Chelsea Kelly English 111 Prof. Elliot 13 Dec.

2013 Technology: The New Textbook We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teachers hand,

because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world. David Warlick. I started off this essay with a quote that I couldnt agree with more. This generation has went from starting off with game boys, then playstations, then iPods, and now IPad minis. With that being said our generation is also very equipped with technology since we had grown up with it since the day that we were born. But what technology has recently offered us was a faster and more efficient way to educate ourselves at home and at school. As a student, I have obtained most of my knowledge electronically. High Schools and colleges depend a lot on the internet for many reasons. I even depend on an internet library for all of my papers. Using technology is an easy way to obtain a lot more knowledge than any class I have ever taken. Technology has no boundaries, there is no limit to how much or what you can learn about. It is a quicker and easier way to communicate with professors, and to find answers to questions without the help that use to be required. I myself am very dependent on technology. The two main technologies that our generation just thrive off today are a laptop and a cell phone. When everyone started getting cell phones and laptops I only wantedone, it started off as just a necessity that everyone had to have

2 and turned into something so much more. In todays age a cell phone is a must have, but its not just for sitting there talking or texting away to communicate with people. Its much bigger than that now, now people use their cell phones for education. Laptops are the same way also, without a laptop people would not be able to write papers or do work as easily from wherever there at. You can actually transport so much more knowledge and work with you from it too. It may have started off to be a communication barrier, but these two things have become some of the most important things for our education now. Raymond Falcon from the University of Texas stated technology is a tool where education can thrive when used in a meaningful manner in the classroom. Instead of having a student sneak their phone under the desk during class, teachers use the phone to benefit the learning process. Not only does this stop the defiance it makes learning quicker. Smart phones are just like a computer. Anything done on a computer can be done on a smart phone. This is just an easier way to research, write papers, email teachers, and work with others on group projects. Without a cell phone in this day and age students would not be successful. Researchers and writers concluded instructional technologies inhibit learning because they focus on teaching and learning how to use computers rather than learning education content by using technology. This can be true, once again, if technology is not applied correctly. If this is only teaching how to use a computer, technology teachers are not doing their jobs correctly. Falcon mentions instructors have to show their students methods of using computers and the intricacies of technology.

3 Kasi Roden explained teacher attitudes have a major role in the effectiveness of technology in schools. She believes the use of technology in schools can positively influence the school and community environments. The way technology is taught is key to beneficial technology. If one is taught the right way to obtain the knowledge from a computer/tablet they will have no problem. If they are just taught how to use the computer/tablet they may not be able to easily obtain knowledge, they were only taught how to use the object not learn from it. Not only does Technology make education easier and faster for us but it also speeds up the learning process. Our parents and even some of their parents would spend hours in the library trying to find the right book or the right piece of information on what they had been working on, but with technology now all we have to do is log into a computer or even a phone and press a couple buttons. They had to work twice as hard for what we barely have to work for now. I feel that if I didnt have technology I would not have learned so much or even succeeded. My lazy tendencies would have held me back if I couldnt use these sources to help understand what Im doing. A journalist, Stephanie Hicks stated technology has changed the way people function on a daily basis. People think they need technology, and it is becoming truer every day. A classroom can no longer function without technology. High school teachers are now teaching children from smart boards and projection screens, college professors have all the homework sent to them or submitted through websites. Instructors in higher education can benefit greatly from the rapid advancement in mobile wireless technology devices. College students are said to be in the iGeneration. All these little things that people find and build from technology further our education more and more.

