Minigrant for integrating technology in the elementary Language Arts classroom - Essay Example

Application for Mini-grant for Integrating Technology in the Elementary Language Arts room This is an application for grants to the concerned authorities for integrating technology in the Elementary Language Arts Classroom in the Summer Field Public School in Nevada State in US. The use of computers has increased drastically in the last decade, especially in the educational field. Experts in the elementary educational field are of the opinion that trying to find out the mistakes in grammar, spelling and organization in one’s own writing is one of the best methods of learning. Introducing computers in the elementary level are highly useful in these processes. Computers increase the effectiveness of the elementary language teachers while drastically reducing their work load. In this application, an estimated budget and advantages of introducing technology in the Elementary Language Arts Class room are also briefly mentioned. Elementary school teachers play a crucial role in the development of children. Generally, children are influenced by what they experience and learn in the school which can also greatly shape their views of the world or about themselves and can be a crucial factor for their failure or success in their personal lives and work. Elementary school teachers introduce pupil to language, mathematics, social studies and science. Teachers use various tools like music, games, films, artworks, books and computers to teach basic skills. Computers can play an integral role in the Elementary Language Arts Program which “provides balanced instruction in reading and writing.” (Elementary Reading and Language Arts). Internet and educational software are very useful in promoting interactive learning and exposing students to vast range of experiences. “Through the Internet, students can communicate with other students anywhere in the world, allowing them to share experiences and differing viewpoints. Students also use the Internet for individual research projects and to gather information.”(U.S. Department of Labor 2006) Computers can be used in other learning activities as well. It is also useful in recording grades and performing other clerical and administrative duties. In the elementary education level, teachers have to work with students belong to different racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. So it is very important for teachers to work efficiently with constantly increasing minority population in all parts of the country. Integrating technology will drastically improve the effectiveness of a teacher. At an elementary level, teachers work with students individually. They have to plan, prepare, conduct, evaluate and grade tests; maintain classroom discipline and listen to oral presentations. In addition to academic activities, they are also involved in extra curricular activities. Summer Field Public School at Nevada State in US would like to introduce computer technology in elementary level learning. Students from standard one through seven are included in the program of teaching language using computer. Summer Field Public School has two divisions of each standard and each division consists of around 20 students. Around 280 students are included in this program, out of which 180 of them are boys. They belong to the age group of 5-13 years. Learning abilities of the students vary a lot. While some students are outstanding in their studies; some others are very poor. This necessitates individual attention to a student who is poor in studies. Moreover, introduction of computer can drastically reduce the work load of teachers at Summer Field Public School and they, in turn, will be able to provide more individualized attention to students. Elementary Language Arts teaching is intended to assist the children in expressing themselves in writing, learning and comprehending language critically. But the needs of children vary a lot. Some students can write long pieces fluently, while quite a few struggles with mechanics of hand writing. Some others are quite talented orally. These diversities in talents create problems for elementary teachers because coping up with each student’s needs requires sensitivity and orchestration of the elements of the class room teaching (books, desks, visual aids and sounds). Teachers have to be also good at encouraging all students to use the language in many ways. Computers can greatly assist the Elementary Teaching Language Arts at Summer Field Public School because it can present and monitor ‘individualized’ instruction to students according to each student’s learning abilities. Of late, many elementary teachers are using computers as a tool to enhance and simplify writing process. Summer Field Public School would likely to introduce a computer software which provides grammar and spelling drills the children can work through. Incase, students make mistake they have the option of following supplementary lessons. Such computer programs are very useful in teaching at elementary levels as the teachers do not have to repeat the same information many times. It also provides data base programs which are useful in research and are used for collecting information before writing. Some other programs in the software offer suggestions on what to include in a given text. Moreover, it also offers facilities for learning correct pronunciation of a word in English. Word processing programs are useful in improving writing due to the capacities for easy revising. It is also possible to make many copies and printed versions of texts. According to many teachers, working on grammar, organization and spelling in one’s own writing is one of the best methods to learn. While checking the misspelled words, many students find out other problems as well as good points in the text. Moreover, email make writing easier to communicate with others. In the Summer Field Public School, there are 280 students in the elementary level. It is suggested that one computer may be assigned for 5 students so that one division gets 4 computers and one standard eight. The chances of individual use become more realistic, if a single class room provided with at least four computers. Children can take turns at the computer to complete individual assignments. Producing a class news paper intended to be one of the assignments. Studies have shown that though young children work with computer confidently, they acquiring command over the operations of a word processing and keyboard take time. Initially, they may not be able to write speedily. Constant practices and frequent access to computer can improve the writing speed. But the young children have an advantage; they can remember commands quickly than adults. So there should be constant evaluation to assess whether integrating technology into Elementary Learning Language Arts is beneficial or not. One method is to make the students do spelling and grammar both manually and electronically. Analysis of their performance will give an idea about how useful are computers in teaching elementary students. We can also check their speed by asking them to write 50 words both manually and using computer. The school requires at least 56 computers for 280 students which may costs around $78,000. It is always better to provide each computer with a printer which will incur an additional expenditure of $8400. The school imparts five month computer training for its elementary level students. Every month 10 hour training is given. As the school has 14 divisions, it comes around 700 hours of training in five months. The computer teachers are given a stipend of $15 per hour. The training, itself, will likely to cost around $10500. The software, which the Summer Field Public School intended to purchase, likely to incur an additional expenditure of $800 and the shipping and handling will likely to cost between $400-$600. The miscellaneous expenditure comes around $500. The total expenditure likely to be around $98700 and the school requests the concerned authorities to make the necessary funds available. Works Cited U.S. Department of Labor. (2006). Bureau of Labor Statistics. Teachers—Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary. Retrieved July 27, 2007, from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos069.htm Elementary Reading and Language Arts. Program Description. Retrieved July 27, 2007, from http://k-12.pisd.edu/currinst/elemen/LangArts/program.htm Read More