SPECIAL SECTION: TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
Although technology isn’t foreign to classrooms, funding has long
been a barrier for many schools across the U.S., along with hesitation
by teachers to adopt new methods for teaching. Yet, with all new
technologies come new challenges. In a time where cloud computing
and data analytics drive the way business is done for everything from
hospitals to grocery stores, big data is continuously being monitored,
making it crucial to keep private information secure. Schools and
colleges are trying to keep pace by trading in textbooks for tablets and
turning toward technology to redefine education. These updates to
traditional learning can be broken into four segments: when, why, who
and how.
THE WHEN
Trends in education are continuing to bring new and exciting
opportunities to the classroom. The International Association for
K-12 Online Learning predicts big shifts in the use of technology in
the classroom for both students and teachers. According to Education
Week, public schools in the United States provide at least one computer
for every five students, spend more than $3 billion on digital content
per year, and are pushing to make high-speed Internet affordable.
While making a massive overhaul in the classroom, schools are also
trying to support the educating of teachers and staff to utilize this
technology in even the most rural and remote schools across the
country.
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While most of us used textbooks, chalkboards, and hard wooden
chairs in perfectly parallel lines facing the front, 2016 has brought big
changes to the classroom for both students and teachers. Education’s
slow reaction to change and inability to keep pace with constantly
changing technologies and innovations have made upgrading learning
a challenging task, but the time is now for change to happen in
education. In 2015-2016, Education Week reported that, for the first
time, more state standardized tests were administered via technology
than by using paper and pencil. Teachers now have tools for personal
development and are learning how to bring technology into their
classrooms in a meaningful way. In the 2016-17 school year, the trend
of technology in the classroom will grow, as will the continued success
of tech-based learning.
THE WHY
Technology is everywhere. Kids and adults alike utilize at least
some form of technology in their everyday lives. From socializing to