Audacity Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (dkeefer) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 02:03:00 +0000

http://dkeefer.podbean.com/mf/web/x23yua/Audacityinterview.mp3

Check out this interview about technology use in the classroom! Subscribe in a reader

Effects of Technology on K-12 Instruction

noreply@blogger.com (dkeefer) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 03:40:00 +0000

The incorporation of technology in the classroom will have a significant effect on the way students learn and process curriculum as well as how they interact with teachers and their peers.
Evidence has proven that student centered, hands on, learning is more effective than lecture based instruction. Technology helps to change the role of teachers and students in the classroom if it “happen[s] across the curriculum in ways that research shows deepen and enhance the learning process”(Edutopia Staff, 2008). Technology offers an excellent opportunity for students to guide their own learning. “When students are using technology as a tool or a support for communicating with others, they are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of information transmitted by a teacher, textbook, or broadcast”(“Effects of Technology” ). In other words, instead of being taught about a subject they are given the opportunity to discover things about the topic which will promote a deeper level of understanding. This is because they actually had to come up with the information on their own instead of being feed the information through teacher based lecture and activities.
Technology also increases the use of outside resources and design skills. These are very important skills that students will need to have mastered by the time they graduate and enter into college and the work force. For example, through the use of technology students have access to large amount of information through the World Wide Web. This means that when they are researching a topic they are not limited to the textbook assigned to them by their teacher. Instead, they have access to online articles, web pages, books, images, and much more with just the click of a mouse. Having access to this type of information not only expands students knowledge base about a topic but also shows them that there are never ending resources available at their finger tips when they need them. In fact, “teachers from 10 out of 17 classrooms observed at length cited increased use of outside resources as a benefit of using technology”(“Effects of Technology”). Finally, with exposure to different types of technology media and web pages students tend to become more creative with their own projects because these different technologies model a variety of design qualities that spark students interests and motivate them to be more creative in their work.
Though technology has become an important part of student learning and success it is important that educators teach students the importance of acceptable use policies and academic honesty. We want students to have access to other peoples work and research but more importantly we want students to learn the value of creating their own. “When used appropriately, computer technology in classrooms stimulates increased teacher/student interaction, and encourages cooperative learning, collaboration, problem-solving, and student inquires” all of which students will need in order to become successful and educated individuals (Stratham).
References:
1. Effects of technology on classrooms and students. (n.d.). Retrieved from
www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudeis/EdTech/effectsstudents.html
2. Stratham, D. R. (n.d.). Computers in the classroom: The impact of technology on student learning. Retrieved from www.temple.edu/lss/htmlpublications/spotlights/200/spot206.htm
3. Edutopia Staff. (2008, March 16). Why integrate technology into the curriculum? the reasons are many. Retrieved from
www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction

Related books on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Using-Technology-Classroom-Instruction-Works/dp/1416605703/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340636368&sr=1-2&keywords=using+technology+in+the+classroom

http://www.amazon.com/Web-2-0-New-Tools-Schools/dp/1564842347/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

Using Technology to Facilitate K-12 Instruction

Audacity Podcast

Effects of Technology on K-12 Instruction