Technology In A Classroom Setting Research

With this paper I am striving to talk about technology in a classroom setting. I aim to talk about how technology can be positive as well as negative in the classroom. Personally, technology can bring so many creative options in the classroom but can be a set back when there is a misunderstanding in how to use it properly. Within a classroom setting, there should be a variety of learning so every student can find what suits his or her learning best. I will be making sure to cover both sides to this argument.

According to The Texas Forum of Teacher Education, written in October 2014, “The integration of technology into the classroom provides teachers with more numerous and flexible ways to share information (Campbell & Martin, 2010) and allows

students to become more proactive in their learning experience by individualizing the acquisition and evaluation of knowledge (Ma, Andersson, & Streith, 2005)” (Campbell & Martin, 2010; Ma, Andersson, & Streith, 2005; Weber & Waxman 2014, pg. 69). With the statement of how teachers can have more of a freedom with technology inside the classroom, there comes a notion of creativity.

Teachers and creativity go hand in hand. On average a classroom has fifteen to twenty students and each student has a different learning ability. With this, there are many different minds to teach. I am not saying that technology is the answer to teaching the different styles of learning, but using creative ways that stray away from the traditional learning style can be very effective to students. Technology has become a bigger part of the classroom through SMART Boards. For just one example of this, classroom management can be improved through “checking in on a magnet board”; students who packed lunch can “guide their fingers to their lunch choices” and students will become more “comfortable with the touch process that is becoming so important in using Wi-Fi digital tools” (Concordia, 2013). Incorporating technology this way can help students become more proficient with technology. This can also help with getting the classroom environment ready for the school day. Another great example is how technology can be used efficiently in an elementary classroom. Younger students tend to be more active in his or her

learning. With this, SMART Boards can come in to play because participation can be documented with students coming up to the Board and answering questions by dragging and dropping, coloring, clicking, or even comparing objects up close. Elementary students will have the opportunity to become a part of the classroom and not just be a student (Concordia, 2013). Technology has positive outcomes when it is used properly, but if a teacher does not have the capability in the use of technology, there can be negative outcomes.
According to Theresea Chmara (2010), “CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) provides that schools applying for certain funds […] may not receive such funds unless the schools' administrators certify that they have in place a policy of Internet safety that includes the use of technology protection measures, such as filtering or blocking software, that protect against access to certain visual depictions available on the Web” (Chmara 2010, pg.

19). Thinking about this, schools could have had a negative connotation about using the Internet because certain funding associations would not help them; this could lead the school into thinking that the Internet needed to be protected in the first place. Nick Morrison in It’s Time To Rethink Our Use Of Technology In Schools, writes about Bob Harrison, a chairman on U.K’s Department for Education who thinks that technology should be thought about before put in a classroom. Harrison believes that, “…too much of the technology that is used in classrooms actually reinforces traditional teaching methods” (Forbes, 2014). There is a definite purpose of a classroom; creatively teaching the curriculum a teacher is given. A traditional teaching style consists of a teacher in front of the classroom, students sitting and learning, and no change in how the classroom is managed. There tends to be no creativity as well as uninterested students. Harrison has a very different definition of ‘learning’; “Learning is not about content, it is about

creation. Isn’t that our job: to help kids learn how to do things? Our job is to prepare children for the world that exists.” (Forbes, 2014). This quote really stood out to me through this article. Computers, iPad’s, apps, Internet, and SMART Boards are there to assist with the learning, not to do the educating. Students come to school in order to learn for his or her future. If teachers use the technology given, it can either help or worsen a student’s experience. Negative outcomes can come from teachers not understanding how to properly use technology. If a school wants to incorporate technology into their classrooms, classes need to be given to the teachers in order to educate them on the technology at hand. One other negative aspect to using these technologies in class is the expense rate. A SMART Board, from SmartboardsReviews.com, costs about $2,300 (2010). An iPad ranges from $300-$800 from the Apple Store (2014). A Kindle fire HDX only costs about $230 from kindle.amazon.com (2014), but a classroom usually will not be able to function with just one of each; a classroom will need multiples and the money adds up very quickly. Some schools are fortunate enough to be a part of great communities, but other school districts do not get adequate funding that would be able to supply these technological needs.
I firmly believe that technology can be successfully incorporated into the classroom. I also firmly believe that students need to learn how to use a dictionary, thesaurus, and an encyclopedia. My future classroom will have the textbook resources and will hopefully have the means to have some kind of technology integrated into the classroom. I would be willing to try and raise money; I would also make sure I took technological classes so I would understand how to use my classroom efficiently.