Technology In Education

Technology in Education

                Technology has become a major part of teaching K-12 schools over the last ten years. Schools are having to do this with all of the technology that is used in higher education and the workplace. I do not have any experience teaching or helping in schools, but have still noticed how much technology is being integrated into the school systems by the number of computers that are in K-12 classrooms today, and also the knowledge that students already have about computers who are enrolling in college. My experiences as a college student have shown me just how important computer skills are in higher education, and also in today’s world.

I feel that students need to have a strong knowledge of computers by the time they graduate high school, to help them be better prepared for life after graduation. Schools need to find any way possible to integrate technology into learning. More computer classes should be offered at schools, while also having more computer classes be mandatory for students to take while in K-12. Educational technology can be extremely beneficial by helping the students not only learn the materials that they need to succeed in school, but also help them with the computer skills that they will need later in life.

My definition of educational technology would be any form of technology, or system, that would help teachers in the teaching and learning process. Technologies role in teaching is soon to be, if not already, a huge role. Teachers get the majority of their materials from the internet and computers, rather than books and traditional lesson plans. With technology teachers are able to use projectors and computers to show more in-depth materials, such as photos or videos, to help students better grasp the concept of what they are trying to teach them. Technology also lets them bring more ideas into the classroom, instead of just having the book and the teacher’s common knowledge on the subject, they have easier access to other people’s ideas and knowledge to help with having more information about the subject that they are teaching.

Technology in learning is already a big part of K-12 schools. It allows schools that don’t have the advantages of more than one foreign language teacher, to set up a distance learning class to allow more choices, whereas without technology these students would not have this luxury. Also, children now have access to the most up to date online libraries and research. Books can be years behind on subject matter, where resources and websites are updated almost daily. This is the most beneficial for students when they have to write a research paper, or look up current events. Technology allows high school students to obtain college credit by letting them dual enroll and take online classes, or blended classes, before they graduate.