Throughout the semester we have addressed many different aspects in technology, and how it affects students today. A subject we have not addressed very much is what would our classrooms be like if we did not incorporate the ever changing new technology? Should teachers only focus new technology on the older grade levels such as middle school and up? or should elementary age students still be introduced to new technology? Should our student be using technology their whole life?
40 Comments
Ryan Mansfield
4/10/2012 10:27:13 pm
I think technonolgy should be introduced and used in schools as it is a very important part of today's world. However, I see no reason why students in grades one through five or even one through six should not be taught the "old fashion way" of doing things. Two reasons for this: 1) So they actually have a basic foundation on how things were done in the past, how they are currently done and how things are progressing in the future. Kids need to have a grasp and understanding of the past before they understand the future; 2) Kids also need to have a secondary method as far how to survive in today's world in the event that they are not able to have technology available to them.
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casey costa
4/11/2012 04:24:53 am
I agree that they have to learn the old way especially since they will be dealing with the generation that was taught that way so in order to understand where some people are coming from or their way of thinking they need to be taught those techniques.
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Heather Kirkendoll
4/11/2012 05:36:15 am
I agree, they should be able to use basic foundation skills to help them think problems through logically,and sometimes this skill is loss when we depend on technology too much.
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Robert Thomas
4/15/2012 11:24:06 am
That is very true students need to be able to figure out things in more ways than one if possible. Because say if something happend to the technology you were using and you as a student were not able to turn in an assignment. There needs to be alternate ways to getting the job done. With the constant changes with technology we need to let the students use it. Some students might be really good with technology and some might not but as educators we need to be able to have things avaiable for them to succede.
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Matthew Clanahan
4/15/2012 10:37:36 pm
@Ryan: While I agree that we all need an understanding of the past in order to understand the future, we have to take into consideration the fact that we're not just talking about technology of the future -- we're talking about the PRESENT. So, yes, I say teach students those foundational skills and previously used methods, but don't neglect the essential technological skills that they'll have to understand in order to make it in the "real world".
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Nick Camp
4/18/2012 11:44:05 pm
Grades one through six is an appropriate time for students to learn how we learned in the past. Students do need to be aware there is more than one way to do alot of things, and that you dont always have to rely on technology to get the job done.
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George Pincock
4/10/2012 11:59:20 pm
I will be honest and say that I am baffled when i see a 8 or 9 your old texting on their cell phone, listening to music on their ipod and cruising around social media sites. It makes no sense, both educationally and socially. Technology allows students to disconnect from this world we live in and enter their own virtual world. If we allow this to happen how successful are we in being in preparing these children for the future?
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Ryan Mansfield
4/11/2012 10:13:40 pm
That is part of the problem when kids get older. We are seeing that a little bit with today's college generation with some of the facebook and twitter issues that have come up but I think you will be seeing an entire generation within the next five to ten years that will have lost complete sense of reality and will be stuck in a complete make believe world.
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Jeremy Esry
4/12/2012 11:24:06 pm
I agree it is frustrating, expecially to see kids playing indoors when it is nice outside or just sitting at a lunch table looking down at their phones instead of interacting with the others around them. However I am sure that people a generation or two ahead of us said the same thing when they were our age. Todays, cell phones and Ipods where yesterdays, telephones, cable TV, and dial up internet. Before that it was rock music that was going to ruin society, I think it is just the American way for all of us to worry about the future and change, because it is not the same way that we remember it during our childhood.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
4/11/2012 12:03:08 am
If the school district has the money to have technolgoy, I believe that they should introduce it to their youngest students. Most of the children entering into classrooms have had interactions with technology of some sorts (cell phones, tv's, remotes, computers, etc). Why should we expect our students to turn off their learning potentials by making them sit in a classroom, facing forward, listening to lectures? It isn't the best environment for students to learn it- there are many different types of learners out there and their needs need to be met. Gardner lists 9 learning intelligences- 8 out of the 9 are not being met if we use the traditional classroom setting.
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Kelli Miller
4/11/2012 03:49:44 am
You bring up a good point about students having different intelligences. I would think that maybe conducting an experiment with kindergartners or first graders...providing them opportunities and teaching lesson plans geared toward technology will help the students as well as the teachers find out what type of intelligence students are responding to. I believe that once teachers know which student fits best, lesson planning and learning will become much easier.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
4/13/2012 04:47:43 am
Knowing how your students learn will certainly make teaching them easier. If we can engage students at their level while using their learning styles, I know it will only help them feel successful and want to achieve higher goals.
Thomas Buehler
4/11/2012 12:37:40 am
Lack of technology is already happening in many school districts. These kids are going to be behind their peers when they move into higher education or their career. I think that they will be able to catch up once they get their exposure to technology but it would be so much more beneficial to expose them to technology early on so they can understand it more comprehensively. There should be a way in every school setting to teach kids about technology; even if it means going somewhere off campus to learn.
