We've Got it- Now Use it!

The implementation of technology in the classroom will likely expand the learning ability for students as a whole. It is important, however, to apply creativity through the usage of technology to ensure that learning will be expanded in all disciplines. Classes like ‘Technology in the Classroom’ is especially helpful when it comes to this idea. 

As a future educator it is crucial to learn and understand how to use the latest form of technology. This will not only assist in teaching, but in learning as well. Understanding the basic knowledge of current software programs will help teachers not only in these areas but it will also help them cater to the psychological needs of students. As students struggle to pay attention, technology helps activate the mind and enhances the desire to learn that is often lost in our classrooms today. 

For example, instead of lecturing a 7th grade class for 50 minutes while requiring note taking, understanding and implementing programs like Captivate, Prezi, and Movie Maker will guarantee classroom participation and a higher understanding. It has been proven that educators who implement activity and software programs into lesson plans receive a better response from students and higher testing schools. Applying creativity through technology in the classroom can and will expand learning in all the disciplines. 

A Solution for Inequality

With different backgrounds, different educations, and different personalities- inequality within classrooms is inevitable. What makes an educator successful in the eyes of employees is very much different than the reality of a truly qualified educator. Teachers should be equipped not only with good credentials, but with a love of students and a passion for equipping them with the right characteristics to succeed. Some schools have caught on, and as a result, higher qualified educators- yet some schools have not. Maybe it’s a result of a lack of budget. Maybe it’s a result of poor employers. Either way, inequality is an aspect o education that has been present from the start.

But how, in a drowning education system, can we fix the inequality in schools that the lack of these types of educators?  

Some believe that online classes will assist in the elimination of the inequality in schools. I say no. If the problem in our nation’s schools are the educators themselves, then designing a new type of education style for our poor educators to use will simply add water to the millions of gallons of water that our system is drowning in. If an educator can not meet state standards within the classroom- how are they supposed to meet them in an online setting? Our nation’s greatest need is for highly qualified educators with more than a GPA to prove their worth. To attract the right kind of people that would get the job done would require a greater average income for teachers. It seems as though our nation admires professional athletes astronomically more than those who mold the minds of future political leaders and world-changers, as a teachers salary is less than one tenth of those ho entertain us on Sundays. 

To eliminate inequality in schools our nation’s greatest need is to re-prioritize. 

Technology is Not the Answer

Opinion: Technology eliminates gender inequality in schools

Gender inequalities can be defined as anything that refers to disparity between individuals due to gender. Ever since the creation of man there has been gender inequality- God designed it that way. Though the man did not rule over the woman until after the fall, the male race was created to rule over the earth. It seems as though over time our culture has emphasized this fact to an extreme. Prior to the cimplimentation of the nineteenth amendment, women were generally viewed as individuals whose responsibilities relied solely in the kitchen. The infamous proverb deems this fact true in revealing that ‘a woman’s best garment is silence’, and that she is best ‘seen and  not heard’. As times have changed, we as women are still responsible for our tongue, but have established a new role in society. Culturally, we can be defined as the same dominant stance as the man, whether this is biblically right or wrong is not an aspect of this discussion today. Many people think that the usage of technology will eliminate gender inequalities in the classroom. Why this is, doesn’t make any sense to me. 

Firstly, no approach to eliminate a negative aspect of an environment will have a 100% removal success rate. Secondly, if anything- technology in schools will have an increase of gender inequality. Generally speaking, the mind of a male has scientifically been proven to have a better knowledge of technology, even in its simplest forms. With early interaction with video and compute games, the male gender is automatically favored, especially in the lower grades. To see a decrease in gender inequality in schools, approaches dealing with more well-rounded activities, assignments, and teaching styles should be introduced; whether or not this incorporates technology will not likely have an effect in the overall success of school systems attempt to eliminate gender inequality. 

A Band-Aid for a Broken System

The American education system is failing- and everyone knows it. The recent movie, Waiting for Superman, provided hundreds of statistics to prove the fact the our education system is failing more and more as each day goes by.

Among 30 developed countries, the United States ranks 25th in math and 21st in science. Not only that, but while other countries are improving their schools systems, education experts say the American system is getting worse. As was highlighted in the movie,  American schools, especially in the inner-city are currently being called ‘drop-out factories’. A dropout factory is a high school where more than 40 percent of the kids do not graduate. And that means that we have 1.2 million kids without a diploma leaving our schools. There are over 2,000 drop-out factories across the United States and this number continues to increase.

