In a technology driven world the use of technology in the classroom should be utilized more to provide a more effective and captivating education.
One aspect of teaching with technology that I believe is in preparing students for a world that is dominated by technology. At my current school the initiative is now every student has their own computer. There are no longer any text books in the classroom. All readings are provided online or are printed out by the educator if needed. Every job that I have had has technology integrated into my job functions. From using a time-clock to a computer for ordering, managing accounts, or helping assist customers. Bring able to use technology efficient and with ease is a skill employers look for. According to Hilton (2016) Technology is in your students’ pockets, mounted on your wall, and perhaps in a cart at the back of your classroom. It is a part of our culture and classroom whether we are prepared or not for it. As technology becomes more integrated within every classroom and within society it will become more important that not only are our students literate in its use but also excel in understanding the applications of technology in the world around us. Helping students understand how the media outlets work and the impact that technology exerts on ourselves should be a concern for us. Media literacy education is designed just for that (Baker, 2018). In my opinion while students have grown up surrounded in a world of technology they do not have a good understanding of how to distinguish certain harmful or misleading uses of technology. Fake news is one of these examples. Students my not realize at first glance that an article is more about advertising or stereotyping a sect of the population. Our students need to be educated on how to spot these instances of biased or incorrect information being presented. Just because a student knows how to use a computer and "google" a topic does not mean they know how to appropriately search for correct information on the internet or even use a search engine to its full potential. I feel this is important in the classroom because students that I will be teaching will be using a computer each day. There are no textbooks, everything is online. According to Baker (2018) to help students make critical thinking a habit as they consume media both inside and outside the classroom is what media literacy is about. Young adults have access to Ipads, video game consoles, computers, etc. The question should be asked, Are they using these technologies to better themselves or not? I feel that perhaps not all technologies are being used correctly as well perhaps are putting our students in harms way. An example of putting a young adult in harms way is not educating them about internet predators. There are people out there that wish to take advantage of those that are naive or ignorant of possible threats. My parents talked of taking classes such as shop class or home economics in school, these were classes to help prepare those students for the culture in that time period. We should be doing the same for our students with the technology driven culture that has become rampant in our society now. According to Smith, Kahlke, and Judd (2018), “The term digital natives often implies inherent or innate abilities to use and understand technologies, the term digital literacy emphasizes the process of learning to effectively use technologies” (p.510). To me it is a fallacy to assume that just because a student was born and has grown in a technology driven world that they are adept at using all the different avenues of media use. As educators we should focus on the importance of using these technologies in the classroom to better prepare our students in the long run. With the amount of technology being used everyday I feel it should be a priority to educate our students in media literacy as it is so prevalent in our culture. In graph below it shows that over time the search interest for the terms “digital natives”in blue and “digital literacy” in red. According to Smith, Kahkle, and Judd (2018) this shows that the assumptions that the millennial or net generation, while growing up surrounded by technology, may not be able to use and understand that technology on a scale expected that they be able to do. I agree with this and see from this graft a growing opinion that while this age group is comfortable with technology they can not use it effectively. If we assume that these students of this age group are “masters” of technology then they and us will miss out on educating them correct and in-depth understanding of the uses of technology within an educational setting. As important as technology has become and will continue to be apart of our lives we cannot as educators assume our students know how to use and apply technology just because they have grown up surrounded by it. To make them as prepared as we can we must make sure we address the inclusion of technology in our classrooms and make it a priority to educate our students with digital literacy.
