How often do you use technology in the classroom?
It’s a double-edged sword. Use it too much and the students get bored by the monotony. Use it too little and students don’t have enough experience, leading to wasted time and heartbroken teachers. What’s the solution? I believe that, like everything, moderation is the key. Students need to utilize technology frequently but not so much so that it loses its effectiveness or “shine.” It’s kind of like using interactive notebooks in the classroom. If it is the only thing you use, students only see cutting and gluing. They don’t see the benefits or ideas that they are creating.
In the ELA classroom, we have a lot of different subjects to learn. Literature, writing, grammar, vocabulary, etc. Technology can enhance each of those subjects, but sometimes, in my opinion, it’s nice to break out pen and paper and do things the “old school” way. I like to have students take notes in their binders, write paragraphs in their composition notebooks, draw illustrations for their vocabulary words. If anything, in the middle school classroom, using both technology and “old school” tools keeps students moving and “on their toes” which I know my bunch needs.
Balancing technology and seeing it as a tool to enhance learning is the most crucial part of integrating technology in the classroom. If you just use it to use it or because it’s there, then students will definitely not see its worth or potential. In a sense, if you just use technology in the classroom because it’s there, you are just encouraging the “technology zombies” that are students are turning into. I want my students to be utilize technology but always for a purpose not just because.
References:
Understanding Educational Technology Trends & Issues. (n.d.). Retrieved April 04, 2017, from http://online.tarleton.edu/Home_files/EDTC_538/Week_2/Week_24.html