From School Computing

Technology integration can be advantageous for both teachers and students in the classroom. Technology enables dynamic media like audio, video, and interactive software to be more readily exploited, allows students to collaborate in ways that were previously impossible, and provides tools to increase teacher productivity from lesson planning to record keeping.

Contents 1 Why use Technology 2 ==Also See 3 Responses to Skeptics 4 Sources

[edit] Why use Technology

 = Using technology involves including students in the learning process. Students using technology become active participants in the learning process instead of passive listeners. One-to-one technology enables access, manipulation, and presentation of, and much more importantly, the creation of, multimedia rich descriptions and analyses. Using technology can reduce discipline problems. When the student is involved in the work, there is little time for trouble. Using technology allows students to take ownership of the project. When the student is empowered to find his/her own answers, the learning process becomes much more interesting. 

=and internet access in their homes. In these situations, assignments, activities, assessments, etc. can be scheduled over the web and completed at home, providing for a wider range of instructional opportunities.

• Archiving: Technology allows teachers to more efficently save and document student work for archival purposes. Whether it be students working on a paper that is saved under their name or scanning in classroom worksheets that identify where a student is in their learning at a set point of time, technology gives the power to save information in ways that are impossible through traditional means. This leads to several advantages like tracking student progress over time or looking back to see what areas need improvement. Computers provide easy storage and access to a student's accumulating portfolio of work. By viewing previous work, students can better gauge their own progress and avoid repeating tasks already accomplished.

• Preparation for College & Career: With computers and various forms of technology moving more prominently into the mainstream of typical life and business, it is important to expose our students to different types of technology. Gaining experience in word processing, various software programs, internet research, etc. are essential educational needs for students to become successful in the workplace. Using technology allows for a smooth transition from school to work and school to college. Technology is used everywhere - in math, science, engineering, transportation, manufacturing, and every business application you can think of. From sales transactions and inventory control, to e-commerce, the uses for technology are limitless.

• Reflection of Current Practice: Using technology is familiar to today’s middle class students. Technology use is part of the normal learning process for many of these students; it is in their “comfort zone” and highly integrated into their non-school life in forms of gaming, messaging, cell phones, etc. For those students who are not conversant with technology in their non-school life, the use of technology in school is critical. It can quickly becoming a social justice issue. Middle class kids with access to technology can teach themselves and each other how to use it. School simply becomes irrelevant to them in their technology use. That is bad enough. For at-risk students, schools without technology resources are dangerous to their ability to succeed.

• Problem-Solving and Project-Based Learning: Developing deep competency using the problem solving environment provided by the computer. Technology helps promote a positive shift toward more project based, hands on learning, away from lecture based learning. Lecture based learning will not, and should not, disappear. However, the information manipulation environment provided by one-to-one technology allows teachers to reduce their reliance on lecturing.

[edit] ==Also See

• Tablet PC Advantages

[edit] Responses to Skeptics

There have been several well publicized newspaper articles about the expense and lack of results of laptop programs. Responses to these articles have been collected on the Responses to Skeptical Articles page of this wiki.

[edit] Sources

This list was synthesized from several sources. Please improve upon it! --Demetri 13:33, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

1. Integrating Technology into Instruction by Dr. M.D. Roblyer
2. A list by Fred Bartels at http://www.learningwithlaptops.org.
3. Article by Arthur Virtue