Another belief that I have on why we need to incorporate new technology in the classroom is to provide more enriching education. In my opinion I feel that using new technology such as videos, presentations, pictures, and smart boards interest today's youth more than most older technology such as projectors, textbooks, and standard paper and pencils. The project Up River, which was an interactive game style learning tool that required students to travel all over the estuary in St. Louis to find a meal for the virtual chef is an example of introducing stimulating technology in the classroom. It incorporated live people, audio recordings, as well as using digital media (Mathews, 2018). A belief that i have on using technology in the classroom is that it will help spark interest and a desire to learn with our students. A standard lecture may provide all the information on a topic that is needed, but when using stimulating games or interactions like the "Up River" learning tool it provides a more enriching way to present the information to our students. To me using technology is a more effective way of educating our students due to a student that is interested is more likely to grasp the content and remember the lessons. According to Gee (2011) one aspect that captivates young adolescents in game based learning. More specifically competitive game based learning. I have worked on using different quiz style games before for students and plan to use them in my classroom. One thing I have found even within my own current job is that when people are on a team it makes them want to work harder as they do not want to let down their team mates. I wish to carry over this to my classroom and have my students paired up to work together against other students in the class. In America sports are a big part of our culture, in addition video games are becoming that as well, and in sports it is always competitive. The introduction of quiz based games or even learning games help make learning fun and rewarding. By introducing technology in my classroom that can utilize these aspects, I feel, will help my students want to learn. In addition according to Romell (2014) Mlearning or mobile learning is a personalized learning technique. Not only can the material be personalized, but also the mobile device itself. When a student has their own tablet, computer, or phone they dont have to share and the material presented to them can be altered to fit their needs. Also the device itself can be changed cosmetically to fit their wants as well. In my classroom I think that this will be a great way to reach each student as I will be teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th graders all at the same time. My co-teacher and I have came up with a schedule that fits our needs and in that there will always be two grade levels being taught the same subject at the same time. This will cause some conflicts, however they cannot be avoided. I think that as each student has their own laptop it will benefit to use this style of personalized learning as I will not be able to be with each student at all times and they can work at their own pace on their own grade level assignments. The addition of technology such as laptops and smart-boards will greatly increase the ways that I can keep my students attention while being able to work with multiple grades at the same time. My students were born in a technology driven world and have been surrounded with access to music, videos, games, etc all their lives. Using the same types of technologies that stimulate their imaginations will be the key to providing a successful and enriching education.
My final belief in incorporating newer technology into the classroom is that it provides a more in-depth education. A standard textbook's information is finite and unchanging. However, when using online or digital textbooks the information can be updated or enhanced as new information is found or provided. Integrating technology in the classroom however, needs to have a instructional model to guide us and to be used to evaluate technology or media’s effectiveness. To me one of the best models to incorporate within the classroom is the SAMR model, which consists of 4 areas: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. Hilton (2016) states that SAMR is a tool to provide a way of designing an enriching learning task that combines technology and the classroom. SAMR uses its 4 areas to modify a learning task . Substitution and augmentation are examples of enhancement, which either replace or improve already existing tools in the learning task. Or modification and redefinition are considered examples of transformation. With substitution for example, you are not bringing about any functional change you are only replacing an existing tool to enhance the lesson technologically. This is the goal of SAMR to identify how best to integrate technology into the classroom to better an educators instruction. Below you will see a list of each area of the SAMR model and how it works within enriching a lesson task.
The SAMR Model
Augmentation, for example, to me is the most easiest to showcase how technology is improving the amount and effectiveness of the education being provided. In the past textbooks or handouts provided the majority of information being presented. This was a majority of still pictures and either being read by the student or the teacher. However, with the introduction of video in the classroom students had access to being able to see moving animals or demonstrations of experiments being performed. Information could be presented in a way that was more interesting with music or special effects. Being able to see and hear the sounds of another ecosystem for example was a more captivating experience than reading from textbook. Capturing the interest of our students is going to be the key to being able to educate them effectively and technology is the center piece in doing that. The project Up River, which was an interactive game style learning tool that required students to travel all over the estuary in St. Louis to find a meal for the virtual chef is an example of introducing stimulating technology in the classroom. It incorporated live people, audio recordings, as well as using digital media (Mathews, 2018). A belief that i have on using technology in the classroom is that it will help spark interest and a desire to learn with our students. A standard lecture may provide all the information on a topic that is needed, but when using stimulating games or interactions like the "Up River" learning tool it provides a more enriching way to present the information to our students. To me using technology is a more effective way of educating our students due to a student that is interested is more likely to grasp the content and remember the lessons. My students were born in a technology driven world and have been surrounded with access to music, videos, games, etc all their lives. Using the same types of technologies that stimulate their imaginations will be the key to providing a successful and enriching education.