Technology in the Classroom

I think that technology certainly does benefit education, when used in the right way. Technology is an irreplaceable tool for research. Most students nowadays know how to surf the internet, but it is important for teachers to show students how to get information from reliable sources. There is a lot of information on the internet that is incorrect and students need to be taught how to discriminate between factual information and non-factual information. There is also a lot of bias on the internet, so students need to be able to discern the biased articles from the impartial. All of these things that students have to be taught to look out for may seem like a bigger hassle than they are worth, but when used responsibly, the internet is a great tool to expose students to large amounts of information that they otherwise would have no access to.

The internet can also be dangerous for students, so I think it is also important to teach students how to protect themselves on the internet. There are a lot of predators out there, and as a teacher I certainly will be concerned for the safety and well being of my students.

I think that the promise of technology is its ability to expose students to whole new worlds while they are sitting in their classroom or home. Even things as simple as computer games that are academically relevant are important for teachers and students to utilize. The problems of technology are that it is often not used correctly, or not used to its full potential. Many teachers use technology only as a last resort or for lower levels of thinking, but I think that technology can be used to reinforce academic materials and classroom content. It is a good way to give students practice at their newly acquired skills.

Overall, I feel that technology in the classroom is instrumental to the learning process. People have worked very hard to develop these new technologies, and it is our job as teachers to show students how to use them. We are responsible for teaching children everything else, it would be irresponsible for the future generations of teachers to exclude technology from their classroom, because it is something that all of our students will encounter and it is not something that is going to disappear.