The Benefits of Technology on Education and Simple Interventions - Research Paper Example

The room is a symbol for education. When one refers to the room in general, most often the reference applies to the act of educating children in the same sense. Notions of technology in the classroom necessarily refer to notions of technology in the act of educating children more effectively and more efficiently than without those teaching aids. As individuals, teachers must decide what level of technology (a) they are comfortable with, but also the level of technology (b) they are capable of using and (c) actually benefits the learning of their students. Deciding on a technological solution for one’s educational environment depends on answers to these three related concerns. As the ease of use for technology increases, and as students come into the classroom increasingly knowledgeable about how to use computers and mobile devices, it seems that more technology is being used in educational contexts. When used properly, technology has the promise to greatly benefit students in mathematics, readings, as well as other subjects; making the most of it, however, requires careful pedagogical decisions and considerations as any change in the classroom bears inherent risks for the welfare of the student. The discussion about the possible effects of technology is most often framed in a way that pits attention to learning as opposed to attention to distractions. Educational institutions are reluctant to embrace technology, especially games and social networking, as a means toward training (Klopfer, Osterweil, Groff, & Haas, 2009). However, this reluctance may not be entirely deserved, outside of the stereotype of a young child sitting in front of his computer instead of sitting in front of a book. These two spheres of interaction need not be phrased in terms of oppositions; for instance, the emergence of the electronic book has made it possible for interaction with text and interaction with computers to be simultaneous acts (Rose, Meyer, & Strangman, 2002). In the classroom, this integration of experience may be beneficial in terms of providing exposure to the curriculum being taught and to developing technologies. As mentioned previously, an important consideration in this regard is the level of technology a teacher is (a) comfortable with and (b) capable of using in an educational setting. Guzman and Nussbaum (2009) focus on “domains and competencies linked to teacher training propositions for technology integration” (p. 453). The most helpful point of organizing propositions about teachers’ technology in this way is that we realize that a high level of comfortability or capability with technology is not a necessary and sufficient condition for bringing about a particular educational outcome for students. Another criticism of using technology in the classroom is that a teacher needs to be highly skilled in using technology in order to use it in the classroom (Klopfer, Osterweil, Groff, & Haas, 2009, p. 7). However, this is not the case. A more crucial skill is in determining the purpose and goals of using particular technologies in the classroom, before delving into using them. In other words, what is necessary is an “understanding on the part of teachers of the pedagogical principles that sustain these actions and orient them towards the optimization of teaching and learning” (Guzman & Nussbaum, 2009, p. 458). My previous teaching methodology involved dismissing classroom technology on both of these grounds, both for my own classroom and for others. The first criticism, that technology is inherently distracting, was an argument against educational technology in my own classroom. The second criticism, that technology to be properly used requires a high degree of skilled, was an argument against educational technology in general. On that basis, I rejected any possible role that the internet or computers can have on enriching a discussion, training students on how to use technology to accomplish academic goals, or research certain topics. In order to prevent distracting stimuli for the students, my classroom did not have any elements of technology, except for my computer to aid with grading. This situation was, for the most part, consistent with my view of the relationship between learning and computing. Nevertheless, there are a number of flaws with this philosophy and this approach. First, the two arguments given above are not entirely valid and are not a good foundation for making a claim against the positive benefit that technology can leave on learning. Second, there is a clear role for the internet and computers in enriching discussions, training, and research, which were lost in a classroom that does not make use of available technological resources. Third, a classroom without technology seems to be more distracting, not less, than a classroom with technology. By including engaging, class-relevant material on a technological medium to students, they are actually more engaged than they otherwise would be in a classroom defined by single-dimensional interactions with books and print. Lastly, my strategy for teaching now includes the thought that I, as a teacher in the age of technology, am not working to teach my students about the past (that is, how classrooms used to work), but to prepare my students for the future (that is, for a professional world in which technology plays a prominent role). Therefore, my new teaching methodology incorporates elements of technology germane to the subjects that I am teaching my students. For instance, my students are encouraged to join my class Wiki, which is a website, developed collaboratively by a community of users and allows any user to add and edit content (Tapscott, 2008). The