Technology in the Classroom

It is very important to incorporate technology into my classroom. It helps students to focus, because it is more their speed of learning. Children are now growing up with technology, for the most part; the majority of students understand and use technology on a daily basis. Technology in the classroom can also be an effective way to assess students. It is an easy way to quickly check how many of the students understand a new concept.

The benefits to me and the students is the opportunity for all to grow. Due to technology, students are able to interact with people around the world. They can visit the Coliseum without leaving their seats. Through technology, students will be able to further explore different areas that they may want to study and grow in, as they become adults. Students will also begin to learn faster using technology. Technology in the classroom helps to incorporate many different learning styles into a lesson. As a teacher, technology allows me to quickly assess my students. Through using a clicker, I can check to see which students grasp a new concept, or check to see which students do not understand a topic that we have been discussing for days and will need a little more help.

Although technology is a great asset to the classroom, it can also be a hindrance. Technology is not fail proof, in saying this, it is important that teachers always have an alternative plan to teach in case the technology fails. Technology can also be very expensive, without the money in the districts; schools can lag behind in the use of technology. Not all students will know how to use technology, although the children now are coming from a digital age, they may not all be familiar with educational technology such as Smartboard, Microsoft products, etc. It is important that teachers realize this and are able to help these students gain more knowledge about the use of technology.

There are many different important lessons that I have learned throughout the semester. I never knew many things within Word, especially that would help me create a newsletter or flyer. Learning how to create videos and using the software to do such will definitely help me not only as I student teach but in my future teaching jobs. I will be able to help the students create fun interactive products through using the Smartboard, a new way of presenting information. I have also learned how to use Photoshop, a program I have always wanted to explore. This will be able to help my students create fun an interesting pictures for various projects. I have definitely learned a handful from this course and am very glad that it is a requirement