4 The popularity of technological devices are becoming more popular not only for the original use, but for educational purposes also. This approach to learning is based on the constructivist theory of learning in that learners construct knowledge in an authentic context. Mobile devices are a new and creative way to get a students attention, and to help them learn. Learning this way makes it a more intriguing way for the younger generation to learn. Some instructors have used these mobile devices to have their students summarize their readings. It makes it easier for students to learn what they are supposed to, by summarizing information in the way they know best, texting or using social media. One college professor at Western Michigan University even has the students tweet him their responses to the readings. One major piece of technology that is being used in classrooms all around the world besides cell phones and laptops is something that is being called the Clickers. Clickers is something that is first projected onto a screen in front of the class and then when asked a question the students type it in to a small device that looks like a cell phone. This is thought to be a new way to engage students in learning. Teachers are trying to incorporate the changing technology into lessons to make it easier for students to adapt to what they are learning. The changing technology itself is a learning experience for students but with our generation being so good with technology its now become the best way to teach. The learning process has been changed through time before technology that adjusting to new ways of learning isnt a big surprise. Within the next couple of years Im sure that there will be something even bigger then technology itself for learning education. But with all of this change with technology and our education comes money costs. The more advanced that we get the more that we have to pay. Some people question whether the cost of all

5 this technology is worth our education, I would agree 100% that it is. Our education would be coming to us so much slower than it is right now. From when I was in elementary to when I got into high school the amount of education and the level of how hard and how much we learn has gone way up. Things that our parents hadnt done until college is now being taught and achieved by the time that we are freshmen. I would like to thank technology for that. That is one major benefit that technology has given us, the gift of more knowledge. I feel we learn more and more each day from technology making everything ten times more advanced. Thats one of the reasons I feel like some parents and even grandparents cannot keep up with our learning process. So for those that say that all this technology is making our generation lazy and frying our praying needs to Google the facts a little bit more. Though I think that every piece of technology that helps with education is particularly wonderful there is one piece that I found to be greater than the rest and that would be online education, by this I mean taking classes online. Not all schools can afford every single class that each students wants to take, so for these classes it gives that student a chance to still be able to take whatever they want. Another good thing about these online classes is that you can pretty much take them whenever and wherever you want, the sky is the limit. The only thing is that you have to follow the material and there is a time limit that will keep you on target with goal, but it wouldnt be considered education if it didnt have that. The use of technologys success level is dependent on how it is applied. Vern Flory stated I feel the reason technology is not having a stronger impact on the common math assessment is

6 how the technology is implemented. Florys source (Kevin Burden) pointed out that new technology is used to improve not change. Training in technology is the solution Flory recommended. If you learn the proper way to use technology it will become a much more beneficial source of learning. There will always be a downside to technology though. Technology makes it easier to cheat. If a student has a take home test they have the opportunity to look up all the answers online. They can ask others for answers, they can swap papers and rewrite them in their own words. Some may argue technology is making students stupid. It can be argued it makes students lazy. If they can just look everything up or type a little equation in and get the answer, why would they take time to learn the material? Society has become very dependent on this resource. Depending on how a person looks at technology it is good and bad. Some may argue technology has made it ridiculously hard to communicate in person. People are so use to typing a message, or speaking on the phone they forget about direct contact with others. It is a much easier way to communicate, but direct contact will always be necessary. From game boys, to laptops, to cell phones, to smart phones, I think its safe to say that technology has changed education for life and also for the better. As our generation progress with technology and finds more new things so does our education. Our education I feel will not and forever thrive off of technology and will fill our heads with more and more information each day. Therefore, I am ending this essay with how I had started. We need technology in every

7 Classroom and in every student and teachers hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world. David Warlick.

Works Citied

Hicks, Stephanie D. "Technology in Today's Classroom: Are You a Tech-Savvy Teacher?" The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas 84.5 Francis. 11 Aug. 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

(2011): n. pag. Taylor and

Falcon, Raymond. "A Counterargument to Ineffective Technology in Classrooms: Characteristics of High 19 Nov. 2013. Flory, Vern. "The Effect of Interactive Whiteboard Technology on a Math Curriculum Unit." Http://eric.ed.gov/. N.p., 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Rao, Aditi. "TeachBytes." 10 Educational Technology Quotes (n.d.): n. pag. TeachBytes. 1 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Roden, Kasi. Technology in Education. http://eric.ed.gov/?q=Technology+in+education&id=ED522014. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. N.p., 13 Jul. 2011. Achieving Schools." Http://eric.ed.gov/. N.p., 1 Aug. 2010. Web.