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.