Technologies Changing Classrooms
As teachers technology has
enhanced the educational process, with the ability to connect with student with
more efficiency and with greater effect. In the article Impact
of the internet on learning and teaching, it is stated that “There
have been many technological dawns in the last 30 years, during which the
desktop computer and the Internet have been
developed; but there have been similar dawns throughout the 20th Century -
film, radio, records, broadcast television, audiotape, videotape, programmed
learning machines, etc.”, Arsham, H. (2002). No advancement
has made a greater impact in the classroom as the internet has. With this
advancement students have access to the world of information at a keystroke,
with graphics included.
The teaching practices have
changed greatly with the access to the internet, with many changes in teacher
habits being effected. Prior to the online capabilities everything was
handwritten into logbooks, the grades were calculated with the aid of an adding
machine recorded and retained in a written format, available for auditing when
the need arose. (Titus, 2013) In today’s classroom
teacher’s gradebooks are available to parents and students through different programs such as Self-Serve, Think Wave and Learn
Boost that are either provided by the districts or available for teachers from
internet sites that offer free and pay for programs. This has allowed for parents and students to
monitor the grades on a daily basis and the teachers grading more accountable.
Lesson plans and activities are posted online with students accessing them on
laptops, tablets and smart phones. The teacher evaluations are recorded with a
hand held device where the lesson plans can be pulled up and compared with
activities. Transparency in the classroom is the now and the future in
teaching.
Today,
the instructional strategies in the classrooms have progressed with great leaps
to take advantage of the most recent technological developments. The extensive
adoption of the Internet has fundamentally altered the way that people live
their lives and classroom teachers are taking advantage of it to improve the
way lessons are taught. The classrooms of today are almost unrecognizable from
those of the 50's; now banks of computers line the walls and traditional
blackboards and chalk are replaced with projectors that are attached to a laptop
computer or tablet with a stylus allowing lessons to be interspersed with video
and audio clips, all of which allows the teachers to keep lessons fresh and
interesting. This is resulting in students that are more likely to remain alert
and engaged with the class.
When looking at the characteristics of the students prior to
the availability of the internet, consider that past students would get the
vocabulary through a book or handout and then using a hard bound dictionary
they would define the words and practice regurgitating the spelling and
meanings of each term for a test at the end of the week. Today students have
come to expect that the vocabulary will be posted on a tutorial site like Quizlet.com
for practice in a gaming style format where they compete with each other on
their ability to complete the game in a winning time. If the teacher has not created the tutorial
site, they will create their own to work with on the computers and smart
phones. Activities in the classroom have also changed, no longer will students
sit and listen to a lecture with visuals on a board or passed around they need
interaction with the subject and are advancing faster in the knowledge because
of the interaction. This is in all subjects they take, the internet has become
part of who they are and how they process information. (Kearns, 2013) .
Research
and learning theories have changed as well, before behaviorism was standard
giving stars and reward tokens for achievements. We learned to rely on drill
and practice to succeed. Now we are asking our students to be creative, to analyses
and evaluate. Students are taking their education in and having to develop
individual thoughts while the teacher is there to guide them. Universal
Designed Lessons are now used in most classrooms establishing that each child
is able to learn with a level field no matter what their learning style or
disability.
In
conclusion, we can see how much improvement has been established by having the
internet available and used in the classroom and everywhere. Learning is become an around the clock
activity, where students access information from many sources online and share
their ideas using the same medium. What does the future hold? That remains to
be seen, but it includes students using the internet and accessing information
from around the world. The teachers are
no longer the holders of the knowledge, they are the guides that provide the
direction and encouragement.
References
Arsham, H. (2002, March).
Impact of the internet on learning and teaching. USDLA Journal, 16.3. Retrieved on November 17, 2009, from http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/MAR02_Issue/article01.html
Conner, M. L. (2007, August 10). A Primer on Educational
Psychology. A Primer on Educational Psychology. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from http://agelesslearner.com/intros/edpsych.html
Graziano, M., Lenhart, A., & Simon, M. (2001, September
1). The internet and education: Findings of the pew internet and American life
project. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved on November 17,
2009, from http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2001/PIP_Schools_Report.pdf.pdf
Library Index. (n.d.). The
Internet and Education - Elementary And Secondary Schools. Retrieved
October 10, 2013, from www.libraryindex.com/pages/1459/Internet-Education-ELEMENTARY-SECONDARY-SCHOOLS.html
">The Internet and Education - Elementary And Secondary Schools