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Popi Stevens
4/12/2012 01:22:07 am
I think one of the main reasons there is a lack of it is because of funding/budget. Most of the time if a school district is behind in technology it is because they can't afford it (not because they just don't want to do it.
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Thomas Buehler
4/15/2012 05:13:49 am
I agree with you Popi. Lack of technology is most schools is a fiscal issue. Do you think that it's fair some schools have complete access to state of the art technology and other schools have none? Since our education is results based, how can we compare two districts test scores if the students don't have the same opportunities? I would like to see a more appropriate delegation of funds when it comes to technology.
Matthew Clanahan
4/15/2012 10:46:10 pm
If lack of funding in public schools is the problem that's causing this lack of technology, who must we blame this on? I'm not generally quick to blame the government for things, but we're talking about government funded institutions. As such, it should be the government's responsibility to level the playing field with respect to technology -- and I don't mean taking away technology from those who have more.
Kelli Miller
4/11/2012 03:45:54 am
I believe it all comes down to funding. I think school districts, administrators, teachers, and parents alike would want to see their students excel technologically and be "up-to-speed" in the technological world as they get older; however, I think some districts are counting their chickens before they hatch. Districts are making guidelines and curriculum geared toward technologically advanced classrooms, but what happens if classrooms do not have enough money for everyone in class to engage in the lesson plan. What if there's not enough money to have the proper equipment to teach the students?
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George Pincock
4/11/2012 10:19:04 pm
You bring up an important fact that not all school have the same financial power to support technology. It would be great if every school provide student with personal laptops, but we know that won't happen. Like you said we can't count our chickens before they hatch. We need goals and curriculum that are geared towards the fundamentals.
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Ryan Mansfield
4/11/2012 10:21:34 pm
I think that is the problem that many of today's younger teachers are running into. If the technology does not exist in the classroom, then the teachers are unable to teach instead of adapting to the environment they are in. We are starting to see what the reliance on technology does to not only today's students but to the younger generation of teachers. Some of today's teachers had some much technology in college and such an easier way of doing things, that when it comes time to actually work in the field and they may not have the technology that they had in college, they struggle learning how to adapt to their surroundings.
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casey costa
4/11/2012 04:23:09 am
With the constant changes occurring I feel like even elementary kids should be exposed to new technologies for at least the basics. Since things change multiple times in the course of the year if we were to wait until the jr. high level to introduce things it would be more complicated to teach. Also, having the basics at a younger age it will be easier to just add onto or change some of the concepts they had already learned instead of trying to completely teach technology at a higher level
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Christopher Sandefur
4/13/2012 12:25:01 am
I agree that teaching these skills while the students are younger will have benefits. It seems like when students get older that habits are harder to change.
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Heather Kirkendoll
4/11/2012 05:45:38 am
I think if we were to say we should not use technology in lower grades we would be fighting what society has laid out as fact already. I believe I have mentioned before that kids of the coming generation are used to being entertained and fast feedback. Just look in any waiting room and you will see parents handing over their I phones so their child will be entertained instead of expecting them to wait patiently. Because kids will be accustomed to this and not know how to sit patiently and learn the lesson, we must change our ways and use technology to the best of our ability to give a lesson in an entertaining and interactive way. Now with this being said, I do believe that we can get rid of calculators until the older grades. And there is probably something we can eliminate in the comm arts department to help them establish foundations as well.
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Melea Shimkus
4/11/2012 01:56:33 pm
I agree that the use of technology in lower grades should be allowed. But I do not think that we should give into society's expectations of instant feedback. Call me old fashioned, but I believe kids should be able to sit in a waiting room patiently without anything to keep them "entertained." All of this technology is taking away from children's once great imaginations.
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Stacy Crommie
4/11/2012 11:36:33 pm
Heather I do agree calculators should not be introduced until they are older but I also agree with Malea that we need to not hand over technology to babysit in waiting rooms. When my kids were is a waiting room, we played I-Spy.
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Heather Kirkendoll
4/12/2012 12:44:17 am
I agree, my daughter does not play those, but if you look, there are many kids who are playing them. And whether we like it or not, we have to teach those kids too.
Stephanie Armiger
4/15/2012 12:19:44 pm
I agree that younger grades need to learn basic math facts and not learn to rely on calculator. Calculators can wait until they have mastered their math facts, but we can still incorporate technology into the math classrooms in other ways. I like how many sites offer where students can practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and get immediate feedback on their answers. Our students do want immediate feedback, but they can still rely on their own math skills (not a calculator) to get the answer and use technology to check their answer, for extra practice.