function of the Wiki is to enrich a classroom discussion both inside and outside of the physical classroom, which extends the concept from its typical context to the student’s experience at home. A traditional classroom, which is limited by the bricks and mortar of its physical environment, cannot reach beyond those boundaries. This is helpful for the reading and mathematics portions of the class, which require collaborative effort among students. By incorporating the Wiki, among other technologies in the classroom, students are learning to work collaboratively, to use computers and the internet, and anticipating the kinds of experiences they will see further down the line in their education. Overall, there has been a significantly positive effect from implementing these changes. I never expected, from my first experiences as a teacher, that my attitude toward technology in the classroom would change in such a dramatic fashion as they have. My newfound belief in the ability of something like a class Wiki to change a student’s experience with the curriculum was spurred by taking this course and learning the importance of including other mediums of communication for teachers-to-students and students-to-students. Tapscott (2008), for instance, sees the potential for technologies to improve collaboration, which does not fit into the traditional teamwork concept. In the new concept of teamwork, individual efforts can be maximized in scale to achieve collective outcomes (p. 91). This stream works in my classroom, with some students communicating with others in a way that helps others indirectly—opening a conversation that is public and recorded for everyone to see on the Wiki page. So, instead of having a teacher break down how to address a particular trouble for the class, the class can see two or more students working together to solve that problem collaboratively and learn from that. The flaws of this new methodology are small compared to the limiting elements of the previous, technology-free approach to education. The observation that teachers must be competent and comfortable with the technology being used in the classroom is a motivation for teachers to push themselves intellectually, in addition to challenging their students. In addition, the observation that technology may be a distraction fails to recognize the role that technology may play in extending the conversation into a new context. Instead of talking under their breaths in a classroom, students are free to reserve their comments to each other (some of which they may be embarrassed to ask in person in front of the class) for the online discussion board once they get home. Lastly, focusing their attention of a communal, engaging Wiki is a better outcome than giving book-based homework, which they will become distracted from anyway. One problem that has not been addressed, however, is the problem with so-called “techno-stress,” which refers to the stress that teachers suffer that is associated with the use of technology in the classroom (Al-Fudail & Mellar, 2008). Technology, especially computers and the internet, is inherently unpredictable, and some of this unpredictability becomes a factor in the classroom when activities are based around the functionality of those elements. Al-Fudail and Mellar (2008), by measuring galvanic skin responses and conducting interviews, found that teachers do suffer such stress, and that there are coping strategies associated with techno-stress. To a large degree, techno-stress depends on one’s competence and comfortability with the technology, which goes back to the question of achieving a desirable educational outcome first. However, just like with a desirable outcome, the amount of stress a teacher suffers is not related to his or her competence and comfortability with technology. One drawback of technology, one could argue, is its reliability and one’s psychological abilities to cope with things not going as planned. Accordingly, an ideal relationship between a teacher and technology is not something to be extrapolated to everyone, and decisions should be made based on the “teacher-technology environment fit” (Al-Fudail & Mellar, 2008, p. 1104). Exposing oneself to new perspectives can lead to fundamental challenges to one’s beliefs and values; in my case, a course in the benefits of technology on education opened my eyes to the possible impacts that simple interventions (such as a class Wiki) can have on how students approach and learn the material. I have found numerous benefits in making these changes, both in terms of how I have developed as a teacher and in terms of how my students have been challenged intellectually. However, I know that my teacher-technology environment fit is high, which may not be the case for all teachers, which ought to make one hesitant to recommend technology for every classroom. Works Cited Al-Fudail, M., & Mellar, H. (2008). Investigating teacher stress when using technology. Computers & Education, 51, 1103-1110. Guzman, A., & Nussbaum, M. (2009). Teaching competencies for technology integration in the classroom. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 25, 453-469. Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., Groff, J., & Haas, J. (2009). Using the technology of today, in the classroom today: The instructional power of digital games, social networking situations, and how teachers can leverage them. Cambridge, MA: The Education Arcade. Rose, D., Meyer, A., & Strangman, N. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Washington, D.C.: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development. Tapscott, D. (2008). Grown up digital: How the net generation is changing your world (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Read More