Influences that technology usage has on the learning habits of students

Lauren Moravick ENGL 1102-026 Malcolm Campbell 13 October 2013

Why this topic?

Since I am an elementary education major with a minor in mathematics, I thought it would be a good idea to do my research project about the job I will have one day and all parts to it, including the teaching of students with the use of technology. I also wanted to know why technology has so suddenly become a huge part of the classroom.

Sometimes, The Old Ways Are The Best Ways

Adam Frank states, In a world or PowerPoint, YouTube, automated homework and massive open online courses, what the hell am I doing with a stick of chalk in my hand? Although most classes nowadays can be taught by using only technology like SmartBoards or I-pads, a great deal of other classes cannot be taught that way. As Adam Frank states later with the use of the chalk board rather than technology, a student can really see how the teacher came to the result of a certain problem. The student can follow the individual steps taken by the teacher to see just how they came to figure out the answer. Adam Frank writes himself, The act of copying what was appearing on the board was a kind of meditation. You had to stay awake and aware This statement not only applies to college students but even elementary students. I can see where college students copying an equation to an elementary student copying how to draw a letter B can have the same correlation to staying awake and aware. If you miss even a few seconds, it can be hard to catch up; but if the problem is on the board, written out in plain view then you can just pick up where you left off. In Adam Franks view, Some things, I feel sure, just do not need change. I couldnt agree more, there are simply things that just dont need to be changed. If a lesson works being taught one way, why change it?

Using the Technology of Today, in the Classroom Today

Writing in the journal The Education Arcade, Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterweil, Jennifer Groff and Jason Hass state that It wasnt long before John saw how blogs could be very engaging, for both him and those who followed his writings. Blogging is a type of technology that uses the computer to allow the writer to post blogs about whatever topic they want. It also allows other people to comment and post things back to the original blog post writer. Like previously stated, blogging allows for engagement among the student, their peers, and the teacher. This can be very beneficial, especially if the teacher wants to see if his or her students are doing the tasks given to them.

From the article, Using the Technology of Today, in the Classroom Today, we see that John, a Literature teacher at a small, rural high school; uses technology as a way of communicating assignments, class discussion, and commentary of his students work. This technology usage is apparently a very big success with this group of students. It has allowed them to open up whole new lessons that they feel very applicable for their future. Social networking is slowly becoming the way of the future. It not only helps these students with their work but also allows them to be more engaged in the classroom.

Evaluating Technology Use in the Classroom

Jeff Utecht disagrees when he writes, As though just the site of students working on laptops meant they were engaged in the learning process. How can teachers be sure that their students are working on the task at hand rather than roaming the internet while they give a lecture? Students nowadays are not dumb, they have the ability to be sneaky and have a sense of trickery about them. Jeff Utecht makes a good point saying, It is easy to walk into a classroom and see that every student is using a computer, but how do you really assess if and what type of learning is taking place? Teachers should be able to monitor what their students are doing on their individual computer. If the student is not on task then the teacher has the control to turn off that students computer or redirect them back to the topic. Jeff makes a good point by saying, Is the technology being used Just because its there? Teachers could just be using the technology given to them just because its there. Or teachers could be using the technology given to them because there is a purpose for it, who knows? Technology can be very helpful in ways like assisting the teacher in teaching a lesson in a way the students can better understand the topic. Some topics can be challenging and should be challenging for a student to learn but thats where technology can help.

My Evaluation of My Sources
1.

Sometimes, The Old Ways Are The Best Ways, is a very well-written article that serves as a different view-point on the influences of technology on students. This article was very convincing to me. It had me think in a different way and see things through a new view-point. The examples given throughout the article were ones I could relate to, which made the article that much better. Although some topics discussed sounded biased, they were able to support their topics with examples which justified them.

My Evaluation of My Sources 2
1.

2.

Using the Technology of Today, in the Classroom Today, was a creative paper written to summarize both sides of the argument of whether technology use is a good thing or not. The article touches on all parts not favoring one side or the other. It weighs each argument equally and gives examples, for better understanding, to support each topic. For this article in particular, I focused on the positive side of using technology in the classroom. The example used was very convincing and I could relate personally to it.

My Evaluation of My Sources 3
1.

The article Evaluating Technology Use in the Classroom, speaks mainly about the problems technology can cause in the classroom. These problems are mainly about how teachers are put in a rough spot when the evaluations of their students come into thought. Evaluations can be tough when a student spends all their time learning through the computer. Are they really learning though? Or are they on other pages while subconsciously listening to the teacher talk? This can also be tough for teachers to evaluate.

How do my sources relate?

Each of my sources serves a different purpose. The three I touched on in the previous slides, talked about a specific view point. Sometimes, The Old Ways Are The Best Ways, speaks about a rather negative viewpoint of incorporating technology. If it isnt broken, dont fix it. I feel that it was important to find a source that spoke of mainly the negatives of using technology to get a different perspective.

Using the Technology of Today, in the Classroom Today, speaks about the whole opposite. This article speaks about the positive aspect of using technology like Smartboards and I-pads in the classroom. It speaks about the different ways technology could be beneficial to both the student and teacher. Also this source is important for finding and exploring a new perspective.
Evaluating Technology Use in the Classroom, is a very well written article that touches on both the good and bad influences technology use can have on students. Its main focus is more on the teacher than anything else. It talks about how the teacher can evaluate how well or not so well the technology usage is working. This source is important for the reason to gain a new perspective.

Further Questions and Ideas

What does a teacher do when they see a student unable to work effectively with the use of technology? Does the teacher have just that one student work in a different way from all the others or does he/she change it for everyone?
How do we know if the piece of technology is actually working in helping the student learn? Do students learn better with or without technology?

How many other forms of technology can be integrated into the classroom besides the computer, I-pad, Smartboard, and Tablet.
How much technology is too much? Is there a barrier to stop at? Is there a way to use technology but not decrease the connection between teacher and student?

Works Cited

Frank, Adam. "Sometimes, The Old Ways Are The Best Ways." NPR. NPR, 03 Sept. 2013. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Klopfer, Eric, Scot Osterweil, Jennifer Groff, and Jason Haas. "Using the Technology of Today, in the Classroom Today." Using the Technology of Today, in the Classroom Today (2009): 1415. The Instructional Power of Digital Games Social Networking Simulations and How Teachers Can Leverage Them. Creative Commons, 2009. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArca de.pdf>.

Utecht, Jeff. "Evaluating Technology Use in the Classroom." The Thinking Stick. Foliovision, 2005. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.