Computer Assignment #1

Maggie Price        

        Assignment 1- Technology in Education

            My senior year of high school I was given the opportunity to intern for my former fifth grade teacher. I was ecstatic to finally have hands on experience in the classroom, as well as an opportunity to give back to my community at the same time.

            Walking through the front doors of Rachel Carson Elementary School for the first time in seven years brought back many bittersweet emotions. Bitter because the days of art class and recess were no longer a part of my life and sweet because it was in these very halls that my life began. At first glance little seemed to have been changed since my departure, sure the ceilings were a bit shorter and the desks not as spacious as I once remembered but overall the positive learning atmosphere still remained. It wasn’t till the next day when I accompanied the class to the computer room that I saw how much technology had improved from my time there. The room that once housed ten moving box sized computers now was the home to at least forty flat-screened dells. I was shocked to see fifth graders able to produce a quality power point presentation on their recent trip to colonial Williamsburg in a few short hours. They made uploading pictures, adding audio and visual effects to the presentation all seem like second nature to them. I was in awe that they possessed a skill at 10 years old that I did not learn till a freshman in high school.

            To me educational technology is the use of any television, music or computer program that helps the child learn more proficiently in the classroom. The role of educational technology is to make the learning process more enjoyable and effective on students, while giving the teacher more options with lesson plans in the classroom. Technology is often able to work alongside the teachers to make concepts easier on students to grasp. The downside to educational technology is that it does not run cheap. Often decent computers and televisions are not priced so that every school system can afford them. Some may argue it’s not fair for some students to have access to these new devices while others are denied. In addition to high prices technology often malfunctions. It is much harder to replace a broken computer then it is to fix a broken piece of chalk. 

             Like all things educational technology should be used rationally in the classroom. Students should still have to read novels even if there is a movie out about the subject or work math problems out on paper even if the computers calculator is able to do it much quicker. However if used correctly, technology can speed up the learning process for many students and allow the teacher to cover more information than ever before. I’d like to see students taking tests online to speed up how fast they can receive feedback on their performance. Also I think it would be beneficial to both the students and the teachers if more elementary students had homework due online. This would eliminate losing homework on the way to school and make for convenient grading for the teacher. Without my time spent in the classroom I would be ignorant of the increase of technology being used as a teaching tool and how proficient teachers most be with technology just to keep up with students.