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Melea Shimkus
4/11/2012 01:49:18 pm
Those are very interesting questions. But as much as I think we use too much technology today, I also think it is important to teach students how to use it properly. I also think that teachers should stress the importance of not relying on technology for everything. For example, if there is a power outage or they cannot find any batteries for their calculator, the students need to be able to do things without technology. Students should be thaught to use technology as an aid, not a replacement.
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Nick Camp
4/12/2012 10:14:23 pm
You hit it on the head by saying teachers should stress the importance of not relying on technology for everything.
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Stacy Crommie
4/11/2012 11:01:39 pm
I believe technology should be introduced at an early age. Of course, it is important for them to use memorization in many of their skills to get a good foundation but there are computer programs that are good in testing their memory. If they have to memorize multiplication problems, there are fun exercises provided by programs on a computer. This will help them get a good foundation and get used to using a computer. It is perfectly fine to expose them technology as long as it is not used as a crutch but a learning experience.
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Nick Camp
4/13/2012 02:35:15 am
Is introducing technology at a young age taking away valuable time from fundamentals of learning?
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Stacy Crommie
4/14/2012 03:21:42 am
Nick - I dont believe so. Of course the fundamentals have to be introduced first and then technology brought in moderation. Just expose them to it; not bombard them.
Popi Stevens
4/12/2012 01:18:43 am
I think technology should be introduced at an early age and i also think new technology should be taught in elementary schools also. However, at the younger levels i think that the basics (reading, writing, addition/subtraction) should be taught first and should be taught properly. Technology should not push the basics to the back burners or compete with in for time throughout those students day (at school). Technology does not need to be used all day everyday. In my opinion it should be used as a good compliment to what is being taught.
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Nick Camp
4/12/2012 02:22:03 am
This is an interesting question, my first thought was leave technology for upper class-men in high school. Then I began to think, if these students have no prior knowledge to the technology it could prove to be a slow learning curve. I think technology should be introduced in moderation at the younger age groups. Once students get a grasp on the technology they learn in early childhood, later on in school it should be beneficial.
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Elyce Lamphere
4/13/2012 04:09:49 am
I agree completely, it should be introduced in early childhood, however, it should be introduced in moderation. The learning curve would be very large if technology was only introduced at the older ages, but I do not want to see our youth only relying on technology for everything.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
4/13/2012 04:49:42 am
I absolutely agree that we should teach younger children technolgoy as best as possible- that is if they are able to attend preschool (which is a whole other issue). The learning curve will definately be smaller and make the transition smoother.
Jeremy Esry
4/12/2012 11:16:57 pm
Students should know the basics and be taught how to do things "the old fashioned way" without using technology, however with technology being such a large part in today's teaching I think that it is important to also introduce technology to students at a young age as well. I truly believe in the adage that the younger the person the more they know about technology. I think this is a great thing as they are our future and what we will be depending on when we get older so the more advancements the better in my opinion.
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Christopher Sandefur
4/13/2012 12:20:14 am
I believe that certain aspects of technology should be introduced to all grade levels. I think if the technology is available to further advance the students then it should be used. I believe that teachers would adapt to not having technology in the classroom. I just see know point in not using technology.
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Elyce Lamphere
4/13/2012 04:41:15 am
I agree with you that if the technology is available it should be utilized, but in moderation. It should certainly though still be integrated into classrooms.
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Robert Thomas
4/15/2012 11:20:23 am
I think if the technology is avaiable we should be able to use it. If it can be used as a learning device then for sure it should be used. The only thing is the technology in the classroom that can be a distraction to the students is what we need to try to eliminate. If it can help the students then we need to be using it.
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Stephanie Armiger
4/15/2012 12:13:42 pm
I think we need to introduce technology, along with our curriculum to our young students. These children are growing up in a world full of technology and the sooner they learn how to operate it, the better. Yes, children need to learn the basics and there is many advances in technology that can make it easier for them to learn the basics at a younger age. My youngest child, who is 4 years old, can spell many words and is beginning to read. When he was barely 2 he learned his letters and phonics, using a variety of methods. We read to him, posted alphabet pictures on the walls and got him interactive educational toys and videos. At an early age we used these resources to educate and entertain him. My son reads books, draws pictures on paper, plays with his blocks and trains, but he also plays on the computer and uses his leap pad. My son has excelled in learning his letters, numbers, shapes, etc. using the old school ways and technology. Therefore, I personally feel that it is beneficial to incorporate technology, as an educational aid to young children, as long as parents and teachers do not use technology as a babysitter.
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Student BlogThis blog is for class conversations for ED 514 at Central Methodist University. These post are by the students of ED 514. We invite input form other teachers about how they use technology in their classrooms. Archives
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