Hello There!

My name is Krina Patel.  I am currently a sophomore attending the University of South Carolina.  My major is elementary education and I hope to teach the fifth grade in my future.  I am currently enrolled in an education class (EDPY 401) that has required me to find a video that already exists online that focuses on any aspect of education.  I  picked one that deals with technology in the classroom.  On this wikipage, I have incorperated a video of myself as well as the video I found online.  I advice you to watch the video of myself first to get a general overview of my ideas and thoughts then watch the YouTube video that I found which is located right beneath it.  After you have watched my videos, read some of my arguements about whether or not and to what extent technology should be implemented into the classroom.  Enjoy! I hope you learn something from my ideas that I am about  to present to you!

                  What is technology in the classroom?

Most people, when thinking about examples of technology, think of electronics. When thinking about examples of technology in the classroom, yes, computers, laptops, mechanical pencil sharpeners, the Smartboard, and the TV are all legitimate. However, technology in the classroom also includes things like the marker board, wooden pencils, paper, crayons, desks, etc...Classroom technology is anything that can be used by teachers and students that facilitates and causes learning.

                                                                                                    For or Against it?

I am a strong advocate of technology in the classroom. I believe it facilitates learning and makes school more enjoyable for students. Teachers need to motivate their students to learn because most students would rather be at home doing what they genuinely enjoy. So, the question is, how do you make school more enjoyable for students? It is often thought that a good way to motivate your students to pay attention and do their work is by rewarding them with something materialistic like a treat of some sort. However, this is not the only way to successfully motivate your students. Using technology as a motivational tool works just as well! Students of all ages easily get bored and when they become bored, they stop paying attention. They begin to think about other things that are more entertaining than what their teacher is discussing. Technology is an innovative change that will make your lessons more creative which, in turn, will cause your students to take pleasure in and benefit from class more. It is a tool that changes the way you can teach a lesson. It will allow your students to have fun while still learning new material. Ideally, this is what a student wants.

                         A Theoretical Point of View

Behaviorists believe that if there is a positive noticeable change in a student’s reaction to a lesson, then there has been an increase in cognition. Technology, while it is being used, causes just this. In my practicum and student observations I have completed thus far, I have noticed that students get extremely excited when they get the opportunity to work on a computer or use the Smartboard during class. Their classroom participation and engagement increases drastically. This happens because using such technology in the classroom is very new and different from the normal pencil, paper, and overhead routine they are so used to. Students are bored with the old and want the new. If technology causes such a positive change in the classroom, which it does, then why not implement more of it into your lessons?

Jean Piaget, a famous Swiss biologist, believed that the interaction of students in an environment is crucial when trying to increase cognition. As an instructor, you need to ask yourself, “How can I successfully motivate my students to be more interactive in my classroom?” Although it is not the only answer, a good answer to this question is technology. Like I mentioned above, technology facilitates and causes a drastic increase in classroom participation and excitement. It is so “out of the norm” for students that they can’t help but get excited to use something they don’t get to very often. So far, I have had the opportunity to observe a classroom of second graders, sixth graders, and eighth graders. This idea pertains to the students in all of these grade levels. Throughout my observations, I have noticed the students actually want to walk up to the Smartboard and touch something with their finger or walk up to the marker board and write something during a lesson. There is no forcing involved. They voluntarily do it. Once the teacher shifts from a normal lecture with questions and verbal responses to implementing, for example, the Smartboard where they are asked a question and they can walk up and write or point to the correct answer, the classroom participation increases. This is why I am such an advocate of technology in the classroom. I agree with Piadget and his belief that interaction in the classroom environment is a strong part of learning.

                                                                   My own Observations and Experiences

The following are some videos and pictures I took during my classroom observation. These students are in the second grade and it is very evident, after browsing through them, that technology is not an enemy but a friend in the classroom.

Here is a quick slideshow of pictures that depict a present day elementary classroom.  They have all kinds of technology to facilitate learning.  Classrooms now come equipped with tvs, Smartboards, marker boards, cubbies for the students, computers, electronic pencil sharpeners, and individual desks with cubbies.  The teacher also wears a microphone around her neck so that when she talks, her voice is louder and all of her students can hear her clearly.

Below is a video of the second grade students I observe.  When watching this video, notice how the students' participation changes as the teacher's lesson progresses.  The teacher starts her lesson with simply asking her students a question about what she is teaching.  However, later, she implements technology and a noticable increase in the student participation and enthusiam occurs.  She went from a few hands being raised when she asks questions to several hands up in the air.  This shows how technology causes an increase in positive student reaction during a lesson.

If technology causes such a positve change in the classroom by increasing student participation, increasing student enthusiam to learn, and increasing student interaction between their teacher and peers, why not utilize it in your classroom?

Works Cited

 Mergel, B. (1998, May). Instructional Design and Learning Theory. In usask-education. Retrieved

     October 24, 2008, from University of Saskatchewan Web site: http://www.usask.ca/education/

     coursework/802papers/mergel/brenda.htm

Ginn, W. Y. (n.d.). JEAN PIAGET - INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT. In sk-Jean Piadget. Retrieved October

     24, 2008, from http://www.sk.com.br/sk-piage.html