Education Special Section
that technology in making a difference
in learning. According to Education
Week, 90 percent of teachers agree that
technology gives them the ability to tailor
lessons and homework assignments to the
individual needs of students. Yet, teachers
and schools who rate their system-wide
technology integration on a lower scale
don’t have as much hope. Buy-in from
educators, school leaders and board
members, parents, and the community
is critical when looking to successfully
integrate new technologies into a
curriculum. The change in how teachers
are teaching and how students are
learning requires a complete shift from
room layouts and resources needed for
students, to continuing teacher education
and administrative observations. Each
piece of the education puzzle needs to
be thoughtfully addressed in order to
successfully accommodate a new way of
learning.
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“What technology allows us to do is
amplify and expand the repertoire of
techniques that effective teachers use to
elicit the attention, effort and engagement
that are the basis of learning,” Michelle
Miller says in Minds Online. “The tools
we use can and do change us but when we
use these tools mindfully, we can remain
in control of those changes, shaping them
to benefit our students.” As schools are
implementing the infrastructure needed
for technology advancements in the
classroom, teachers are being tasked with
providing their students with a more
individualized approach to learning.
Professional development for these
teachers is critical to ensure that they are
not stretched too thin and their budgetary
resources are properly allocated. Support
from administrators and coaching from
peer mentors in how to approach this new
way of teaching has proven to increase the
likelihood of success in the classroom. In
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addition, classroom evaluations are being
reconfigured, as sitting in the back of a
classroom no longer accurately assesses a
teacher’s effectiveness in this new learning
environment.
The World Economic Forum states that
75 percent of educators and students feel
there is a gap in their ability to meet the
needs of a growing IT-focused workforce.
In addition, 90 percent of organizations
currently have an IT skills shortage; by
2020, it is estimated that there will be
1.5 million jobs in the digital industry
across the globe. These statistics alone
make technology integration into schools
a necessity. Not only will our young
children come out of their education
prepared for a role in a booming industry,
but our teachers will have the confidence
in knowing that they’ve provided
their students the best opportunity for
success. ■