Living in today’s society I’m sure you have heard of the plug for more technology in education. Why do people feel this is so vital? First, think about this interesting fact. A given high school student has access to their teacher for 40 minutes once a weekday. If you divide that by the number of students in the classroom, let’s say 25 for instance, that’s not very much time per student per weekday.
On the otherhand, the internet can be accessed 24/7. This allows students to have freedom to access course materials all the time. One idea teachers can implement is putting lectures or additional notes online for students to use in order to help supplement the classroom teaching. Second, technology can provide a much greater depth of understanding for a student than say a traditional lecture and notes on the board. A teacher can find fun ways of teaching concepts through online tutorials and videos. This added interaction will help students who need more hands on learning and who are more visual rather than auditory. Third, technology gives the students a better chance to learn. A teacher can provide different online materials and ask the students to research and then present to the class on their findings.
Not only does the student learn, but they are given the opportunity to teach as well. I know when I had to teach the class something it better solidified in my brain because I had to learn how to best teach the concept. Fourth, technology allows students to express themselves in a multiplicity of ways. For instance, technology can be used to create powerpoint assignments, recordings of voice or music, digital photography, making a video, doing claymation, making a website, or making a blog just to name a few of the many options. This allows students a wide variety to complete assignments in a way that fosters individual creativity and learning rather than the standard paper essay assignment. One last benefit of technology in the classroom is that it allows for collaboration. Groups of students can work together on projects using technology and aren’t forced to work alone. Collaboration works well with websites and blogs but also if you are doing research your team can use Google Docs and everyone has access to the information and can edit it or simply view what other students have contributed.
So how can a teacher learn about all different kinds of technology that can be used in the classroom? One option is to register for a class today! There are all sorts of options of classes a teacher can take to learn about the different options out there and what will be best for their particular subject matter and classroom. Something else to keep in mind is that there is a wide array of free online classes out there in a variety of subjects that you can also use to supplment your lesson plans. For instance MIT has tons of free online classes for a variety of subjects. For instance if you are an English teacher talking about American Literature they have courses on important authors such as Melville, Twain, and Morrison for instance.