With poor educators come poor education. America is hurting- so what can we do? A young college student has an idea. iSchool seems to be a great alternative to the broken education system in multiple ways.  By using the iPad or iTouch schools would save hundreds of dollars on paper and books yearly. The number of apps that are available on the software will provide education for multiple learning styles all over the country. Teachers would benefit from the new technology as it will simplify the grading process, and will assist in lesson planning and classroom management.

It seems as though iSchool is a great alternative to our hurting education system. Though it will not fix every problem, taking steps in the right direction will decrease the amount of drop-out factories and will increase the number of high school graduates. 

A New Type of Classroom

Imagine getting your high school diploma without ever having to sit in a classroom. Imagine never meeting with your teacher in person like in the typical high school or home-school setting. Now imagine working at your own pace every day and waking up and eating whenever and whatever you wanted. It is hard to imagine an optimal environment where these characteristics could co-exist, but thanks to new online schools- it can!

When Beth Day ‘came to our classroom’ to speak about online schooling I was extremely hesitant. My thoughts consisted of doubt and unbelief. Beth Day answered every question that I had in my mind during her presentation, and I am thankful that we got to hear from her. Personally, I didn’t understand how classroom needs could be met in an online school, or how the classroom could possibly work successfully. After hearing her presentation I could fathom how these things could be done.

I think the positive aspects of Beth’s presentation exceeded my pre-judgments of what her classroom and job would look like. The fact that she is able to have a teaching job, and have young kids at home was very encouraging to me. My desire is to be a stay at home mom, but I also want to teach. I think this provides a great alternative to do both!

Though I appreciated Beth’s presentation I found fault with the system Ecot provides. I think that it is a crucial part of a child’s education to be immersed within a classroom to better their social skills. It is so important for children and teenagers to participate in a classroom setting, and not simply sit at their computers all day by themselves. I understand the benefits of working at your own pace and developing a good worth ethic, but it seems to me that being in a traditional school setting would be the most ideal and beneficial environment for most students in their education careers. 

The Future of the Classroom

Let’s face it. Over the course of the past decade the advancement of technology has been nothing but a rapid change that can be observed in any and every aspect of our culture today. The affects of the advancement of technology is showing up in the government, in medicines, in leisure activities, in research, and in the business realm. With all of these aspects of our changing culture, what directions should we be taking in the development of student minds? This question is ever present within school systems today that have the desire to develop the most advanced and prepared minds for the future.  Failure to recognize these concepts and continuing in the  utilization “out of date practices” (Roberson 885) not only is a negligent action but one in which students are being set up for failure. In Roberson’s article regarding the importance of technology within the classroom, he states the best classroom environment is, “a culture of possibility characterized by student-centered classrooms, flexible and interdisciplinary curricula, formative and authentic assessments, and a generative understanding and application of learning (Roberson 886). Roberson highlights in this article that it is crucial that teachers are no longer the center of a classroom in his understanding that students should be the centralized component of the classroom. In his article,  “Defying the Default Culture and Creating a Culture of Possibility”, Roberson conclusions point to the overall consensus that the advancement of technology will improve the classroom, and will continue to do so rapidly. He concludes that ignoring this inescapable fact is negligent behavior as technology will improve student achievement. (265 Words) 

A New and Improved Classroom

PowerPoint, Movie Maker, Clickers, Google Earth, Websites, and much, much more! All of these different  types of software are being implemented into the classroom as of the past couple of years. This weeks in my Technology in the Classroom class we were asked to create a lesson plan in which a specific objective would be taught, while using technology in ways we hadn't in the past. This was an extremely fun assignment as I was challenged to think both creatively and productively. What types of technology should be implemented into my futuristic classroom that would assist in the learning process? My idea was somewhat brilliant, I thought! ;) After brainstorming for a short time about what technology I should implement I came to the conclusion that I wanted to assign a project that appealed to them and that would be beneficial to their education. My students will create a movie trailer using Windows Movie Maker or Apple's iMovie based off a novel they are assigned. The students would not only get to use technology that they may not be familiar with, but they will gain a better understanding of their assigned novel as the assess important characters, themes, and plots.
It was really good to get feedback from my fellow peers and professors on my proposed assignment. People seemed to like the idea a lot. It was great to hear from other perspectives what possible issues I could have with it. For instance, the question was proposed in reference to how much time I would allot for this project to be completed, as it would be impossible to finish it within one class period. Hearing other peoples perspectives was extremely helpful to me. 
I am very thankful to have the opportunity of being in Technology in the Classroom because so far I have learned a lot. I am learning to use software that I wouldn't normally learn, and I am being challenged to think about my future as an educator. I think that assignments like this one is practical and fun!