology is advancing rapidly and because of this, our lives are constantly changing. We have to adapt to the changes in our world. Technology is one of the most significant and beneficial changes in our history and schools need to be taking advantage of this. While some schools believe technology is a distraction that hinders learning, technology should be integrated into classrooms because it provides a large amount of information and prepares people for the use of technology in their futures.

Technology is changing at such a rapid pace that it is extremely difficult for any one person to keep up with the latest developments. However, just like doctors or marketers, teachers are also expected to keep up with the latest research and technology that will result in the best possible outcomes. It is much easier for educators to do this if they have a social community, with whom they can exchange ideas, share experiences, and ask questions together. The first two ISTE Standards for Educators, “Learner” and “Leader,” encourage teachers to become life-long learners and leaders in their practice. Data patterns from the teacher survey show that there is room for improvement with these two standards at McNicholas High School.

The Impact Principle states effective practice yields evidence of learning. The look on each student’s face will provide evidence as to whether or not they are learning. An educator should assess the faces and student work samples to check for learning. If learning is not present, the educator should accept responsibility for not being impactful, and begin implementing a more effective practice so that the students demonstrate new knowledge. I have discovered this first hand in my practicum placement. I taught a lesson, and as a whole class my students understood the content. However, when I was reviewing their individual work, it was obvious that the students missed the point of the lesson. Therefore, I took responsibly for not teaching the objective in an effective way, and I retaught it in a more relevant manner. Then, my students were successful on the next sample of student work. Due to all of the factors in students’ lives that can hold their interest, an educator must gain and maintain their interest to be impactful. It is then the child will learn. If the educator’s delivery of the content is effective and impactful, evidence will be produced.

Supporters of technological advancements and advocates of expanding the use of technology would have us believe that the continual expansion of technology and support of its usage in school systems is a clear betterment of humanity. They explain its effectiveness and ability to level the playing field for millions of civilians. However, these advocates fail to acknowledge the obvious downfalls and stagnation, or even reversion of societal advancements. Technology diminishes skills, encourages the demotivation of children, and steals away precious time. What is often viewed narrow mindedly as an obvious good that solely progresses nations is concurrently becoming an inhibitor and its implementation in educational curriculum should be viewed with a wary eye.

All across the globe, new technologies are being developed to help with everyday activities. Those technologies will always be updated and eventually outdated. Technologies help make the world an easier place to live in. Technological advancements have given the modern world the push it needed to start being more efficient with our resources. Technology enable us to do stuff we could normally only wish about doing. Technology makes advancements in all different industries and improves the product produced by that industry. One of the industries most impacted by technology is education. Education is the most important industry that new technologies are used to make the process more effective. In schools, laptops and smart boards are allowing kids to interact better with the curriculum. Technologies allow kids to learn more effectively, reduce paper waste, and allow the smartest generation in years to form.

Technology is quickly developing as a method of communication and information for people everywhere. As technology becomes a part of education, it captures the attention of students in a special way of its own. Although technology is fairly new, technology draws the attention of students because it is interactive and offers many different methods of learning and information for students.

In the last several years, college, administrators, faculty, and staff have observed the growing number of adult students enrolling in classes. Since these nontraditional students have recently come back, they are struggling more with technology-dominant classrooms compared to their traditional counterparts. These institutions have initiated methods to work with this problem, such as implementing beginner computer courses and encouraging them to be proactive in practicing their new found skills. Contemporary education research has observed numerous obstacles that adult student encounter returning to school. There is a learning gap that educators must close between traditional and adult students. While adult students bring valuable life experience and practical skills, they lack a background in modern programs and navigating access to technology tools. Working together hand-in-hand adult students and instructions through training in technology and time management, adult students will have a better outlook on achieving their goals and dreams.

Technology prepares students for their careers. First, it links to the need for technologically literate workers. Schools are teaching students to operate technology for their careers. For example, schools are adopting important technical roles that helps students use computer systems and in turn create more jobs for the United Kingdom (“We Need More Digital”). In classrooms, students learn the basic features on the computer, like word processor, that will enhance their technological skills needed for their jobs. Additionally, Gartner Incorporation, a technology company, states the importance of robotic classes. These classes “need students who can come up with powerful and smarter robotic software that can perform new functions” (qtd in Marshall). Both the robotic aspect and the problem solving makes them more tech literate. Next, technology teaches students to adapt to new environments. Schools provided training centers to help students adapt to new resources. For instance, Morales, a professor in education, emphasized about how The Academic Students Development Program offered informational advice to guide students on how to use technology. Training centers mentor students to use technology, be independent, and cooperate with learning techniques (Morales and Roig 69). Preparation centers show children how to transition from the traditional learning to computerized work for multiple school and job settings. Also, Dell introduced multiple displays for classroom

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.

Teachers’ preconceived attitudes about the use of technology in the classroom are another barrier for not implementing technology. Many teachers are resisting integrating technology because they do not feel that the benefits outweigh the cost. The benefits of implementing technology would be student achievement and increased technology literacy and the cost is the time required to learn to integrate technology meaningfully (Hicks, 2011). These teachers do not want to change their traditional teaching methods that consist of lecturing students and pen and paper assessments. Students in this generation no longer need to be lectured to for every lesson about information that can easily be accessed using the Internet through problem-based learning (Martinez & Schilling, 2010).

According to a recent study by the U.S. Department of Education, despite access to funding and equipment, less than 35% of teachers have integrated technology in their instruction at the very least, on a weekly basis. (U.S. Department of Education, 2008) Research has shown that teachers’ beliefs, comfort level and readiness to use technology play a crucial role in its implementation within a school setting. Other concerns such as technological literacy and perceived usefulness of technology for student learning can dictate its use, or lack thereof. “Educators are urged to incorporate technology into instruction, but the effectiveness of educational technology is determined by teachers’ readiness to use it,