Technology Article

I found an article that discusses using blogs in the classroom. This article shows the benefits of using a blog to help students interact, find out homework they missed, share resources they’ve found, or even just to keep parents informed of a classroom’s activities. I believe that blogs and all technology can enhance a student’s learning. Now a days, students as young as preschool know how to operate a computer, cell phone, ipod, and much more, and are drawn to using technology. I believe that if a teacher integrates technology into the student’s learning projects, students will be more engaged and feel connected with the content.

As far as integrating technology into math, there are a lot of online activities for students to use. Students can use computers to graph, analyze large quantities of data, and even collect data. In addition, simple technologies such as ELMOs are helpful for showing work. If you want students to explain to their peers what they did while working on a problem, it’s much easier and faster to throw your notebook on an ELMO than to rewrite it all on the chalkboard. I did a research paper about students using calculators to generate numbers. This is such a simple, inexpensive piece of technology, yet there is still quite a bit of controversy surrounding their use in young grades. However, the research states that students who use calculators even as young as kindergarten, have increase in conceptual knowledge, as well as advancing their skills. Students who had constant access to calculators often used them in creative ways, such as quick note takers, or playing games.

I believe that technology should play a large role in the classroom, and when I begin teaching, I hope to integrate it as much as possible.