SPECIAL SECTION: TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
THE WHY
Technology is everywhere. Kids and adults alike utilize at least
some form of technology in their everyday lives. From socializing
to shopping, to reading and working, technology is inevitable
in today’s society. Parents, teachers, community leaders, and
governmental representatives are speaking up for their kids and
pushing to redefine success and rethink measuring success in the
classroom. Skills such as knowledge, social abilities, emotional
intelligence and dispositions are all crucial for a student’s success in
the workforce, yet many of these skills are overlooked in the typical
classroom setting. Educators are working toward providing students
with meaningful learning opportunities through technology that
encompass all of the aspects that make up success for a graduating
high school senior entering college or the workforce.
THE WHO
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 highspeed 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.
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
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.
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Teachers
Near the end of 2015, the U.S. Department of Education released
the 2016 National Education Technology Plan as a commitment
to supporting personalized professional learning to provide greater
equity of access to technology for students across America. In
addition, the Future Ready initiative, developed by the department
in 2014, had more than 2,000 superintendents across the country
who pledged to integrate digital learning into their districts’
curricula. The National Education Technology Plan also includes
a focus on providing each student with the chance to engage in
educational experiences led by technology.
In addition, Education Week states that digital instructional
content is the second largest spend in the K-12 educational
technology market, just behind hardware. Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt and Pearson, previously known for their paperback
publishing, are pushing out the most digital lessons in math,
English/language arts, science, business, and fine arts.
Students
No student is the same. Each has a different family life,
upbringing, ability to communicate and learn, and yet these
students are all being taught the same way. Schools across
the country are shifting from a one-size-fits-all approach to a