Technology in the Classroom

Let me start this blog by saying I LOVE technology. Every toy I’ve ever loved had some sort of motion, action, talking, computerized games, or something similar. Barbies were boring as heck, since they didn’t DO anything. As an adult, I own more computers than I should (currently 3 + 1 from work and only because I recently gave away a desktop computer that was gathering dust), I love my iPhone, I love my Kindle, and I really, really love my digital SRL camera. I also have a design tablet so I can easily play with my photos. And I own a Wii and a Nintendo DS. You get the point. I love technology. I love games. And I really do love calculators.

But what’s the role of all that technology in the classroom?

Contrary to popular belief, I think technology use should be non-existent for grades Pre-K through 3^rd grade, limited for 4^th through 8^th grades, and substantially used in high school for research purposes, but not abused.

As for calculators, I have long held a belief that you shouldn’t be using it to do anything you can’t do by hand. If you don’t understand how to do it, you shouldn’t be using the calculator to do it for you. Only AFTER you’ve learned the concepts should you delve into using a calculator. My high school students used to hate that I would teach them how to program something after I’d already tested them on it. But I do believe they needed to have the knowledge first. Their complaint was that if they could use the calculator to solve the system of equations, why in the world would they need to learn to do it? But see, calculators don’t come with that programmed. I taught them how to solve it, then we worked as a class to come up with a program to get the calculator to do it. See, if you now the work, then you can get technology to do almost anything. But if you don’t know how to do things, how are you supposed to program all that or use the technology appropriately?

As for cell phones, I think they have absolutely no place in the classroom. They are a distraction to children and adults alike. I go to meetings and find my concentration drifting to check my email, text messages, or even Facebook. I hate when others do it because it takes away from the productivity of the meeting and its effectiveness. So if it’s that hard for adults to stay on task, imagine what having a cell phone does to a kid. If it was hard to keep kids on task before, imagine with cell phones in the mix.

Lastly, there are other technology components that are really great when used appropriately. SmartBoards are useful for teachers to be able to print their notes for students, play with objects and move them around, and simply have much more dynamic and active classes. However, that only happens when the technology is used appropriately. It should not be used for the sake of technology but for the value add to the classroom experience of the students.